5 Dec 2013

All Blacks take top awards

6:15 am on 5 December 2013

The All Blacks have scooped the honours at the IRB Player of the Year awards with Kieran Read named the player of 2013.

The All Blacks have been named team of the year and Steve Hansen took the coach of the year award.

Read is the third New Zealander to win the individual award following on from Richie McCaw, who has won it 3 times and Dan Carter, twice.

It is the fourth straight year and seventh time in total that the All Blacks have won team of the year, while Hansen also won the coaching honour last year.

Read edged out the Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny, Italian number eight Sergio Parisse and All Black wing Ben Smith for the award.

Under Hansen's guidance New Zealand won all 14 of their Test matches during 2013, a feat that has never before been achieved in the professional era.

In that time his team won the Bledisloe Cup for the 11th successive year on their way to retaining the Rugby Championship title.