The year 2013 has been one of the most spectacular years for Rugby on the International stage. With records being set, broken, history being made and controversies and rivalries running rampant the top International teams of 2013 showed the World a spectacular brand of rugby.
It all started in February as the six nations teams went all out battling to take the top spot in Northern Hemisphere rugby. In addition to the pride of winning the RBS six Nations cup there was the added thrill of watching players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland battling it out for selection of the Lions tour. The entire championship was thrown into a tail spin when the Irish upset the defending champions and favorites for a grand slam in the first game of the tournament with a 22-30 win in Cardiff. The competition was immense from the get go as England looked to be the inform side coming off their win over the All Blacks last December. Finally it all came down to a battle between a motivated England looking for a Grand Slam and a desperate Welsh side fighting to retain the RBS Six Nations trophy at Twickernham, and what a final it was. Wales put up a massive performance in front of a capacity English crowd as they dominated the break-downs and used their monstrous backs to topple the English and hold on to their Northern Hemisphere title.
The mid year test in June brought about a tour, 12 years in the making since the Lions last tour of Australia in 2001 saw the Wallabies take the series 2-1. 2013 saw a Lions team packed with Welsh players, led by the Welsh Captain and Coached by a New Zealand born, Welsh coach. It was a tour for the history books as Sam Warbutons Lions looked to re-write history.The Lions first travelled to Honk Kong where they romped the Barbarians 59-08. Next they travelled to Australia as they took on the Australian provincial teams in preparation for the Tests against the Wallabies. The Lions were firing on all cylinders beating every province until they came up against the ACT Brumbies who shattered the Lions pride 14-12 just 4 days before the 1st test. The Brumbies became just the 6th Provincial team to beat the Lions and the 1st Australian Province to beat the Lions in 42 years. It was then on to the 1st test in Brisbane. The game swung two and fro until the 80th minute with the score at 23-21 and Kurtley Beale lined up a 40m penalty for the win. Unfortunately for the fans in Gold, Beale lost his footing and sent it wide which saw the Lions take game one just as they did 12 years ago. From there the Wallabies had to repeat history in game 2. This time around it was the sharpshooter Leigh Halfpenny who had to put over a 55m penalty in injury time with the score and 16-15 in favor of the Wallabies and the tides were turned as Halfpenny’s kick was 5m short. Just like it did 12 years ago the balance of the series came down to the final test in Melbourne. Unlike 12 years ago the Lions came out all guns blazing, they destroyed the Wallabies up-front and wiped out the hosts in the second half as they ran away with the game taking the Tom Richards cup with a massive 41-16 win. Leigh Halfpenny’s 49 points in 3 tests won him the player of the tournament award.
In addition to the Lions tour, the French travelled down to New Zealand as they fronted up for three tests against the All Blacks for the first time since that historic night in Auckland when the All Blacks regained the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Unlike that game the All Blacks powered past France 23-13, 30-00 and 25-09 in the 3 tests as they asserted their dominance on World rugby.
We then went into the fatal four-way of the Southern Hemisphere in mid August as New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina went head to head for the second Rugby Championship. The All Blacks went into the tournament as favorites and performed to expections from the start. The Kiwis first brushed past their rivals from across the Tasman both home and away and then made quick work of the Pumas in Christchurch and then the Springboks at Eden Park. The Blacks then took flight to La-Plata where they eased passed Argentina 33-15 whilst the Springboks demolished the Wallabies 28-08 in South Africa. It then came down to the final two games with the South Africa needing to beat the All Blacks with a bonus point to take the Rugby Championship and the Pumas and the Wallabies battling for 3rd place. The Australians finally found some form taking out Argentina 54-17 and all eyes were on Cape-Town as the two best teams went tooth and nail in what would be one of the most remarkable games of the season. The South Africans threw every thing at the All Blacks in an attempt to over throw the kings of world rugby but fell just short with a 27-38 scoreline which saw New Zealand take home the Rugby Championship trophy for the second year.
All focus then moved back to Duneidin when the Kiwis hosted the Wallabies for the 3rd and final Bledisloe cup encounter. The Wallabies who had started showing promise in their last few games eventually lost out in a fierce 33-41 loss to the World Champions.
The Southern hemisphere teams then packed their bags as they flew off North for the respective Nothern Tours. The Springboks kicked off their tour by beating the Welsh 24-15 and then trounced Scotland 28-00 before beating the unpredictable French 19-10. The Pumas managed just the one win on tour as the beat Italy 19-14 in the last week of their tour after being brushed away by England and Wales respectively. The Wallabies narrowly lost out to a fired up England team 20-13. The Aussies then moved to Torino where they breezed passed the Italians followed by a 32-15 win over Irish in Dublin. Ewin McKenzie’s Wallabies then moved to Murrayfield where the Scots gave them a run for their money before travelling to Cardiff to play for the James Bevan Trophy against the Welsh. The Welsh battled hard as the Wallabies took the game 30-26 to conclude the 2013 Rugby season.
It was the All Blacks who were the highlight of the tours as they went up against Japan, France, England and Ireland. The Kiwis made easy work of Japan in Tokoyo before taking down a fierce French resistance in Paris. They then moved for what was the main attraction of the Tour, England at Twickernham. In addition to wanting redemption for last years loss the Blacks had the motivation of it being Dan Carter’s 100th test cap. Unfortunately Carter limped off half an hour into the game, but his under study Aaron Cruden slotted in seamlessly to help the tourists to their 13th win of the season. The Blacks then travelled to Dublin where the fighting Irish put the Champions to the test when they stormed out to a 19-00 lead 17 minutes into the game. However the All Blacks proved exactly why they are the best in the world when they clambered and clawed their way back to score an equalizing try in the 81st minute. Amidst much drama Aaron Cruden knocked over the conversion in his second attempt to give the All Blacks a 24-22 win which sealed an unbeaten year for the Kiwis.
With the end of an exceptional year of Rugby, the question arises as to who should get the honor of being named player of the year. With so many performing so well it will be a tough decision for the IRB panel but a few names are sure to be top contenders.
From New Zealand- Kieran Read, Julian Savea and Ben Smith have all put their hands up. Over the last three years Read has thrown his name in with some of the greatest number 8’s of all time. He is now being compared to the likes of Zinzan Brooke and Lawrence Delligio. Read has been all over the park using his power to break the gain line and set up numerous tries for the Blacks. The big man has also been an intimidating force in defence with his bone crunching tackles and versitility at the breakdowns. Read has developed a strong combination with the next man on the list Julian Savea. The two have been impossible to contend with and have time and again set up tries for each other out wide. Savea has just 20 test caps under his belt but has an astonishing 18 tries to his name. The powerhouse wing has solidified his place on the wing and has developed his skills under the high ball and on the counter attack. He has now become a force to reckon with for every opposition that faces him. Ben Smith is probably New Zealand’s domestic player of the year. He was absolutely astounding in the super rugby competition and carried that form through to the All Blacks. Having played most of the year on the wing Smith displayed his flexibility when he was slotted in at center for his name sake Conrad Smith who was on extended leave for the Norhtern tour.
The Number 2 side in the World were bound to have a few names on the short list as they lost just 2 games of 13 over the caledar year. Captain Jean DeVilliers was definitely their top performer as he led the Boks from the front. DeVilliers was rock solid in defence and penetrated the gain almost every time he had ball in hand. His constant chatting to both his team and the referee was one of his greatest strenghts all through the year. Another Springbok who performed far beyond expectation was lock forward Eben Ebzbeth. The giant number four was all over the park in open play making a menace of himself at the breakdowns. His towering stature gave the Boks a major advantage in the lineouts and his brute strenght added immense weight to an already huge tight 5.
The Wallabies who have had mixed year did not have too many consistent performers except for the ever- present Micheal Hooper. Hooper who has stepped in for the injured David Pockock has made a name for himself around the breakdown being an absolute pest in defense. He is also one of the fastest forwards in the world and was a huge asset to the Aussies in open play when he joined in the backline creating overlaps.
This years Lions squad was dominated by Welsh players, but none performed better that winger George North and full-back Leigh Halfpenny. The 6ft 4inch George North was spectacular all throughout the 6 nations and was one of the best performers in the Lions tour. North was dominant under the high ball all and was impossible to deal with in defense. The player of the Lions series and the player of the tournament in the 6 nations Leigh Halfpenny is also one of the top contenders for the IRB player of the year. Halfpenny was almost perfect all year with his goal kicking scoring a massive 49 points in just three tests for the Lions. He was also the centerpiece for both Wales and the Lions in counter attacks as he was never afraid run at the opposition, not to mention his brave defense as the last line.
All in all 2013 has been a spectacular year for International Rugby and with the 2015 World cup in England less than two years away it is a sign of great things to come. Many teams have thrown their names in as top contenders for the Web Ellis cup as Rugby goes home.
