BEST DIRECTOR: Dean Richards, Newcastle Falcons
We’ve gone off the cuff with this award winner. It would have been easy to give this award to Warren Gatland but Richards, on a shoestring, has turned the North East club from annual strugglers to playoff contenders. Although his reputation may never recover from ‘bloodgate’, for his achievements on the field we simply couldn’t ignore him.
BEST SCORE: Sean O’Brien (British & Irish Lions vs New Zealand)
It was one of the moments of the sporting summer – a score which made the world take notice and let the supposedly invincible All Blacks know they were in a real fight. The ball is kicked deep to fullback Liam Williams. The Welshman sells Kieran Read and ghosts infield, before straightening up and leaving Sonny Bill Williams on the deck with twisted blood. The rest is history…