World Rugby have confirmed the five-strong shortlists for coach and team of the year for the 2019 edition of the awards.
The coaching nominations are all from the respective nominations for the team of the year, with this year’s Rugby World Cup finalists England and South Africa among the contenders.
With that in mind Eddie Jones and Rassie Erasmus are up for the individual accolade, along with New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen, Wales’ Warren Gatland and Japan’s Jamie Joseph, with their respective nations up for team of the year.
The contenders were picked by a panel comprising of former coaches Nick Mallet and Clive Woodward, along with former players Brian O’Driscoll, Maggie Alphonsi and Agustin Pichot, with the winners being announced this Sunday in Tokyo.
To go through the nominations Jones has lead England to a first World Cup final in 12 years, beating Argentina, Australia and New Zealand along the way in what has been an impressive year for both coach and team seeing them reach the top of the World Rankings since 2004.
For fellow finalists South Africa Erasmus and his troops have won the Rugby Championship, showing huge improvements over the past 18-months and are in with a chance of becoming the first team to lift the World Cup after losing a game.
Japan and Jamie Joseph wowed the world with their incredible brand of rugby throughout the tournament. Reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their history following a 100% record in the pool stages where they defeated last year’s team of the year Ireland and a brave Scottish side, while also claiming the Pacific Nations Cup earlier in the year.
Warren Gatland and Wales fell short in their quest to win a first-ever Webb Ellis Cup with defeat to the Boks last weekend but they have been almost flawless all year, lifting the Six Nations Grand Slam and reaching first in the rankings along their journey to Japan for the first time in their history. They could also match their best-ever World Cup finish if they can claim a bronze medal tomorrow.
New Zealand and Steve Hansen will be their competition for the bronze medal tomorrow having fallen short in their attempt to win a third-successive World Cup. They also failed to retain their Rugby Championship title, but did win their 17th successive Bledisloe Cup.
Depending on who wins the Webb Ellis Cup on Saturday, it could determine who is also victorious at Sunday’s awards ceremony.
