Best player
Johnny Sexton. Pivotal for grand-slam winning Ireland and his double-winning province. Just the World Cup to go now. Robert Kitson
Isa Nacewa. Probably the most influential overseas signing made by a European side, he signed out for Leinster with a league title to add to the European Cup. He was injured early in Saturday’s victory over the Scarlets but was a conjuror to the last. Paul Rees
Alex Goode. Mako Vunipola has cemented his status as the world’s best loosehead, Danny Cipriani has had his best season for a decade but Goode has been consistently exceptional for the Premiership champions. Gerard Meagher
Tadhg Beirne. The Scarlets are developing a habit of polishing up players for other unions and handing them back fully realised. Leinster did not want him; now everyone does. He can do practically anything. Michael Aylwin
Best team
Leinster. The scariest thing is that this year’s European and Pro14 champions have the potential and personnel to improve further. RK
Leinster. They beat the top teams in the English and French league on their way to winning the European Champions Cup and the Pro14, striking the right balance between attack and defence. PR
Newcastle. Exeter were imperious for most of the campaign, Saracens nigh-on unplayable at the end of it but the Falcons’ rise into the play-offs is the achievement of the season. GM
Newcastle. Leinster have a claim, obviously, but too many key games were in Dublin. Saracens had their slump. Newcastle were not technically the best but relative to expectations they dazzled. And they were a joy to watch. MA
Best match
Saracens 14-46 Clermont Auvergne. A grim day for Saracens but a stunning masterclass from Clermont on a snowy Monday in Barnet, not least Alivereti Raka’s hat-trick in 25 minutes. RK
Scarlets 33-28 Treviso. The Scarlets needed two tries in the final two minutes to remain in the Champions Cup and finished with a flourish in a match that showcased the strides being made in Italy. Treviso had been pipped by Toulon in the previous round. PR
Newcastle 35-30 Sale. The Falcons were 25-0 up, then 30-28 down, before Rob Vickers’ late try. Newcastle’s win over Leicester a week later was almost as good but this showed what rude health northern rugby is in. GM
Sale 28-27 Wasps. Wasps romped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter; Sale had it back to 17-15 by half-time. Then they took the lead, then Wasps took it back. Sale won with a try at the last. MA
Best try
Billy Twelvetrees for Gloucester v Worcester. A compelling length-of-the-field team try, sparked by Henry Trinder. Jordan Lamour’s spectacular individual effort for Leinster v Munster in December was a close second. RK
Billy Twelvetrees for Gloucester v Worcester. Henry Trinder made a weaving break from his own half before passing to Willi Heinz and then moving outside the scrum-half to free Twelvetrees with a left-handed pass cover his right shoulder. Everything was done at pace. PR
Billy Twelvetrees for Gloucester v Worcester. Finished by Twelvetrees but owing everything to the mesmeric work of Henry Trinder. His return to form and fitness has been one of the most uplifting sub-plots of the season. GM
Tommy Seymour for Glasgow v Exeter. Try of the century, pretty much. Glasgow can be like that when the pressure is off. Already out, they cut Exeter to pieces with two brilliant tries, this the first, from their five-metre line. MA
Biggest surprise
Leicester’s failure to make the Premiership top four for the first time since 2005. All good things come to an end eventually. RK
The collapse of Clermont Auvergne. The French champions failed to qualify for the Champions Cup after a dismal Top 14 campaign that yielded only one away victory. They were hit by injuries, but who was not? They stirred themselves at Saracens but it was an exception. PR
Saracens’ European capitulation at home to Clermont. Even after the Premiership final Mark McCall was still calling it a “horror show”. Thirty-seven missed tackles by his side remains a scarcely believable statistic. GM
La Rochelle. The way they took to Europe was a joy. They could not quite keep it going but that is first-season syndrome for you. Meaty up front, witty behind, just as all teams should be. MA
Biggest disappointment
Northampton and Harlequins. Two big clubs who, at times, were embarrassingly poor. Chris Boyd and Paul Gustard have busy summers ahead of them. RK
The European Challenge Cup is better than it was but it is merely being played with the sound on low rather than muted. Teams who use it to gauge squad depth should be called out, in French. PR
Nick Kennedy’s sacking as London Irish’s director of rugby. The odds are always stacked against the promoted club but to get rid of such a bright English coach smacks of desperation. GM
The English. Their malaise was sudden and curious (or maybe it really was just a Lions hangover). Still, two years ago they had five quarter-finalists in Europe and a grand slam. The wheel is always turning. MA
Next season I hope...
Danny Cipriani rips it up for Gloucester. The Premiership needs more teams to challenge the increasing dominance of Saracens and Exeter. RK
There is more of a contest for possession at the breakdown in the Premiership. Splendid isolation is not serving England or clubs as Test and European tournament rugby move away from set-piece confrontation. PR
The RFU and the Premiership clubs get together and hammer out a way to ease the workloads on international players, to the benefit of all concerned. Will never happen, but one can but hope. GM
The lazy cliché ‘the way the game is refereed up here/down there/by people who once holidayed over there’ is at least backed up with some evidence. The game is refereed the same everywhere; some teams play differently. MA
