A full house is expected at Sydney’s Wharf 8 on Sunday, 23 November for the third annual International Rugby Board awards ceremony.
A gathering of some of the greatest names in the rugby world will celebrate the best rugby performances from around the globe in the past year.
“There will be a huge contingent of players from RWC 2003 but sporting ambassadors from all over the world will also be among the 900 strong gathering at the spectacular Wharf 8,” said Chris Rea, IRB Head of Communications.
“What makes this event unique is the recognition and acknowledgement of the fantastic work done by those people who willingly give up their time for the good of the game.”
Popular category
Awarded under the banner of the ‘Spirit of Rugby’ this category has proved very popular in the past.
“In the last two years the awards have gone to Tim Grandage, for his remarkable work with the street children of Calcutta,” Rea says, “and to the survivors from the Christian Brothers Rugby team involved in the tragic plane crash in the Andes over 30 years ago. The unifying force in both cases was rugby.”
Further awards, specially designed and crafted by Waterford Crystal, will also be presented to the IRB sevens team of the year, the IRB women’s player of the year, the IRB under 19 player of the year and the IRB under 21 player of the year.
Distinguished panel
A distinguished international panel of former players was formed to select the winners of each award.
The panel is: Paul Ackford (England), Gerald Davies (Wales) Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand), Simon Poidevin (Australia), Hugo Porta (Argentina), Gareth Rees (Canada) Phillippe Sella (France), Fergus Slattery (Ireland), David Sole (Scotland), and Chester Williams (South Africa).
The pinnacle for players
The ceremony, which will be covered live on Fox Sports and hosted by Greg Martin, culminates in the presentation of the awards to the IRB team of the year and the international player of the year in association with Heinekin.
In addition to the traditional awards, this year fans from all over the world have been given the opportunity to vote for their team of RWC 2003 on the IRB’s official website rugbyworldcup.com as part of the Visa Fan-tastic XV initiative.