Whitelock named Memorial Player of the Year at the NZ Rugby Awards

All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock was the big winner at the New Zealand Rugby Awards as he was named the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year for 2017.

Whitelock capped a fine year as he was also crowned Super Rugby Player of the Year after leading the Crusaders to victory in that competition earlier this year.

The Black Ferns were named Team of the Year for the first time ever, topping off a night of successes for the World Champions and women’s rugby at the awards function in Auckland on Thursday.

The five‑time World Champions were named Team of the Year, adding to the World Rugby Team of the Year title they secured in Monaco at the World Rugby Awards earlier this month.

All Blacks Sevens legend DJ Forbes also collected two awards with the Richard Crawshaw Memorial All Blacks Sevens Player of the Year and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) Kirk Award.