The New Zealand rugby awards are a farce

I can't see the point in including the top categories in the annual New Zealand Rugby Awards ever again.

Because this year's ceremony proved that from now until the end of time, the All Blacks should clean up the major prizes, whether they deserve them or not.

Of the three major awards handed out a few days back, two were a travesty of what was and is fair and proper.

Steve Hansen shouldn't have won the Best Coach Award.

Chiefs coach, Dave Rennie should have.

The All Blacks shouldn't have won the Best Team Award.

The Chiefs should have.

Richie McCaw won the Best Player Award. And who can argue with that?

The Chiefs convincingly winning the 2012 Super 15 title amounted to an extraordinary feat given their dysfunctional pattern of results in prior years including losing every home game in 2010 under Ian Foster.

This story of triumph that culminated in thrashing the Sharks in the Final was all the more remarkable in that it was Dave Rennie's first year coaching at this level.

This guy has hardly put a foot wrong in his coaching career and is the pick of the crop that's bubbling away behind Hansen and co. as I see it.

Until England ambushed them, the All Blacks were undeniably on track to deserve clean sweeping the top rugby awards for the year by remaining unbeaten throughout the whole of 2012.

But that all changed on December 1st at Twickenham when they were trounced by a confident, cohesive English outfit.

This loss followed a mediocre draw against the last team to have any real chance of beating the All Blacks, the Wallabies in Brisbane.

What was looking like a special year for the men in black ended as a very good year and because of that, I reckon it was pipped in stature by Dave Rennie's born-again Chiefs.

That aside, there is no doubt that the redoubtable Richie McCaw repeatedly deserves his best player status.

In fact, I have no doubt that the claim can be made without hesitation that he is the most skilled, courageous, consistent All Black ever.

And that's an assertion that I defy any fan to refute on logic alone.

Your thoughts please.