GARETH STEENSON AND Charles Piutau will be in the running for the Aviva Premiership’s Player of the Season award when the winner is announced in London tomorrow night.
Steenson and Piutau, who will be in opposite corners on Saturday when Exeter Chiefs face Wasps at Sandy Park in the Premiership semi-finals, are named on a shortlist of six players who’ll be hoping to succeed George Ford as the English top flight’s stand-out performer.
Despite never being capped by Ireland, Steenson — a 32-year-old out-half from Dungannon — has played a key role in Exeter’s rise from the Championship to the upper echelons of the Premiership since he joined the Chiefs in 2008.
Piutau has had an excellent season for Wasps, during which he has alternated between centre and full-back. The 24-year-old, who has been capped 17 times by the All Blacks, will join Ulster next season.
Also named on the shortlist are Don Armand (Exeter Chiefs), George Smith (Wasps), Alex Goode and Maro Itoje (both Saracens).
“There were more than a dozen stand-out candidates and it is great to see a mixture of our own Academy graduates with a number of overseas stars. Just whittling it down to these six was an immense challenge for the panel,” said Phil Winstanley, the Rugby Director at Premiership Rugby.
“All of them have major significant contributions to a fantastic season and have been at the forefront of their clubs’ drive to the semi-finals this weekend and they can be extremely proud of making the shortlist. The winner will take his place in an impressive list of Premiership Rugby players who have won this award previously.”
Previous winners:
2014/15: George Ford (Bath)
2013/14: Mike Brown (Harlequins)
2012/13: Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
2011/12: Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
2010/11: Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
2009/10: Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
2008/09: Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
2007/08: James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester)
2006/07: Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers)
2005/06: Mike Catt (London Irish)
2004/05: Martin Corry (Leicester Tigers)
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Close in on 4th = Are in 6th place which will be 7th place after spurs play their game in hand
@Chief: I’m on my way to being a millionaire after buying a ticket today.
@Chief: close in on 4th= 3 points closer to 4th than 3 hours ago.
Does that mean a couple of more wins and they be closing in on top spot? Daft journslism
@Mel Finn: playing to the gallery.
Peter Wright looking good in darts.
@Paul Gorry: dont know we weren’t watching it? Your in the wrong article again..
@Pauly Kel: Happy new year pauly, it was just a jest.
@Paul Gorry: you too man.
@Paul Gorry: obsessed. Typical scouser.
@Pauly Kel: appreciated Pauly.
@Karl Ó Cléirigh: give over karl my comment was light hearted for a bit of craic.now your comment is looking like you’re obsessed?
@Paul Gorry: I don’t see it that way but hey all you scouse fans are the same.
@Karl Ó Cléirigh: ok karl iam trying to relise ye a good bloke or a bad bloke?But now realise yer a bad bloke. Yer immature comment says it all really.
@Paul Gorry: grow up haha
@Karl Ó Cléirigh: oh the irony karl.
@Paul Gorry: the irony being you (a Liverpool fan) putting a smart comment on a United story and people are calling you out on it and you’re getting defensive?! Very ironic don’t you think?…..
What has Ferguson’s 80th birthday got to do with it?
@PeterC: got to do, got to do with it?
Strange lack of liverpool and Chelsea fans passing comments on man utds performance here tonight after the last couple of nights..
@Pol Mlp: i would have pol but I was watching the darts. More exciting to be fair.
@Paul Gorry: good point…anderson v humphries will be a 180 fest on new years day methinks
@Paul Gorry: Don’t think you can objectively say “more exciting to be fair” if you only watched the darts. That’s a rather silly comment to make in fairness. If you watched both you could make that comparison. What was better on the 28th? Liverpool or the darts?
@Pol Mlp: Liverpool and Chelsea fans only worry about teams at the top end of the table. Not mid table teams like utd.
@David Gaffney: liverpool obviously. Iam fluck ing having a laugh here David. Lighten up.
Really. Here we go they draw with Newcastle and win tonight against teams that more than likely will get relegated. Oh well done Utd
@Marcus Springfield: your correct. They should only report on games that United lose.
@Marcus Springfield: Really? Oh really??
@Brian Dunne: Yeah and especially the games where they get hammered… It makes some sleep well at nite here. So dull when there’s no United bashing to be had in the comments section!
@Brian Dunne: they would run out of ink then ;)
Dillusional. 4th place is Westham Spurs or Arsenal. Utd are done.
@Paul Smith: on the sherry early then…
@Paul Smith: Yeah you wish… The usual garbage… Top 4 is open to a few teams this year and it’ll be interesting regardless of who you support
3pts. Good game from mcsauce. A game of two halves, first exciting, second boring af. Onto the next one. Jack Byrne an assured presence in the studio on the punditry.
@Fred spins kdb: Definitely a better performance than recently + Wan Bissaka looked better tonight…still a lot of work to do but some positives even if the 2nd half was a snooze fest!
Looks like Scotty Mac got some new shooting boots off Santy… 1st half was good, 2nd half not so good.. 3 points and move on hopefully win the game in hand over West Ham and Arsenal.. And hope that Spurs make a mess of theirs
As United fan I wouldn’t make such a statement about them pushing for fourth just one win after a dismal match against Newcastle. If the top is where we want to be then we should constantly be demanding more, not getting ahead of ourselves over short term success.
Liverpool and Chelsea looking wobbly.
Well, considering Utd will be doing well to get 60 points this season, you can understand understand them wanting to celebrate one of their own achieving any sort of 80 this season !!!