Halfpenny succeeds 2012 Olympic taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones in taking the title which was determined by a public vote. It caps a stellar year for the 24-year-old who has already collected the RBS 6 Nations player of the championship, British and Irish Lions player of the series and Midi Olympique International Player of the Year titles in 2013.
At the awards show in Cardiff, Gatland was named Coach of the Year for a year that saw him lead the British and Irish Lions to a first series success in sixteen years and also his Wales side – led by Rob Howley – claim a second RBS 6 Nations title in two years.
That success for Wales, claiming back-to-back titles for the first time since the late seventies, was also awarded with the squad picking up the 2013 Team of the Year award.
