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Wallabies duo bag top awards

Wallabies duo David Pocock and Michael Hooper walked away with the top honours at their respective Super Rugby team award ceremonies.

 

Pocock won three awards at the annual Brumby Ball in Canberra following a standout season with the club.

 

The former Wallaby captain received the highest honour, the Brett Robinson's Players' Player, along with Best Forward and the fans' choice, Stallion of the Year.

 

Pocock had a sensational season for the Brumbies after spending the majority of the past two Super Rugby campaigns on the sidelines through injury. 

 

In attack, Pocock joined wing Joe Tomane on top of the clubs leading try-scorers list, racking up eight tries throughout the season [equal fourth in the competition]. That was more tries than any other forward in the competition, and included two hat-tricks.Wallabies duo bag top awards

 

In defence he made more than 96 percent of the tackles he attempted, and as always, was a constant threat at the breakdown for any opposing player.

 

Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham said these awards were a reflection of how well Pocock played throughout the season.

 

"Poey [Pocock has faced a lot of adversity of the past two years with his injuries, and to come back the way he did shows the calibre of player he really is," Larkham said.

 

"We saw this season how valuable he is to this team both in attack and defence.

 

"Not only is Poey a great individual player but his work ethic and the way in which he supports other players shows why he is considered one of the best players in the world right now."

 

Hooper  set a Waratahs' club record with his third consecutive Matthew Burke Cup win for Players' Player of the Year.

 

Hooper won the accolade with a total of 264 votes from the 17 matches he played this year ahead of Israel Folau [223 votes] and Will Skelton [192] who were named Best Back and Best Forward respectively.

 

The award capped off an extremely successful season for the openside flank, who led the side in number of tackles made, and led all Waratahs forwards for run metres. Hooper's outstanding record saw him rank equal second for most tackle busts and try assists, and third for most linebreaks of his teammates.

 

Wallabies duo bag top awardsHooper's playing record for the Waratahs shows him playing 80 minutes in all but two of his 50 matches for the Tahs since he joined the side in 2013. Unsurprisingly, his contribution was recognised by the NSW Waratahs members, who also voted him the 2015 Members' Choice winner.

 

Second placed Israel Folau earned his Best Back accolade after another superb season of rugby for the NSW Waratahs, starting in each of the 17 matches of the season and setting a new record for the fastest Waratah to 25 tries in history.

 

Best Forward of 2015, Will Skelton, was rewarded for his consistency and effort – making the second most offloads, second most run metres and third most tackle busts of any lock in the Super Rugby.

 

Meanwhile, Melbourne Rebels forward Sean McMahon won the Rebels Players' Player Award, at the team's annual end of season awards event.

 

McMahon, who last year won the Rookie of the Year award and is signed in Melbourne until the end of 2017, won the award ahead of departing 2015 co-captain Scott Higginbotham. Backs Mike Harris, Nic Stirzaker and Mitch Inman rounded out the top five.

 

The Player's Player award is voted on by all matchday 23 players after every game, and McMahon is the third straight back rower to win it after Colby Fainga’a [2014] and Higginbotham [2013].

 

Rebels' head coach Tony McGahan was pleased to see McMahon's outstanding Super Rugby season recognised by his peers.

 

"Sean has backed up his outstanding first year at the Rebels with a powerful and consistent second season, improving his game and contribution to our end results," McGahan said. “He has, in a short period of time at the club, become a very important and dependable player for us both on and off the field.

 

"To gain recognition from your teammates on a weekly basis is the ultimate in team sport, and Sean’s coachability and drive Wallabies duo bag top awardsfor the teamb will be important going into next season."

 

Rebels' flyhalf Jack Debreczeni walked away with Rookie of the Year, while Scott Fuglistaller, Mitch Inman and Sefanaia Naivalu also walked awy with awards.

 

In Brisbane, Queensland Reds flank Liam Gill won the Pilecki Medal for Players’ Player at the 2015 Reds Gala Ball.

 

This is the first time Gill has claimed the coveted award, which is voted on a 3-2-1 basis by the players following each game of the season. The Pilecki Medal is named after Queensland prop Stan Pilecki, who earned 122 caps during his playing career.

 

Gill had a remarkable season, featuring in all but one of the Reds' games. Statistically, he was one of the most impressive flankers in Super Rugby, with the most turnovers forced (30), and most ruck involvements (563). He also made the second most tackles (175), runs (116) and runs over the gain line (46) of any Reds player.

 

In a year where injuries forced the Reds to use 42 different players, Gill's consistency and impact throughout the season was significant and is reflected in how strongly he led the Pilecki votes. 

 

Gill dominated the votes, with 420 in total, followed by Greg Holmes (184) and James Hanson (179).

 

Reds head coach Richard Graham praised Gill for his contributions throughout the season, which led to the dominant Pilecki tally.

 

"We're not surprised by the result. Liam had an outstanding season and it was without doubt his most consistent. His influence Wallabies duo bag top awardsaround the breakdown throughout Super Rugby was enormous, however he has continued to develop other aspects of his game away from the tackle such as his lineout jumping and his catch pass skills. The fantastic thing for the Reds is that he still has a huge amount of improvement left in him," Graham said.

 

Nick Frisby was named the Reds Most Improved Player following a season which saw the scrumhalf wear the starting flyhalf jersey seven times. Now in his fourth year with the Reds, Frisby is still just 22-years-old but has built up invaluable experience ahead of the 2016 season.

 

Reds prop Sam Talakai was named the 2015 Rising Rugby Star while centre Samu Kerevi walked away with the Spirit of the Reds award – which is voted on by Queensland Rugby staff based on both the on and off field contributions of the player.

 

Flank Adam Korczyk was named Under-20 Player of the Year.

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