Who takes the awards in a year when Eddie Jones revived England, Ireland beat the All Blacks and Beauden Barrett filled New Zealand’s Dan Carter void?
And so 2016 nears its end, the year of England’s revival, Ireland’s victory over the All Blacks, Saracens’ domination of Europe and Cinderella Connacht, who had a ball in the Pro12. It was also the year when the authorities tried to find space on the pitch by telling referees to flourish yellow and red cards like an overzealous traffic warden slapping tickets on parked cars.
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A year ago, it was the northern hemisphere that was trying to locate its navel after a largely dismal World Cup
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