The 2025 New Zealand Rugby Awards delivered a night of celebration, emotion, and history as two standout athletes — Ardie Savea and Braxton Sorensen-McGee — emerged as the biggest winners, symbolizing both the legacy and the future of New Zealand rugby.
Ardie Savea, who celebrated his 100th Test cap this year, completed a clean sweep of the major men’s awards, cementing his status as one of the greatest players of his generation. Savea claimed the coveted Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year, the All Blacks Player of the Year, and the Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year after a phenomenal season with Moana Pasifika. His unmatched physicality, consistency, and influential leadership made him the standout player across every competition he touched.
NZR CEO Mark Robinson praised Savea, saying he has set “a level of consistency that is unmatched,” adding that the All Blacks veteran “keeps raising the bar for what’s possible on an individual level” while commanding huge respect both at home and abroad.
But if Savea represented the established greatness of New Zealand rugby, then 19-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee embodied its electrifying future. The teenage star added two more awards to her résumé — Black Ferns Player of the Year and New Zealand Age Grade Player of the Year — rounding out a remarkable debut season in which she also won World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year. Her rapid rise has captured the imagination of fans worldwide, signaling the arrival of a true generational talent.
Veteran winger Portia Woodman-Wickliffe also made headlines after winning Super Rugby Aupiki Player of the Year and the prestigious Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year. Her accolades reflect not only her elite on-field contributions but her powerful influence as a Māori role model within the rugby community.
The Black Ferns Sevens dominated the team categories, securing Team of the Year, while their coach Cory Sweeney claimed New Zealand Coach of the Year for an incredible sixth time.
Other notable winners included Maggie Cogger-Orr as Referee of the Year, Crusaders coach Rob Penney as Men’s Coach of the Year, and Josh Jacomb who took home the Duane Monkley Medal for his standout NPC season.
The full list of awardees showcased the depth, culture, and future promise of New Zealand rugby — but the night unquestionably belonged to Savea and Sorensen-McGee, two athletes whose brilliance defined 2025 and whose legacy will shape the years ahead.
