MUNSTER STAR PETER O’Mahony is among the 18 Irish players who have been nominated for the 2018/19 Guinness Pro14 Dream Team.
Three players have been shortlisted for each position on the team and a panel of over 75 media members were invited to take part in the voting.
Munster player of the year O’Mahony is battling it out for the blindside flanker spot after helping his side reach the Pro14 semi-finals this year.
Just three Leinster players have made the shortlist as they prepare to defend their Pro14 crown against Glasgow Warriors in the final this Saturday 25 May.
Max Deegan joins O’Mahony in the hunt for the blindside flanker spot while Scott Fardy [second row] and James Lowe [wing] are also in the running.
CJ Stander, Dave Kilcoyne, Mikey Haley and Tadhg Beirne are the other Munster stars who feature among the Dream Team nominees.
Connacht have five representatives including Jack Carty and Bundee Aki following a campaign in which the province bowed out to Ulster in the Pro14 quarter-final.
Five Ulster players have also been listed in the nominees with John Cooney vying for the scrum-half position while Stuart McCloskey is looking to get selected at inside centre.
Benetton have received the highest number of nominations with seven.
The Pro14 Dream Team will be revealed on Thursday night in a TV special broadcast on Premier Sports 1 and eir sport 1.
The show will be broadcast on Premier Sports 1 at 20:00 in the UK and on eir sport 1 at 19:00 in the Rep of Ireland.
Full list of nominees:
Loosehead prop
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster); Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster); Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh)
Hooker
Epalahame Faiva (Benetton Rugby); Rob Herring (Ulster); Ken Owens (Scarlets)
Tighthead prop
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Marco Riccioni (Benetton Rugby)
Second row
Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby)
Second row
Scott Fardy (Leinster); Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors); Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
Blindside Flanker
Max Deegan (Leinster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster); Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues)
Openside Flanker
Colby Fainga’a (Connacht), Braam Steyn (Benetton); Hamish Watson (Edinburgh)
No 8
Marcel Coetzee (Ulster), Bill Mata (Edinburgh), CJ Stander (Munster)
Scrum-Half
Caolin Blade (Connacht); John Cooney (Ulster); Dewaldt Duvenage (Benetton)
Out-half
Jack Carty (Connacht); Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors); Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh)
Left Wing
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh); James Lowe (Leinster); Rabz Maxwane (Toyota Cheetahs)
Inside Centre
Bundee Aki (Connacht); Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues); Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)
Outside Centre
Tom Farrell (Connacht); Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues); Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors)
Right Wing
Monty Ioane (Benetton Rugby); Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets); Ratuva Tavuyara (Benetton Rugby)
Full Back
Dan Evans (Ospreys); Mike Haley (Munster); Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues)
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