As 2024 draws to a close, we take a look back at the last 12 months of rugby and hand out our awards, good and bad, to worthy recipients.
So without further ado, here are our winners and, in some cases, losers.
2024 Planet Rugby Awards
Men’s Test Team of the Year: Springboks
After winning the Rugby World Cup for a record fourth time in France in 2023, the Springboks continued with their impressive form this year as they won 11 out of their 13 Tests. It could so easily have been a full house of victories for the Boks as the two matches which they lost – against Ireland and Argentina – were both by one-point margins. Despite those losses, South Africa had the best record of all the Tier One nations and finished the year at the top of World Rugby’s official rankings list.
Coach of the Year: Rassie Erasmus
With the Springboks earning our Test Team of the Year award, it’s not surprising that Rassie Erasmus is our choice for the Coach of the Year gong. After serving the Boks as director of rugby from 2020 to 2023, the 52-year-old returned to the head coaching position following Jacques Nienaber’s departure to Leinster. And it was a smooth transition for Erasmus as his brilliant and innovative coaching methods proved successful during another superb international campaign for the Boks.
Women’s Test Team of the Year: England
This year has been a fantastic one for England as they have been the dominant force in the Women’s game at international level, winning 10 out of 10 of their matches played. That means that they registered a Grand Slam-winning Women’s Six Nations campaign while they also hammered home their dominance in the global game by walking off with the WXV 1 title.
Women’s Test Coach of the Year: John Mitchell
The New Zealander has had great success over the years at international level in the Men’s game as he enjoyed coaching stints with the All Blacks, England and Japan. However, he did not hesitate when the opportunity arose to make the switch to the Women’s game and he joined the England set-up after the Men’s Rugby World Cup where he served as Japan’s defence coach. He had big boots to fill with England as his predecessor, Simon Middleton, had great success with the team but there was a smooth transition as John Mitchell guided the Red Roses to victory in all 10 of their matches.
Club Team of the Year: Toulouse
Although there were outstanding performances from the likes of the Blues, who won their first Super Rugby title since 2003, Glasgow Warriors and Northampton Saints, who were crowned United Rugby Championship and Premiership champions respectively, we couldn’t look past Toulouse for our title as the Club Team of the Year. It was a memorable 12 months for Les Rouge et Noir as they completed a superb double, winning the Top 14 and Investec Champions Cup silverware under head coach Ugo Mola.
Game of the Year: France v New Zealand
There were several other outstanding matches during the year with Australia’s win over England in the Autumn Nations Series and South Africa’s victory over Argentina among those encounters but, in the end, we’ve gone with the end-of-year Test between Les Bleus and the All Blacks for this award. That match provided plenty of entertainment before and during the game and the result was in the balance until its dying moments.
Both sides showed plenty of attacking endeavour and although the All Blacks held a 17-10 lead at half-time, France finished stronger and eventually sealed a narrow 30-29 triumph. The result was France’s third consecutive win over New Zealand and it meant they retained the Dave Gallaher Trophy.
Fiji flyer Peniasi Dakuwaqa certainly left his stamp on Stade Francais’ Parisian derby with arch rivals Racing 92 as he scored a brilliant length-of-the-field try during the Top 14 clash. Dakuwaqa gathered a Racing kick deep inside his 22 before running back beyond his try-line and then set off on a mazy run before kicking ahead and regathering the ball. He still had plenty of work to do but his searing pace saw him outpacing the cover defence before dotting down. Definitely one of the best tries you’ll ever see.
Men’s Player of the Year: Ox Nche
It came as a major surprise when the cake loving loosehead prop failed to make the shortlist of nominees for World Rugby’s Men’s Player of the Year award but we feel he deserves his flowers after making a telling contribution for the Boks over the past 12 months. Ox Nche‘s dominance at scrum-time has been remarkable throughout the year while he has also impressed in the execution of his other core duties on a consistent basis. Fellow Bok Pieter-Steph du Toit won World Rugby’s official gong but we’ve opted for Nche and this award should warm the hearts of front-rowers around the globe.
Women’s Player of the Year: Ellie Kildunne
We’ve agreed with World Rugby on this one as the England and Harlequins full-back Ellie Kiludnee consistently delivered excellent performances for her country during the year. The 25-year-old was a vital cog in the Red Roses machine with her brilliance on attack being rewarded with a whopping 14 tries in nine Test appearances. Her superb attacking form saw her crowned as Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship and she also shone during England’s WXV1 title defence.
Performance of the Year: England v Ireland
There were several candidates for this award with France’s narrow victory over New Zealand in their Autumn Nations Series Test and Argentina’s shock triumph over the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship both deserving mentions but we’ve gone with England’s stunning win over Ireland in the Six Nations which ended the men from the Emerald Isle’s Grand Slam hopes.
Under the guidance of head coach Steve Borthwick, England have received plenty of criticism, especially during the latter part of the year when they registered more defeats than victories, but they reached their zenith in dramatic fashion with that triumph over Ireland at Twickenham in March. Despite trailing 22-20 in the game’s closing stages, England launched one last attack before Marcus Smith landed a drop goal to clinch a memorable win for his team.
After suffering a narrow 20-19 loss to the Wallabies in their corresponding Rugby Championship fixture in La Plata the previous week, Argentina were determined to bounce back in their rematch in Santa Fe in September. Los Pumas made a slow start though as they were trailing 20-3 late in the opening half and it looked like Australia were cruising to another victory. However, crucial tries from Mateo Carreras and Julian Montoya just before half-time meant the home side were back in the game as their opponents held a slender 20-17 lead at the interval.
Those five-pointers boosted Argentina’s confidence as they came out firing after the break and raced into a 41-20 lead after further tries Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pablo Matera and Joaquin Oviedo as well as a Tomas Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz penalty. The Wallabies struck back via a Tate McDermott try but that was the last time they would score points as the home side finished the game in style with further tries from Juan Cruz Mallia (2), Oviedo and Lucio Cinti which gave their team an emphatic 67-27 win.
Controversy of the Year: The 20 minute red card
Prior to this year’s Autumn Nations Series, several countries slammed the adoption of the new 20-minute red card which was trialled during the end-of-year internationals. It was predominantly the northern hemisphere nations who voiced their objections to the law trial with France and Ireland issuing statements in which they revealed they did not support the new initiative.
In the event that an official issues a 20-minute red card to a player, they will not be able to return to the field but their team will spend 20 minutes with one fewer player on the pitch before the sin-binned player is replaced. The initiative has been used in Super Rugby Pacific since 2023 and former All Blacks wing Sir John Kirwan expressed his dissatisfaction with the countries who were against it.
Biggest disappointment: Warren Gatland and Wales
Wales’ 2024 international campaign can best be described as an annus horribilis as everything head coach Warren Gatland and his troops tried this year failed to yield the necessary results. This, after they slumped to a record 12 successive Test defeats. After reaching great heights with Wales during his first stint as the national team’s coach from 2007 to 2019, Gatland returned to the position on a wave of optimism in 2022. However, he has not reached the same heights as his first spell, which has been really disappointing with Wales’ last win registered at the 2023 World Cup and they have lost 17 out of 23 Tests since the New Zealander’s return.
Most innovative play: Siya Kolisi try for Springboks v Wallabies
The world champions started their Rugby Championship campaign with an outstanding victory against the Wallabies and head coach Erasmus’ innovative style of coaching was on display early on in that encounter when their captain Siya Kolisi crossed for the opening try. This, after the Springboks caught their opponents by surprise with a carefully orchestrated lineout move in which Ben-Jason Dixon initially gathered the ball at the back of the set-piece deep inside Wallabies territory. He then threw it to the front of the set-piece where Eben Etzebeth collected and the Boks launched a drive from which Kolisi crashed over. Brilliant innovation and perfectly executed.
Turnaround of the Year: Joe Schmidt with the Wallabies
The Wallabies’ 2023 campaign was a nightmare of epic proportions after they won just two out of nine of their Tests during that year and for the first time ever they failed to advance to the play-offs at a Rugby World Cup. Eddie Jones stepped down from his position as head coach shortly after Australia’s World Cup campaign in France and Joe Schmidt replaced him at the start of this year.
Schmidt’s coaching reign started brightly with back-back home victories against Wales and they also beat Georgia in a one-off Test in Australia. That set them up nicely for the Rugby Championship but they were in for a rude awakening as they won just one of their six matches in that competition. That put them under plenty of pressure ahead of their end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom but they were competitive in all their Tests and eventually beat England and Wales before putting in brave displays in losses to Scotland and Ireland to finish the year with a credible record in which they won six out of 13 Tests.
Unsung Team of the Year: Argentina
This was the year when Argentina showed that they belonged in the Rugby Championship as for the first time since the South American nation joined the southern hemisphere tournament in 2012, they managed to register victories over their more illustrious opponents South Africa, New Zealand and Australia during the same competition. Under the guidance of new head coach Felipe Contepomi, Los Pumas have gone about their business in a quiet yet efficient manner and were competitive in most of their Tests this year. Argentina kicked on in 2024 after reaching the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-finals and finished the year in fifth position on World Rugby’s official rankings list.
Brain fade: Sekou Macalou
The France and Stade Francais flanker lost the plot during the Parisian outfit’s Champions Cup clash against Saracens at the Stade Jean Bouin this past weekend. Stade Francais made a fantastic start but with the score 10-0 in their favour, Sekou Macalou tripped Sarries’ Ivan van Zyl at the back of a scrum when the scrum-half gathered the ball. Macalou then rushed into Van Zyl and caught his opponent with a swinging arm to his face. Referee Hollie Davidson had no hesitation in issuing a red card to the back-row after watching television replays. Macalou’s brain fade was a real game-changer as Saracens soon took control of proceedings and eventually sealed a 28-17 win.
Best interview: Joe Marler
The former England and Harlequins front-row is renowned for his hilarious interviews and it was a similar story after his retirement from the game recently. Joe Marler‘s unique take on the game made him a firm fan favourite during his illustrious career and it was no different in his last game – Quins’ 48-24 defeat to Bristol Bears – when he delivered an extraordinary mic-drop interview on TNT Sports.
Celebration of the Year: Hacjivah Dayimani (Stormers v Northampton Saints)
The former Stormers back-row is currently plying his trade at Racing 92 but he showed during the Cape Town-based outfit’s friendly fixture at Northampton Saints earlier this year why he is fast becoming one of the game’s great characters. This, after Hacjivah Dayimani caught everyone in attendance at Franklin’s Gardens by surprise with this outrageous celebration after crossing for a try.
Feelgood moment: France’s Olympic sevens triumph
The 2024 Olympic Games was held in Paris and despite the presence of more fancied teams like Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa involved in the Men’s sevens competition, it was the the home side who emerged triumphant after powering to a thrilling 28-7 victory over the Fijians in the final. Leading the way was France’s 15-a-side scrum-half and captain Antoine Dupont, who scored two tries and created another to deliver a coveted gold medal for Les Bleus which ended two-time champions Fiji’s dominance of Rugby Sevens at the Olympics after they came out on top in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
Shock of the Year: Glasgow Warriors v Bulls in URC final
Glasgow Warriors came into the 2023/24 United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria after claiming a shock victory over defending champions Munster in their semi-final at Thomond Park. That meant the Scottish outfit had a massive mountain to climb as they went into the final against the Bulls as overwhelming underdogs, with the highly anticipated encounter scheduled to be played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where the home side seldom finishes on the losing side. Despite that daunting task, the Warriors delivered a masterful performance and stunned their hosts as they clinched a shock 21-16 triumph.
Horse has bolted award: Rugby Canada finally part ways with Kingsley Jones
It was really baffling that former Wales international Kingsley Jones held onto his job as Canada’s head coach for so long as he was appointed in 2017 and led them to just 14 wins out of 48 Tests during his tenure. During that time, Jones helped Canada to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup but failed to repeat that feat for the 2023 version of that event which meant it was the first time since the start of the global tournament in 1987 that Canada’s men’s team was not in action. Despite that, Jones was handed a two-year contract extension but things became untenable when Canada won just one of of their seven Tests in 2024.
