At the end of this year’s Six Nations, it was hard to escape the feeling that the atmosphere around rugby in Ireland had fallen a little bit flat.
A disappointing Rugby World Cup was followed by an equally disappointing Six Nations campaign, the provinces (with one notable exception) weren’t exactly tearing it up and for probably the first time in his time as Ireland coach, Joe Schmidt was beginning to face some serious criticism.
Fast forward to the end of the year and it couldn’t be any different. We’ve beaten all of the southern hemisphere big three in the space of six months, got a 111-year monkey off our backs on a momentous day in Chicago and shown that there is a strength in depth that augurs very well for the future.
With a Lions tour to come in 2017, it’s going to be a big year, but let’s take time to reflect on the last 12 months first. Cast your vote for who you think deserves special mention at the bottom of the page.
CJ Stander
A deserving winner of the Guinness Rugby Writers’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards, the South African has immersed himself fully in the Munster and Irish set-ups and we’ve taken him to our hearts too.
Getting a (controversial) red card against his native country in the summer was a massive personal setback, but he was immense against the All-Blacks and Australia in November, carrying ball like it was going out of fashion in typical all-action displays.
Bundee Aki
The national team may have stolen the spotlight in recent weeks, but the story of 2016 as far as Irish Rugby is concerned is, without a shadow of a doubt, Connacht.
The westerners romped to the Pro 12 title earlier in the year playing a scintillating brand of rugby under Pat Lam that captured the imagination of their own fans and neutrals alike.
At the heart of it was the irrepressible Bundee Aki, the Kiwi with the strength of a lion, the pace of a cheetah and with personality and charisma dripping from every pore.
Already a legend out west, he becomes eligible for Ireland from October of next year so we could be cheering him on in another shade of green really soon.
Robbie Henshaw
Now playing in Leinster blue instead of Connacht green, it was great to see Henshaw’s home province taste success while he was a still part of it, considering all that they had done for each other in his formative years.
Still only 23, Henshaw is now one of the first names on Joe Schmidt’s team sheet and having formed an extremely solid partnership with Jared Payne, he must be a strong contender for a Lions starting spot next summer.
The try against the All-Blacks in Chicago was another standout moment in a fantastic year for Henshaw; the subsequent forced withdrawal against the same opposition in Dublin a reminder of how much of a threat he’s regarded by the very best opposition.
Centre Robbie Henshaw takes @IrishRugby to the brink of history.#IREvNZL https://t.co/tMhlWmBgfN
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 5, 2016
Conor Murray
It goes to show the levels Murray is now operating in that, following a flawless performance against New Zealand in Chicago, he was being talked about as arguably the best number 9 in the world.
As of this moment, the Munster man is operating at the very peak of his powers, doesn’t seem to have a discernible weakness and seems a shoo-in for a Lions test spot. If Murray and Jonathan Sexton can stay fit, 2017 could be a very fruitful year for Ireland.
Jamie Heaslip
Machine-like is probably the best way to describe the Leinster and Ireland number 8, whose ridiculous consistency deservedly earned him an IRB World Rugby Player of the Year nomination in 2016.
Seeing Heaslip cheering on his teammates in the latter stages of the victory over Australia was a rare sight; you can usually set your watch by him competing and repeatedly reaching his high standards, from start to finish.
