D'Arcy Waldegrave: The problem with World Rugby's tacky awards

Portia Woodman and Beauden Barrett at the 2017 World Rugby Awards. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

I'll give you the tip. Player of the Year awards don't win your team trophies through their nomination or eventual crowning. Selections for Teams of the Tournament don't write winners' cheques. Ticker tapes don't rain down on athletes who journos and administrators deign to be better performers than others.

The World Rugby Awards nominations were released this week and no All Blacks were shoulder tapped as potential World Rugby Player of the Year. Only one Black Cap was given the nod in the T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament.

There might be a tiny bit of a feel-good element to the selection, but more so faux outrage if your player of choice fails to make the grade. It doesn't detract from the teams' achievements if one, some or all of their numbers are left on the shelf for these tacky lists. Team sports are exactly that; to elevate an individual above his colleagues, the object of many of these awards, is incongruous at best.

The gongs don't matter. They are of no consequence. Players play for wins. Players play for their country. Players play for trophies. Players play for each other.

Players don't go through years of sweat, effort, heartbreak, rejection, disappointment or struggle to be given a gong, or nominated for one. That is based on subjective opinion from the fourth estate, the tie and blazer brigade and some ex-players.

Sport is not the Academy Awards. Sport is tangible. Sport is for the most part built on definable results. It's not a popularity contest, although public vote determines some of the winners in the World Rugby event – go figure.

The results of these flights of fancy are entirely forgettable. The only reason I can recall that Beauden Barrett has picked up a couple is because every time Richie Mo'unga gets the nod at No 10, someone on the text machine reminds me as such.

Looking across the recent batch of nominations for the 2021 World Rugby Awards, it's impossible not to chortle at the shortlists. The Coach of the Year is particularly perplexing. Gareth Baber, at the helm when the tiny island of Fiji took on and beat the world for gold in the sevens at the Olympics, didn't make the cut.

Dave Rennie, the Australian 15s coach had a good year with five consecutive wins, two against the world champion Springboks, but picked up precisely (checks notes) no trophies, was honoured for, I don't know, best effort? Ian Foster has also been selected, yet if the All Blacks falter on Sunday versus the French, it'll be statistically the worst year in All Blacks rugby since 2009 with three losses.

These awards serve a purpose no doubt, but relevant purpose? No, I don't think so. They provide an opportunity for World Rugby to go on a PR dash. They provide extra bang for sponsor buck by naming the gong after a high-profile partner. And it's a great excuse for a black-tie knees up, the cost of which could probably fund a small island nation's rugby for a year. Thankfully Covid has temporarily put a stop to that self-indulgent malarkey.

Hardly a surprise though, when World Rugby is running things. Imagine that time and money spent on issues that really affect the game.