Following last month’s Sports Team of the Year Award being handed to the Queensland Reds, the accolades have continued raining down for the Australian outfit with Ewan McKenzie this week receiving a personal award for the part he has played in coaching the side over the last twelve months.
Last Saturday it was announced in the rugby previews that McKenzie would have the honour of ‘Coach Performer of the Year Award’ bestowed upon him following his team’s recent table-topping heroics, when he guided the Queensland Reds to their first Super Rugby championship, defeating the Crusaders 18-13 in the final at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane back on July 9th.
The online poll included coached plying their trade across all of the country's leading sports, and as such is a huge accomplishment - but McEwan remained philosophical and was keen on keeping his eye on the bigger picture:
“Clearly 2011 was an exceptional year for Queensland Rugby and the Reds. People are proud to call themselves Reds fans again and importantly Rugby has returned to a position of strength, not just in Queensland but across Australia.”
Fans of the Reds and those who like to bet on rugby league will now be hoping that victory in last season’s championship will act as a catalyst for success in the region as McEwan continues to build upon the legacy that he’s built since joining the Reds in 2010. In his debut season he led his new side to fifth place in the league – missing out on a semi-final berth by just two points – but revenge was sweet when they claimed the title just twelve months later.
The Reds will start the defence of their title on February 25th when they will face the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney.
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