With the regular season long behind us and the final looming, the NZ Herald's totally, 100 per cent (un)official awards have been doled out.
Difference-maker of the Year Richie Mo'unga – Crusaders
The Crusaders are unbeaten this season when their star No 10 takes the field. Granted they've only losttwo of their 17 matches, but Mo'unga did not feature in either. The 24-year-old's influence on his team isn't hard to see. In the 11 matches Mo'unga has played this year, including their quarter-final, the Crusaders have scored, on average, almost 41 points. Without him, that number drops significantly, averaging 25 points in seven Mo'unga-less games.
Surprise Package of the Year Jaguares
The Jaguares qualified for their first playoffs appearance this season. Photo / Photosport
I can confidently say there would be very few people who would have picked the Jaguares to be a playoff team this year. Losing four of their first five matches, things didn't start well for Mario Ledesma's men. Things turned around nine weeks into the competition for the Argentinian team, who went on a seven-match winning streak which included the back-to-back scalps of the Blues and Chiefs – on Kiwi soil at that. At the end of the regular season, they had the same record as the South African conference-winning Lions, who showed the importance of bonus points by collecting eight more than the Jaguares.
Coach of the Year Colin Cooper – Chiefs
An injury-riddled squad didn't stop Colin Cooper for guiding the Chiefs to the third-best record in the competition. Photo / Photosport
Week after week, the Chiefs mentor seemed to be answering the same question; "What's the injury situation this week?" Often times, the answer wasn't a good one. It got to the stage where Cooper would describe a week without injury as "like a bonus point." The number of players to miss extended time due to injury during the season was in the double figures yet Cooper handled the situation well, bringing in solid back-ups and reinforcing that "Chiefs Mana" to lead the injury-riddled battlers to the third-best record in the competition.
Match of the Year Hurricanes survive Sharks attack in Napier
The Hurricanes celebrate Ngani Laumape's 85th minute try against the Sharks. Photo / Photosport
The Hurricanes raced to a 12-3 lead before the visitors found their footing, scoring three first half tries to hold a 27-19 lead at the break. After an attacking first half, both sides settled into their defence for the second stanza. The Sharks continued to build their lead and, ahead by nine points with five minutes to go, they looked at short odds of getting over the line, but...
Moment of the Year Hometown hero wins it for Hurricanes (Hurricanes v Sharks, Week 8. McLean Park, Napier)
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Of course the chance to win the game fell on the boot of Ihaia West in Napier. Five minutes after the siren, the Hawke's Bay product had a conversion to steal a win from the jaws of defeat after Nagani Laumape got across the stripe. At an angle, the back-up first five-eighth made no mistake in sending the footy over the black dot, giving the match a storybook ending for the Hurricanes and their Napier fans.
Coach Killer of the Year Highlanders cards against Waratahs (Week 14 and quarter-finals)
Tevita Nabura of the Highlanders is sent off against the Waratahs. Photo / Getty Images
It's a lot tougher to win a game when you're a man down, just ask Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger. A red card to Tevita Nabura for kicking Waratahs winger Cameron Clark in the face while collecting a high ball early in their week 14 clash was a big factor in the Southerners losing 41-12 – which ended a streak of 40 matches in which Kiwi teams had beaten Australian sides. And when Waisake Naholo was shown a yellow card in the quarter-final match between the two sides, the Waratahs ran in three tries in 10 minutes to erase a big deficit and roll on to a victory.
Discovery of the Year Karl Tu'inukuafe – Chiefs
Karl Tu'inukuafe went from being without a full-time contract to earning a spot in the All Blacks squad. Photo / Photosport
Freshly signed to a three-year contract to the Blues starting in 2019, it's hard to believe Karl Tu'inukuafe didn't have a fulltime contract at the start of this Super Rugby season. When all six of the Chiefs' contracted props were struck by injury, Tu'inukuafe (and cohort Angus Ta'avao for that matter) was immense for the Chiefs. Playing more than 60 minutes in all but one of his nine starts Tu'inukuafe gave the Chiefs more than they could have hoped for and earned himself a call-up to the All Blacks.
Try of the Year Kyle Godwin's individual brilliance against the Waratahs - Week 19
In the final round of the season, the Brumbies' Kyle Godwin put on a spectacular display of individual skill to score from just outside his own 22. Breaking the Waratahs line with some fancy footwork, the No.12 got in the clear with only fullback Israel Folau to beat. As Folau approached, Godwin dabbed a chip over the fullback's head, regathered it on the Waratahs 22 and ran in to score. Godwin's effort gets the nod ahead of Vince Aso's Superman dive in the corner against the Highlanders.
