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Halfpenny wins world player of the year award in France

The Lions and Wales fullback has been recognised for his excellent form over the last year.

LEIGH HALFPENNY’S SUPERB form over the last year has been recognised by the French rugby community.

The Lions and Wales fullback last night received the award of ‘Best Player in the World’ at the annual Oscars Midi Olympique in Paris, organised by the rugby newspaper and voted for by experts and fans across France.

This prestigious award comes in the wake of a season where the 24-year-old was named the Lions player of the tour thanks to this 49-point contribution over the course of the trip to Australia. Halfpenny also helped Wales to the 2013 Six Nations title, with his accurate place-kicking playing a vital role.

The Welshman was in attendance at the glamorous awards ceremony in Paris last night, but his focus returns to rugby today as Wales prepare to host South Africa at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Other awards handed out on the night saw Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe of Toulon win ‘Best European Player’, while Wesley Fofana picked up the trophy for the premier French player, ahead of Mathieu Bastareaud and Antonie Claassen.

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The ceremony also saw the unveiling of a legends XV, with no Irish players featuring.

Legends XV: Serge Blanco; Gerald Davies, Danie Gerber, Phillipe Sella, Jonah Lomu; Dan Carter, Gareth Edwards; Graham Price, Sean Fitzpatrick, Jean Iraçabal; Benoît Dauga, Bakkies Botha; Michael Jones, Richie McCaw, Walter Spanghero.
Do you think that Halfpenny is the best player in the world? Is this award deserved? Who would you have included in the legends XV?

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