In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach Tom French while the team was on tour in Australia. French had represented Buller provincially, and was selected for New Zealand Maori in 1911. After the First World War, where he lost an arm at Passchendaele, French continued his involvement in rugby by serving as both a selector and administrator. In 1957 he was made a life member of the NZRU.
The inaugural recipient in 1949 was Johnny Smith, who played for New Zealand's national team the All Blacks, and captained them in two Tests that year. Keith Davis was the Tom French Cup winner in 1952–54, and played extensively for both the All Blacks and New Zealand Māori; his time with the Māori included matches against both South Africa in 1956, and the British Lions in 1959. The record for cup wins is held by Sid Going, who played half-back for both New Zealand Māori and the All Blacks, and was awarded the cup six times; won consecutively between 1967 and 1972. Tane Norton won the cup in 1973 and 74, and went on to finish his playing career as All Black captain—his 27 international Test caps were earned consecutively. 1987 Rugby World Cup winner Buck Shelford was awarded the cup in 1985, and 1987–89; Shelford captained North Harbour, New Zealand Māori, and the All Blacks. During his 14 Tests as captain of the All Blacks the team never lost. When Shelford was eventually dropped from the All Blacks, he was replaced at number eight by fellow Tom French Cup recipient Zinzan Brooke. Brooke was awarded the cup in both 1992 and 1994, and also captained the Blues to the 1996 and 1997 Super 12 titles.
Carl Hayman was awarded the Tom French Cup in both 2004 and 2006, and was instrumental in helping New Zealand Māori defeat the British and Irish Lions for the first time in 2005. Hayman played 45 Test matches for the All Blacks. Fellow All Black Piri Weepu won the cup in both 2008 and 2011. In 2011 he was a member of the World Cup winning All Blacks side, and was named man of the match in New Zealand's quarter-final victory over Argentina.
Winners Year Name Province 1949 Johnny Smith North Auckland 1950 Manahi Paewai North Auckland 1951 Percy Erceg Auckland 1952 Keith Davis Auckland 1953 Keith Davis Auckland 1954 Keith Davis Auckland 1955 Pat Walsh South Auckland Counties 1956 Bill Gray Bay of Plenty 1957 Muru Walters North Auckland 1958 Pat Walsh Counties 1959 Bill Wordley King Country 1960 Mack Herewini Auckland 1961 Vic Yates North Auckland 1962 Waka Nathan Auckland 1963 Mack Herewini Auckland 1964 Ron Rangi Auckland 1965 Ron Rangi Auckland 1966 Waka Nathan Auckland 1967 Sid Going North Auckland 1968 Sid Going North Auckland 1969 Sid Going North Auckland 1970 Sid Going North Auckland 1971 Sid Going North Auckland 1972 Sid Going North Auckland 1973 Tane Norton Canterbury 1974 Tane Norton Canterbury 1975 Bill Bush Canterbury 1976 Kent Lambert Manawatu 1977 Bill Osborne Wanganui 1978 Eddie Dunn North Auckland 1979 Vance Stewart Canterbury 1980 Hika Reid Bay of Plenty 1981 Frank Shelford Bay of Plenty 1982 Steven Pokere Southland 1983 Hika Reid Bay of Plenty 1984 Mike Clamp Wellington 1985 Buck Shelford North Harbour 1986 Frano Botica North Harbour 1987 Buck Shelford North Harbour 1988 Buck Shelford North Harbour 1989 Buck Shelford North Harbour 1990 Steve McDowall Auckland 1991 John Timu Otago 1992 Zinzan Brooke Auckland 1993 Arran Pene Otago 1994 Zinzan Brooke Auckland 1995 Robin Brooke Auckland 1996 Errol Brain Counties Manukau 1997 Mark Mayerhofler Canterbury 1998 Tony Brown Otago 1999 Norm Maxwell Canterbury 2000 Daryl Gibson Canterbury 2001 Caleb Ralph Canterbury 2002 Carlos Spencer Auckland 2003 Carlos Spencer Auckland 2004 Carl Hayman Otago2005 Rico Gear Nelson Bays 2006 Carl Hayman Otago 2007 Daniel Braid Auckland 2008 Piri Weepu Wellington 2009 Zac Guildford Hawke's Bay 2010 Hosea Gear Wellington 2011 Piri Weepu Wellington 2012 Liam Messam Waikato 2013 Liam Messam Waikato 2014 Aaron Smith Manawatu 2015 Nehe Milner-Skudder Manawatu 2016 Dane Coles Wellington 2017 Rieko Ioane Auckland 2018 Codie Taylor Canterbury 2019 Sarah Hirini Manawatu 2020 Ash Dixon Hawke's Bay 2021 Sarah Hirini Manawatū 2022 Ruahei Demant Auckland 2023 Aaron Smith Manawatū 2024 Tyrel Lomax Tasman 2025 Portia Woodman-Wickliffe Northland
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