It has been a phenomenal year for Irish rugby and that has been reflected in the various 'Team of the Year' selections by various publications.
On Balls.ie's rugby show, World in Union, there was seven Irish players in our 'Team of the Autumn Internationals. BT Sport asked viewers to vote for their 'Team of the Year' and it also featured seven Irish internationals although former English players Austin Healey and Lawrence Dallaglio then removed two of them.
5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ votes later, we have our Team of the Year 👊
A big thank you to all who voted, there were some very close calls...
And some not so close!
Here is the final XV as voted for by YOU 🏉 pic.twitter.com/WhjW0VTEeC— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 2, 2018
The pair opted to take out Bundee Aki for Damian de Allende and Cian Healy was replaced by Steven Kitshoff.
The #RugbyTonight team break down the World XV selected by you ? pic.twitter.com/910kiumuyH
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 5, 2018
Interestingly, Dallaglio suggested the form of the Irish and All Blacks players is important ahead of next year: "It means Ireland or New Zealand are going to win the World Cup."
Ireland were named World Rugby Team of the Year last month after an extraordinary 2018 that included a Grand Slam, a series win in Australia and a home win over New Zealand.
