Rugby Players Ireland Awards
24th April 2018 By The Editor
Keith Earls with photos of his fellow nominees.
The Rugby Players Ireland Awards will take place on Wednesday, May 16, at the Clayton Hotel in Ballsbridge. The nominees were revealed yesterday with Munster’s Keith Earls and Conor Murray battling it out for the Players’ Player of the Year honour along with Tadhg Furlong and Jonathan Sexton.
Munster’s Ciara Griffin is in contention for the Women’s Player of the Year award with fellow Ireland internationals Katie Fitzhenry and Claire Molloy also in the running.
CJ Stander’s try for Ireland against England in the 6 Nations and Andrew Conway’s solo effort against Toulon in the Champions Cup quarter-final have been shortlisted for Try of the Year.
Duncan Casey, who departed Munster for Grenoble earlier this season, has been nominated by his peers for the Medal for Excellence accolade, which is awarded to the individual who has shown exceptional commitment to the game of rugby both on and off the field.
The prestigious evening will honour a strong season for Irish Rugby, marked by the success of Irish sides in both domestic and European competitions along with a Grand Slam triumph for the first time since 2009. Eleven Irish players also featured for the British & Irish Lions in the historic drawn series in New Zealand.
2018 Irish Rugby Player Awards – Nominations List
Players’ Player of the Year
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year
Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)
Jacob Stockdale (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Try of the Year
Andrew Conway – Munster v Toulon (Champions Cup)
Jacob Stockdale – Ireland v Wales, first try (6 Nations)
CJ Stander – Ireland v England (6 Nations)
Supporters’ Player of the Year
Women’s Player of the Year
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster)
Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Claire Molloy (Bristol)
Women’s Sevens Player of the Year
Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum)
Moment of the Year
Voted by the public on Twitter @druidsglen #RugbyAwards18, the Rugby Moment of the Year will be unveiled at the Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 16.
Medal for Excellence
Duncan Casey (Grenoble)
Jake Heenan (Connacht)
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
