Billy Slater, the Australian full-back who currently plays for Melbourne, has been awarded the honour of being the Rugby League International Federation’s world player of the year.

The recipients of the numerous awards were chosen by the media as well as former rugby players from Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. The rugby players in contention for the honours were judged on their performances since October of last year.

England rugby fans will be all too aware of the talent possessed by Slater, who scored a hat-trick against the national side during the recent World Cup. The full-back, who is only twenty-five years of age, also scored a hat-trick against Fiji and has been invaluable to the Australian team throughout their World Cup campaign.

The news of Slater’s success is yet another blow for English rugby fans. After watching their team stumble at the World Cup, they have now seen several English players beaten to the award by Slater. Leon Pryce, Jamie Peacock, and Rob Burrow were short-listed for the honour but it was decided that the Australian full-back’s recent efforts on the international stage deserved to be recognised.

Australian rugby fans had further cause for celebration after it was revealed that several other members of the national team had been handed awards. Israel Folau was named the Young Player of the Year and the Centre of the Year. Folau became the country’s youngest ever international earlier this year, making his debut at the age of just 18 years and 194 days.