Watch Johnny Sexton win the World Rugby Player of the Year accolade

Johnny Sexton was last night crowned World Rugby Player of the Year on a night of sweeping success for Ireland.

Joe Schmidt scooped the coach of the year award, with Ireland named team of the year in a triple win for the 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam winners at the World Rugby Awards.

British and Irish Lions fly-half Sexton has become the first northern hemisphere winner of World Rugby’s top accolade since France’s Thierry Dusautoir in 2011.

The 33-year-old is just the second Irishman to land the gong, following in the footsteps of former Ireland hooker Keith Wood, in 2001.

“It’s been an incredible year for Irish rugby, to win everything we could, really,” said Sexton.

“It’s been very special, and a few of us have ended up here tonight.

“There are areas we’ve definitely highlighted to improve, which will be important in World Cup year.

“Teams try to peak for World Cup years. People ask have we peaked too soon? Well we haven’t peaked, so we’re just getting better and hopefully we can continue to do that.

“You have to improve ahead of the general curve. We know everyone else is going to get better.

“We’ll be going into a lot of games now as favourites after what’s happened this year, so that will be a challenge for us.

“We’ve got to deal with being favourites and I’m sure we can do that.”

Sexton’s stunning drop-goal on the 41st phase of the final play secured Ireland a 15-13 win over France in Paris, as Schmidt’s men set the ball rolling on just their third-ever Grand Slam.

The lynchpin playmaker also guided Leinster to the PRO14-Champions Cup double, before starring when Ireland toppled back-to-back world champions New Zealand 16-9 in Dublin earlier this month.

Kiwi boss Schmidt has guided Ireland from eighth to second in the world rankings in five years at the Test helm.

That rise has proved as measured as it has rapid, and has earned the taskmaster boss the coach of the year prize.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Aphiwe Dyantyi pipped Ireland’s Jordan Larmour to the Breakthrough Player of the Year award.

France’s Jessy Tremouliere is World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year, with New Zealand’s Michaela Blyde claiming the Women’s Sevens award.

Australia’s Angus Gardner picked up the Referee Award, with Doddie Weir scooping the Award for Character.

Jamie Armstrong of charity The Clan was handed the Spirit of Rugby Award, while Stephen Moore and DJ Forbes both picked up the IRP Special Merit Award last night.

Three reasons the judges chose Johnny

By Simon Lewis

Congratulations to Johnny Sexton, who has won the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year 2018 award in association with @Mastercard #WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/eYOWaKLJ0o

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 25, 2018

A Trophy-Laden Year

As the starting fly-half for both Leinster and Ireland, Sexton has guided his sides to a remarkable run of success in 2018 and has been rewarded with so many medals that he admits to having had to pinch himself to check it has all been real. A Champions Cup and Guinness PRO14 with Leinster; the Six Nations title and Grand Slam, a series win in Australia and a first home victory over the All Blacks, no player on the planet has been so influential and won so much for both club and country as Sexton.

Game Management

Just winning things does not make you a player of the year. That is the baseline for these six nominees as Sexton saw off New Zealanders Beauden Barrett and Rieko Ioane and Springboks Malcolm Marx and Faf de Klerk (and how come Conor Murray didn’t even get a nomination?). The Leinster and Ireland playmaker was the oldest among them at 33 and is getting better with age. He won consistently throughout the year and was instrumental in achieving that success. His decision-making and game management has been majestic, his goal-kicking and tactical acumen with the boot superb in equal measure. Quite simply, there has not been a better, more complete player on the planet in 2018.

The Ultimate Competitor

Resilience, perfectionism and selflessness. Whether it is in training, the team room or on the field in the white heat of a game, Sexton brings it all to the fore to maximise those aforementioned talents and bring out the best in everyone around him. In defence, the fly-half is a warrior and guilty of having little concern for his safety but the determination to protect his own line stems from that ultra-competitive nature, never better encapsulated than against the All Blacks nine days ago when he joined Jacob Stockdale in driving Ben Smith into touch late in the game and celebrated like he’d hit the winning drop goal in Paris nine months earlier.

Rog’s tribute to Sexton

By Tony Leen

He was playing to his own constituency at a Cork Con business lunch on Friday, but when the subject turned to slagging Leinster and Johnny Sexton, an old rival turned serious.

“He deserves the world player of the year accolade, not only for his on-field qualities but also for his off-field,” O’Gara said.

“People forget quickly that he never had it easy, he played All-Ireland League for years and at one stage nearly lost his Leinster contract. But he kept persevering and while he’s undoubtedly a brilliant player, he’s also a great person with great values.

“An example? When he heard I was moving early to New Zealand, he piled his family into the car on a day he should be doing kicking practice and undertook a 650km round trip to Cork to shake my hand and wish me well. He didn’t need to but he did.”