2008 sees a new IRB Awards panel, with some familiar faces judging the IRB Player, Team and Coach of the Year Awards.

The importance of the top three Awards, the IRB Player, Team and Coach of the Year can be measured by the men who are tasked with judging them. A panel of distinguished past players with over 500 international caps between them, will review and study every major international match from January 2008 to the test match played the day before the Awards.  The results of their extensive deliberations will not be revealed until the night of the ceremony.

John Eales (AUS, 1991-2001) - Convenor
POSITION - Lock
BORN – 27/06/1970. Brisbane
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT - 22/9/1991 v Wales (Brisbane) won 63-6
FINAL APPEARANCE - 1/9/2001 v New Zealand (Sydney) won 29-26
TOTAL CAPS - 86

Will Greenwood (ENG, 1997-2004)
POSITION - Centre
BORN 20/03/1969. Cahors
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT - 15/11/1997 v Australia, drew 15-15
FINAL APPEARANCE - 27/11/2004 v Australia, lost 19-21
TOTAL CAPS - 55 (+2 Lions in 2005)

Gavin Hastings (SCO, 1986-1995)
POSITION - Full Back
BORN - 03/01/1962. Edinburgh
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT - 18/1/1986 v France (Murrayfield) won 18-17
FINAL APPEARANCE - 11/6/95 v New Zealand (Pretoria) lost 48-30 (RWC)
TOTAL CAPS - 61

Francois Pienaar (RSA, 1993-1996)
POSITION - Flanker
BORN - 02/01/1967. Vereeniging
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT - 26/6/1993 v France (Durban) drew 20-20
FINAL APPEARANCE - 10/8/1996 v New Zealand (Cape Town) lost 29-18
TOTAL CAPS - 29

Paul Wallace (IRE, 1995-2002)
POSITION - Prop
BORN – 30/12/1971, Cork
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT – 31/05/1995 v Japan (Bloemfontein) won 50-28
FINAL APPEARANCE – 28/09/2002 v Georgia (Dublin) won 63-14
TOTAL CAPS – 45 (+3 Lions in 1997)

Scott Quinnell (WAL, 1993-2002)
POSITION – Back row
BORN – 20/08/1972, Swansea
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT – 10/11/1993 v Canada (Cardiff) lost 24-26
FINAL APPEARANCE – 16/11/2002 v Canada (Cardiff) won 32-21
TOTAL CAPS – 52 (+3 Lions in 1997)

Agustin Pichot (ARG, 1995-2007)
POSITION – Scrum half
BORN – 22/08/1974, Buenos Aires
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT – 30/04/1995 v Australia (Brisbane) lost 7-53
FINAL APPEARANCE – 19/10/2007 v France (Paris) won 34-10
TOTAL CAPS – 71

Tana Umaga (NZL, 1997-2005)
POSITION - Centre
BORN – 27/05/1973, Lower Hutt
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT – 14/06/1997 v Fiji (Albany) won 71-5
FINAL APPEARANCE – 26/11/2005 v Scotland (Edinburgh) won 29-10
TOTAL CAPS – 74

Raphel Ibanez (FRA, 1996-2007)
POSITION - Hooker
BORN – 17/02/1973, Dax
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT – 16/03/1996 v Wales (Cardiff) lost 15-16
FINAL APPEARANCE – 19/10/2007 v Argentina (Paris) lost 10-34
TOTAL CAPS – 98