Aaron Smith and Ash Dixon are named as players of the year.
Dixon was said to have had a year to remember.
He scored 15 tries in 2020, the most of any player in first-class rugby last year.
Dixon (32) won the Tom French Memorial Cup as Maori player of the year, captained Hawke’s Bay to the Mitre 10 Cup championship and with it promotion to the premiership, captained the Magpies to the Ranfurly Shield in his 100th game for the province, played his 100th Super Rugby game, captained the Maori All Blacks for the fifth straight year and also passed 250 first-class games.
Smith, who is also 32, and is younger than Dixon by a couple of months, was said to have had an outstanding year, not showing any signs of diminishing ability.
His performance against the Chiefs in Hamilton, when the side came back to win after being well behind at the break, was said to be inspirational and probably the best halfback performance of the year.
While the All Blacks had a mixed year, the instant delivery of the pass remained a constant throughout and Smith was one of only a few players not to have a poor game in the loss against Argentina.
Smith had previously been a player of the year from 2013-15.
In the past, once a player was named a player of the year they could never receive the accolade again, but that has changed.
Other players of the year were: Blues winger Caleb Clarke, Crusaders first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga and Chiefs flanker Lachlan Boshier.
As expected, the almanack is not quite as weighty as previous years because of the effect Covid-19 has had on the sport.
It still covers all of the 26 provinces, even though the Heartland Championship was not played.
Most of the Heartland provinces managed to play a handful of games against neighbouring sides.
The Highlanders were described as having had all go wrong in the pre-Covid-19 season.
The side lost skipper James Lentjes to a nasty leg injury and failed to impose itself with or without the ball.
However, some soul-searching during lockdown led to a series of resurgent displays during Super Rugby Aotearoa which showcased the team’s time-honoured pride, commitment and motivation.
Otago had a season which ended in disappointment. After its first win over Canterbury since 2005 it was top of the Mitre 10 Cup championship, but that was as good as it got.
Oddly, Otago had a much better record away, winning four out of five matches, while it won just two out of six games at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Sadly, Otago had no All Blacks last year.
Southland, with three wins, had its best year since 2014 and ran a couple of other sides close.
Its defence was praised as it conceded the fewest points in the Mitre 10 Cup.
North Otago was noted to have played five games, losing the lot, but the side did manage to improve in the final two games of the year.
