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All Blacks captain Sam Cane helped the team retain the Bledisloe Cup and win the Tri Nations title this year.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane received the top honour at the NZ Rugby awards on Thursday night.
Cane, who led the All Blacks to the defence of the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nations title in his first year as skipper, claimed the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial award during a made-for-TV special on Sky Sport.
At the start of the year no-one dared predict openside flanker Cane, who replaced Kieran Read when he retired from test rugby after the World Cup in Japan, would have to negotiate such a difficult year.