Players from eight different clubs and all three European leagues are among the 15 nominees for the EPCR European Player of the Year 2018.
Leinster Rugby’s 100 per cent record in the Champions Cup pool stage not only earned them the No 1 ranking in the quarter-finals, but that impressive run of form sees four of their squad – Scott Fardy, Tadhg Furlong, Isa Nacewa and Jonathan Sexton – nominated for one of the most prestigious individual accolades in the world game.
La Rochelle’s eye-catching Champions Cup debut has also earned nominations for Levani Botia, Dany Priso and Victor Vito, whilst the ASM Clermont Auvergne pair, Morgan Parra and Alivereti Raka, as well Tadhg Beirne and Gareth Davies of the Scarlets, are included in the star-studded list which was selected by a panel of renowned rugby experts.
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Last year’s winner, Owen Farrell of Saracens, who received the inaugural Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy as well as one million air miles from Turkish Airlines, is included once again.
Voting for the award is open now on ChampionsCupRugby.com and fans will be in the running to win two VIP tickets to the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup finals in Bilbao next May with one night’s accommodation courtesy of EPCR.
The list will be reduced to five players in April following the Champions Cup semi-finals by a combination of the public vote and the verdict of the panel of judges.
The voting will then be reopened and the winner of the 2018 award will be announced after the Champions Cup final in Bilbao on Saturday, 12 May.