IRELAND RUGBY HEAD coach Joe Schmidt has been named the Philips Sports Manager of the Year for 2014.

The Kiwi led Ireland to a Six Nations championship in the spring before masterminding a clean sweep of the November internationals against South Africa, Georgia and Australia, results that now see Ireland ranked third in the world.

Schmidt won the Manager of the Month award in March this year after Ireland held off a second-half fightback from the French to clinch the Six Nations crown from England.

In a star-studded ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel this afternoon, Schmidt beat the likes of Jim Gavin, Aidan O’Brien and Paul McGinley to the top prize. The latter was tipped by many for the award after his Ryder Cup heroics.

In his acceptance speech, Schmidt said he could not accept the award without acknowledging the help of his large backroom team and paid respect to his fellow nominees, particularly those whose teams had success which nobody expected.