New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has been named World Rugby Player of the Year for 2015. Finals are often tense dour affairs dominated by kicks and penalties, but not this one, and despite New Zealand apparently coasting at half-time, the Wallabies came crashing back in the second half to be at one stage within a single score of the Kiwis.
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Rugby is not the main sport in Australia so they will recover and coach Michael Cheika has done a marvellous job to put the game back on the map in his adopted country, to come out of the pool of death unscathed was extremely hard and eventually took its toll. You can’t take this for granted, you can’t take that you’re going to get another one for granted.
“Giteau’s Law” can now keep them in gold, if they agree, but where it was framed in a right-here-right-now context this year, Cheika will now have to weigh up the benefits of the veterans playing on versus plugging all-important Test caps into a new generation.
“I’m signed until ’17 and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the team does well in its play and how we represent the game in Australia between now and then”.
As the host nation we missed out at the greatest tournament and we have to ensure England really are contenders in Japan in 2019. Sir Peter said that was exemplified in the game against Wales “where they just tackled themselves to a standstill”.
Cheika was appointed less than a year ago, and revived the Wallabies to win their first Rugby Championship in four years, and reach the World Cup final. By the end of that series we will know exactly where are.
“They’ve won two out of three this year but I think we’ve been much more competitive and we’ve been up for the battle”.
“We’re building our own quality”.
McCaw, 34, has already turned down the honour once, after New Zealand’s 2011 tournament win, saying he did not feel it was right to accept while he was still playing. He has already led a revival in a short period and steadied the ship.
“The World Rugby Awards are a fitting finale to an exceptional year for Rugby on and off the field”, said World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset.
Asked if he’d be on deck in 2019, Cheika said: “I want the team to be in the position to do well at the next World Cup”.
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“The camaraderie, the respect the lads have shown and the sacrifices they’ve made, the selflessness, their loyalty to the team”.
