Team of the season
Exeter Chiefs. Saracens are back-to-back European champions but neither they nor Wasps could topple the Chiefs when it mattered domestically. While the Lions could yet ambush this category they will do well to equal the ceaseless positivity and collective spirit of English rugby’s new market leaders. Robert Kitson
Saracens. Probably the greatest club side in the professional era. Paul Rees
Saracens. If this means the best rugby team, which admittedly may not be the only consideration here, then it is still this lot. It took a kick from the end of the world to foil them at the home of the eventual Premiership champions, the week after they had conquered Clermont. By some way the best team in Europe. Michael Aylwin
Saracens. It has to be, considering they made defending their European title their No1 priority and did so with such authority. The Scarlets have finished the season like a train and La Rochelle also warrant a mention. Wasps, too. They could not get over the line but they lived up to their billing as great entertainers. Gerard Meagher
Player of the season
Owen Farrell. Deservedly crowned as European player of the year and propelled both Saracens and England to title success. Fast closing on Jonathan Sexton in the race to be the Lions’ first-choice Test fly-half and keeps improving year on year. Will not be remotely fazed by the looming All Black challenge. RK
Kurtley Beale enthralled, Tane Takulua dazzled, Brad Barritt led from the front and Garry Ringrose matured at Leinster, but Jack Nowell’s heady mix of fury and flair helped paint Exeter’s dream silver. PR
Steff Evans. Wales could do with some fresh blood out wide and this fella is ready to step up. A ball of speed, wit and muscle, he scored seven tries in the last six rounds and was the cutting edge of the Scarlets’ dazzling romp to the Pro12 title. MA
Brad Barritt. Not the glamorous choice but Barritt has been Saracens’ standout performer with Michael Rhodes a close second. As the captain, he takes huge credit for fostering the team spirit that sees them through matches like the European semi-final against Munster in Dublin. GM
Try of the season
Christian Wade, Wasps v Bath, 24 December. Every time Christian Wade touches the ball – as with his team-mate Kurtley Beale – the extraordinary becomes almost routine. Wade scores so many tries it can be hard to separate them but this electric surge past six Bath defenders was gloriously typical.
Jimmy Gopperth, Northampton v Wasps, 24 September. Danny Cipriani started the move near his own line, shrugged off Louis Picamoles and chipped ahead before combining with Guy Thompson to free Gopperth for a try that said everything about the side’s flair and ambition. PR
Steff Evans, Scarlets v Munster, 27 May. Extra marks for tries in a final, and this one broke open the Pro12 showpiece and sums up the Scarlets. Turnover ball in their own 22, three forwards transfer the ball wide with aplomb, where Jonathan Davies and Evans run for 80 metres, swapping passes with even more skill. MA
Garry Ringrose, Clermont v Leinster, 23 April. There might have been better team tries - like Nick Abendanon’s against Saracens - but for individual brilliance, Ringrose wins hands down. Perhaps the best part of it was the timing. Warren Gatland had explained Ringrose’s omission from the British & Irish Lions squad with a bit of a backhanded compliment – saying that “Andy Farrell thinks he’s going to be incredibly special”. Four days later Ringrose’s response was emphatic. GM
Best match
Exeter v Saracens, Premiership, 20 May. This was the best, most open Premiership season on record and the latter stages of the Pro12 also produced some excellent rugby, notably from Scarlets. In terms of power, passion, intensity and late drama, however, the thrilling semi-final between Exeter and Saracens at Sandy Park was a contest for the ages. RK
Harlequins v Exeter, 14 April. Seldom can a team have played with such vim and vigour, brio and bravura, skill and stealth and not just lost but failed to pick up a bonus point. Harlequins did everything and more but in quickly regaining their shape and feasting off mistakes and opportunity Exeter looked champions-in-waiting. PR
Wasps v Leicester, 20 May. English rugby was never better showcased than in the last couple of weeks. All three play-offs have been astonishing contests of drama, intensity and nerve. This one shades it over the others, Wasps’ multi-layered and tireless attacks finally breaking a team playing out of their skin. MA
Wasps v Leicester, 20 May. How do you follow Exeter’s heroic win over Saracens? By pitting a defiant Leicester side against a Wasps outfit hell-bent on returning to Twickenham. A breathless passage of play late in the second half summed it all up and, while Wasps eventually broke the dam, it is to the Tigers’ enormous credit that they could produce that kind of performance after the season they have had. GM
Biggest disappointment
Toulouse. France’s once-dominant force are a depressing shadow of their former selves. The club which boasts France’s biggest budget of €31.5m ended up 12th in the Top 14, the small matter of 32 points, miles behind table-topping La Rochelle. The current proposal to extend the Premiership season to 10 months comes a close second. RK
Leicester’s dismissal of Aaron Mauger meant an innovative coach would not be able to finish his attempt at transforming the best supported club in Europe. PR
The ongoing self-righteousness and hypocrisy of those who would make scapegoats of honest players. Rugby is no longer a dirty game but it will always be dangerous to a degree. Punishing players in the name of the game’s “image” with red cards and bans for what are almost always accidents is a spineless betrayal. MA
The disregard for players’ well-being demonstrated in the announcement of a proposed 10-month domestic season. Player welfare is often gratuitously mentioned but there is an obvious lack of commitment to it. That no one was held accountable for George North returning to the field against Leicester also left a bitter taste. GM
Biggest highlight
The inspiring response of Munster’s fans, players and coaches to the tragic loss of Anthony Foley was a credit to all concerned. The visiting Maori side’s haka and shirt presentation in honour of the late Ireland No8 was a further illustration of rugby’s ability to unite communities even in the toughest times. RK
Exeter winning the title seven years after promotion. They broke up the old order by building gradually each season, never getting ahead of themselves; a model for dreamers and realists. And the breathtaking manner in which the Scarlets won the Pro 12. PR
Twickenham on Saturday. Simple, really. Yesterday’s crowning of the best club (as opposed to team) in the land turned the home of English rugby into something fresh and uplifting. The club game in England is better than the international – more vibrant and colourful, more enjoyable. Whether that is a good thing … MA
The Premiership final. Both sides fully deserved their day in the sun and Exeter’s extra-time victory was high on drama and on narrative considering seven years ago they were in the Championship. In terms of quality it was not the best match but it was grippingly tense, in front of a packed, sun-drenched Twickenham. What more could you want? GM
Next season will be …
… a question of survival. Lions players will need careful management to avoid the risk of burnout, the economics of the sport will come under increased scrutiny and reducing the number of damaging head knocks in the professional game remains essential. Enlightened leadership will be required on all fronts. RK
… in three months, which is far better than two. PR
… another step on the road to the supremacy of rugby up here. Twenty-odd years into professionalism the clubs of England and France are starting to flex their muscles. Everywhere else will become feeders. South Africa and the Pacific Islands already are. It is the economy and it will need something or someone very strong to stop it. MA
… difficult for all those who return from a gruelling six-week, 10-match Lions tour. One can only hope they are given sufficient chance to recharge the batteries and, if there is a drop-off in quality for a little longer, then so be it. GM
