PART I: PLAYERS
===============

1. SARACENS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

1st – Cobus Visagie
2nd = Kyran Bracken, Kris Chesney

Large’s Choice: Mark Bartholomeusz. We’re gonna miss him big time.

2. SARACENS YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

1st - Tom Ryder
2nd -Adam Powell
3rd - Ben Skirving

Large’s Choice: Tom Ryder.

3. GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP (non Sarries) PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

1st – Carlos Spencer
2nd- Mike Catt
3rd = Tom Varndell, Charlie Hodgson

Large’s Choice: Jason White

4. INTERNATIONAL (non-English) PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

1st – Daniel Carter
2nd – Thomas Castaignède

Large’s Choice: Paul O’Connell

5. FAVOURITE SARACENS PLAYER:

1st = Thomas Castaignède, Cobus Visagie, Kris Chesney

Large’s choice: Cobus!

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN OPPOSITION PLAYER AGAINST SARACENS:

1st (almost unanimously) – Carlos Spencer (Northampton away)
Other nominees with one vote each: Brendan Williams (Treviso), Bob Casey, Lawrence Dallaglio

Large’s Choice: David Barnes (Bath away) The best game I have seen from a prop in many a long year.

7. THE MARTIN JOHNSON MEMORIAL LEAST FAVOURITE OPPOSITION PLAYER AWARD:

1st - Lawrence Dallaglio
2nd = Justin “Plank” Harrison, Austin Healey

Large’s Choice: Delon Armitage. Goold player; ust don't like him.

8. PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO JOIN SARRIES FOR NEXT SEASON OTHER THAN JONNY BLOODY WILKINSON:

1st – Victor Matfield
2nd = Bob Casey, Daniel Carter
Honourable Mention: Andy Farrell (!)

Large’s Choice: I’d love to get two seasons at Sarries out of Paul O’Connell

PART II: CLUBS
==============

1. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SARACENS TEAM:

1st - Sale Away
2nd - Biarritz home
3rd - Wasps home

Large’s Choice: Sale away – the best character I have seen in a few seasons by a Sarries team on the rack for the final 15 minutes

2. WORST PERFORMANCE BY A SARACENS TEAM:

No surprises here:
1st - Northampton away
One mention each for Gloucester home and the first half of Bath home

Large’s Choice: I wasn’t at Northampton, so my vote goes to that abject shoite down at Bath. A game we could and should have won if he had some semblance of a game plan.

3. FAVOURITE CLUB TO VISIT FOR AN AWAY GAME:

1st = Northampton, London Irish
No other clubs got more than one vote

Large’s Choice: I still get the warmest welcome at Gloucester.

4. LEAST FAVOURITE CLUB TO VISIT FOR AN AWAY GAME:

1st – Leicester
2nd = Wasps, Sale

Large’s Choice: Sale. Still grim, grim, grim. Plus, because they play on Friday nights, you have a 14 hour round trip to visit the dump.

5. BEST OPPOSITION FANS:

1st -London Irish
2nd – Biarritz
3rd - Ulster

Large’s Choice: I’m going to cheat here. Best to visit VR: Ulster. Best welcome from away supporters: Biarritz by a million miles. Best supporters in the universe, ever: Worcester, because even I’m starting to believe their self-congratulatory hype.


6. WORST OPPOSITION FANS:

1st – Leicester
2nd = Gloucester, Wasps

Large’s Choice: I have many friends there, but Northampton’s self-righteous, sanctimonious claptrap after they lost at VR left me fuming.

7. FAVOURITE GP TEAM (NON-SARACENS):

1st – London Irish
2nd – Sale
Other teams with one vote each: Newcastle, Northampton, Worcester

Large’s Choice: This year, for a change, I’m going with the flow. London Irish have really impressed me on the field and they’re always wonderful people off it.

8. LEAST FAVOURITE TEAM:

1st - Leicester
2nd - Wasps
3rd – Gloucester

Large’s Choice: Shock! Horror! Not Leicester this season. Worcester’s uninspired, one-dimensional, cynical way of playing for penalties left me stone cold. (And no, Wuss fans, I wasn’t there when you beat Wasps’ 3rds)

9. BEST BAR:

1st – Northampton
No others got more than one vote but
Honourable mention:
“Mac’s Bar – club take note!”

Large’s Choice: Leeds again. Again shame they played us on a Friday.

10. WORST BAR:
I am shocked and appalled…..not.
1st -Vicarage Road
2nd Wasps
No others figured

Large’s Choice: Didn’t visit too many away bars this season, but of those I did, I’d say the worst was Bath. It’s just too crowded.

11. BEST 'SOLIDS':

1st – Northampton
Honourable mention (for the sake of balance) :Nando’s in the Saracens Village

Large’s Choice: Given that I get fed and watered when I’m doing bits for the wireless, I don’t have to buy any food. But the best press rider by some distance was the banquet offered up at Newcastle. And if anyone from Leeds Rugby is reading this, please open the Headingley press room bar when you come back into the Premiership.

12. WORST 'SOLIDS':
See question 10 for my reaction

1st -Vicarage Road
2nd = Wasps, Bristol (Someone found the pasties unpalatable. Strange.)

Large’s Choice: Twickenham. Although the Tesco Value sandwiches were washed down with a few cans of the league’s sponsor’s product this year.

PART III: MISCELLANEOUS
=======================

1. BEST CONTRIBUTION TO THESARACENS.COM MESSAGE BOARD:

It’s official. It’s a victory for narcissism this year

1st - “Me” or “My contribution”
2nd – Samui, KooGa, Rupes (the votes for “The Blame Stakes” were discounted as it was an article, rather than a message board contribution, but thanks to those of you who did)
Large’s Choice: That uber-imperialist, anti-Welsh, anti-ringfencing, anti-punctuation genius that is Woodford Dave.

2. BEST SARRIES RUGBY MOMENT OF THE SEASON:

1st – Hugh Vyvyan’s drop goal v Biarritz
2nd – Thomas Castaignede’s try v Wasps
Honourable mention: Tevita Vaikona’s expression when given the Rosslyn Park 7s trophy

Large’s Choice: Matt Cairns taking a Sale 5m scrum against the head at Edgeley Park. THE turning point of the season for me.

3. FUNNIEST ON-FIELD RUGBY MOMENT OF THE SEASON:

1st – Kris Chesney’s set-to with Justin Harrison (Ulster home)
2nd – Hugh Vyvyan’s Drop goal
3rd – Ashley Rowden awarding Bath a try whilst sliding backwards towards the advertising hoardings on his behind
Honourable mentions:
The membership fiasco; it was laughable
Chris White's constantly hilarious impressions of being a GP referee
London Irish hammering Wasps

Large’s Choice: Rowden’s slide against Bath

4. FUNNIEST NON-RUGBY MOMENT OF THE SEASON:

1st - Kyran Bracken in Sue Barker drag at the Question of Sport evening

Honourable mentions:
Any decision by the RFU disciplinary committee
QoS lampooning Large and his green jumper
Loops and the hot dog photo
Prop Idol rendition of “Sweet Caroline”

Large’s Choice: That QoS send-up of yours truly was side-splitting. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at?

5. BEST REFEREE:

1st - Chris White
2nd - Tony Spreadbury
3rd - Ashley Rowden

Large’s Choice: Rowden. (That’s another beer you owe me, Ash)

6. WORST REFEREE:

1st – Sean Davey
2nd – Wayne Barnes
3rd – Roy Maybank

Large’s Choice: Phil Fear’s abject performance in Cardiff. Absolute rubbish.
Almost as bad as Sarries were that night.

7. BEST MEDIA PERFORMANCE BY A RUGBY CELEBRITY OR BROADCASTER:

1st = Thomas Castaignede, Brian Moore
3rd – Will Greenwood
Honourable mention:
Eddie Jones telling the media that our late season winning streak was not really all his doing

Large’s Choice: Rupert Thacker’s summarising performance at Sale. There, Rupes,. You are now a broadcaster. I draw the line at celebrity, however.

8. WORST MEDIA PERFORMANCE BY A RUGBY CELEBRITY OR BROADCASTER
Ol’ Barnsey retains his monopoly:

1st – Stuart Barnes
2nd = Paul Ackford, Jeremy Guscott

Large’s Choice: Craig Dowd spitting out his dummy in public following Steve Diamond playing a near full-strength Sarries first team against a young Wasps “A” side as punishment following that dross at the Arms Park, and then the entire Wasps media machine going on a moral crusade in the press for the following week.

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