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 Perpignan's soon-to-be
fly-half Dan Carter and Stade Francais number eight
Sergio Parisse are among the five players
nominated for this year's IRB Player of the Year
award. Carter, who is favourite for the award
after steering the All Blacks to their recent
tri-nations success, is due to take up his
seven-month contract with USAP on December 1st.
If he does win he will become the first player to
scoop the prize twice, having previously won the
award in 2005.
Fellow France based international Parisse, who is
Italy's captain, joins Welsh duo Shane Williams and
Ryan Jones, and Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair on
the shortlist. The winner is due to be
announced at an awards ceremony in London on
November 23, following deliberation by a
star-studded judging panel featuring Australia's
World Cup winning captain John Eales, Toulon coach
Tana Umaga, former France captain Raphael Ibanez and
ex-England international Will Greenwood. Francois
Pienaar, Agustin Pichot, Gavin Hastings, Scott
Quinnell and Paul Wallace are also on the panel.
In
addition to choosing their Player of the Year they
will also select the Coach of the Year "The list of
past winners of this coveted award is impressive and
reads like a who's who of the international Game in
recent years,'' said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.
"Jonny Wilkinson, Schalk Burger, Richie McCaw,
Fabien Galthie, Dan Carter, Bryan Habana and Keith
Wood were all worthy recipients of the award, while
Carter would be the first player to win twice should
he be selected.''
He
added: "The IRB Player of the Year Award is the
ultimate accolade for a player and takes into
account performances in all the major internationals
played during the year including the RBS Six
Nations, Tri Nations and the June-July Tests.”
There are 13 awards to be announced at the ceremony
(see list below) with five other players also being
inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame - two from the
19th Century, two from the 20th Century and one from
the 21st Century.
Full list of awards categories:
IRB Player of the Year
IRB Coach of the Year
IRB Team of the Year
IRB Sevens Player of the Year
IRB Junior Player of the Year
IRB Hall of Fame
IRB Development Award
Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service
IRB Women's Personality of the Year
IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service in
association with Emirates Airline
Spirit of Rugby Award
IRPA Try of the Year
IRPA Special Merit Award
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