Nigel Yalden's 2016 NZ Super Rugby Awards

1/15

1/15 Best: Charlie Faumuina stood out every time he took to the field. His scrummaging was solid & reliable, as was his lineout lifting, but it was the way he got himself involved either carrying the ball or defending round the fringes that was most impressive.
2/15

2/15 Rookie: Reiko Ioane only played a handful of games because of Sevens commitments, but he revealed himself to be an even more prodigious talent than first thought, adapting very quickly to the next level & delivering quality performances. It wouldn’t surprise me if he returns from Rio, tears it up in the Mitre 10 Cup & earns himself a spot in the All Blacks end of year tour squad.
3/15

3/15 Most improved: Josh Bekhuis produced the best season of his Super Rugby career, producing excellent all round performances from first game to last. He’s never been known as a flashy player, but he played with more industriousness, reliability and accuracy than we’ve seen from him before.
4/15

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4/15 (Photo \ Supplied)
5/15

5/15 Rookie: Taleni Seu adapted to the rigours of Super Rugby brilliantly. His physicality & versatility to cover lock and blindside was a great asset for Dave Rennie, but it’s the range & deftness of his skills that suggests Seu’s going to get better the more he plays top level rugby.
6/15

6/15 Photo / File
7/15

7/15 Best: Ardie Savea – sure Beauden Barrett’s form has been great recently, but Savea was tremendous straight out of the gate and he’s maintained it right the way through the season, justifying his decision in spades to forego the Olympics for the fifteen man game.
8/15

8/15 (Photo / File)
9/15

9/15 Most improved: Reg Goodes was rarely bettered at scrum time and just ploughed through all his other work around the field. He’s lifted his game to a level where you suspect he’d be in the discussion should injuries occur to the incumbent All Black loosehead props - my NZ Super Rugby Most Improved Player of the Year
10/15

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10/15 (Photo \ Supplied)
11/15

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11/15 (Photo \ Supplied)
12/15

12/15 Most improved: Johnny McNicholl – hampered by injuries in previous years, McNicholl started 12 of his 14 appearances, showing the benefit of that consistent game time by churning out quality performances to prove why he has been so highly rated in the past.
13/15

13/15 Best: Ben Smith – just keeps getting better and while he is officially a co-captain, it’s clear that he is THE leader of this group which also seems to bring more of the best out of him – my NZ Super Rugby Player of the Year.
14/15

14/15 Rookie: Matt Faddes – the pride of Balclutha made the most of his initial opportunities covering multiple positions, so much so that Coach Jamie Joseph shifted All Black centre Malakai Fekitoa into second five to accommodate Faddes in the starting line-up.
15/15

15/15 Most improved: Ash Dixon built on his impressive 2015 campaign, achieving new levels of accuracy, physicality & consistency this season. He must be on the All Blacks radar should anything happen to Messers Coles, Harris and Taylor & would make a great captain for the Maori All Blacks should the previous skippers continue to be unavailable.
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It’s time to hand out a few awards for the 2016 season, after a remarkably successful for the New Zealand franchises.

Four Kiwi teams made the playoffs, three were in the semi finals, and the Hurricanes took out the top place on the competition ladder after the regular season.

We’ve asked Newstalk ZB/Radio Sport Rugby Editor Nigel Yalden to hand out the accolades for each of the New Zealand franchises in three categories:

Season's Best - the player who consistently delivered the highest standard of play for his team throughout the entirety of the 2016 campaign.
Rookie of the Year - the player that impressed the most in their first season at this level.
Most Improved – the player who has shown significant improvement in the standard and consistency of their play when compared to previous campaigns.

In addition that, we got him to award New Zealand wide honours for each of the categories.

What do you think of the selections? Let Nigel Yalden know on his facebook page.

NIGEL YALDEN IS RUGBY EDITOR FOR RADIO SPORT & NEWSTALK ZB

(Photos - Photosport NZ and Getty Images)