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New Zealand fly-half Beauden Barrett and England captain Sarah Hunter were named World Rugby Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year respectively, while Australia’s Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Caslick and South Africa’s try-scoring machine Seabelo Senatla claimed the sevens accolades on an evening of celebration and reflection.Barrett became the fifth All Black in a row to receive the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of Dan Carter (2012 and 2015), Kieran Read (2013) and Brodie Retallick (2014) after a year in which he cemented his place in the No.10 jersey with scintillating displays of attacking rugby.Hunter, a stalwart in the England back row, led the Red Roses to runners-up finishes in both the Six Nations and Women’s Rugby Super Series in 2016 as they step up the countdown to the defence of their Women’s Rugby World Cup crown in Ireland in 2017.The fleet-footed Senatla scored 66 tries on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2015-16 and another four at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to become the third South African recipient of the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC.An exceptional year of rugby, both on and off the field, in 2016 was celebrated at the World Rugby Awards in London on 13 November.2016A YEAR TO CELEBRATECaslick had been a central figure in Australia’s dominance of women’s sevens over the previous 12 months, which had yielded a first HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series crown and Olympic sevens gold medal.The achievements of Fiji’s men and Australia’s women in winning Olympic gold medals in Rio was also recognised on the night with an engraved silver salver presented to both teams. Continuing with the Olympic theme, Alhambra Nievas and Rasta Rasivhenge were the joint recipients of the World Rugby Referee Award after taking charge of the women’s and men’s gold medal matches in Rio. Barrett was not the only reason for New Zealand to celebrate on the night with the All Blacks named World Rugby Team of the Year for the seventh year in succession after equalling the world record for consecutive test wins (18) held by Lithuania. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen received a fourth World Rugby Coach of the Year award in five years since succeeding Graham Henry.Maro Itoje, a nominee for Men’s Player of the Year alongside Barrett, was named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in recognition of his debut year of test rugby with England, earmarking himself as a player with a bright future in the game. Former South Africa captain Jean de Villiers was a popular recipient of the IRPA Special Merit Award, while Jamie Heaslip’s try for Ireland against Italy in the Six Nations was voted IRPA Try of the Year by rugby fans on Twitter. Other awards presented on the night were the Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service to former Ireland player, coach, manager and administrator Syd Millar, and the Award for Character to the Rugby Opens Borders programme which, supported by the Austrian Rugby Union, gives young refugees and migrants the opportunity to become part of the rugby community on and off the pitch.With Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco in attendance on the night, it was also announced that the World Rugby Awards will be hosted in the principality for a minimum of two years from 2017.32.833 million total social media reach of Awards – 48% increase from 2015CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT Jamie Heaslip; Maro Itoje; Beauden Barrett; Charlotte Caslick; Steve Hansen; Alhambra Nievas and Rasta Rasivhenge; Sarah Hunter; Ben Ryan, who masterminded Fiji’s Olympic triumph; Seabelo SenatlaCELEBRATE | WORLD RUGBY AWARDS