Highlanders stars Aaron Smith and Ethan de Groot have been honoured in the latest edition of the New Zealand Rugby Almanack.
The All Blacks pair have been included in the always anticipated Almanack XV.
Smith, described by the editors as "peerless", is at halfback inside Richie Mo’unga, while de Groot — whose development in 2022 was "rapid" — joins Samisoni Taukei’aho and former Highlanders prop Tyrel Lomax in the front row that was well-established in the All Blacks by the end of the year.
Highlanders blindside flanker Shannon Frizell and Otago prop George Bower are on the bench for the Almanack XV, while Highlanders loose forwards Marino Mikaele-Tu’u and Billy Harmon get honourable mentions.
Interesting selections in the XV are Dalton Papali’i ahead of All Blacks captain Sam Cane on the openside flank, and Scott Barrett on the blindside.
Chiefs fullback Shaun Stevenson, on the bench, is the only non-All Black in the squad.
Stevenson, Barrett, Lomax, Taukei’aho and Ardie Savea are named the five players of the year.
Three of the five promising players have southern links.
Highlanders lock Fabian Holland, John McGlashan old boy turned Crusaders hooker George Bell, and former Highlanders under-20 and Alhambra-Union halfback Noah Hotham, also now with the Crusaders, are joined by Wellington loose forward Peter Lakai and North Harbour flanker Jed Melvin.
In their annual editorial, Clive Akers, Adrian Hill and Campbell Burnes highlight the success and impact of the Women’s Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand.
It was a "joyous occasion. The event really caught fire in the last two weeks. It was a perfect storm of free-to-air live TV allied with the way the Black Ferns were playing on the field and conducting themselves off it."
However, the editors also sound a note of caution.
"The women’s rugby landscape was not always in such rude health. The transition to fulltime professionalism was fraught with difficulty, highlighted by the messy inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition, which was badly affected by Covid-19 and some overblown media hype."
The editors are surprisingly muted in their criticism of the All Blacks after such a dreadful year.
They highlight the NPC as "vitally important" to New Zealand rugby, and also have warm praise for the national U85kg club cup, won by the Southern Bush Pigs.
It is the 87th edition of the New Zealand Rugby Almanack, and runs to a record 536 pages.
Black Ferns leaders Ruahei Demant and Kennedy Simon share the cover.
