Connacht stars nominated for UBL awards

Jordan Conroy in action for the Connacht Eagles.

The Ulster Bank League Awards make a welcome return to the Aviva Stadium for its fifth year this Thursday, May 25, celebrating the best of club rugby in Ireland at the annual showcase event.

Buccaneers duo John Sutton and Jordan Conroy are in the running for the Division 1B Player of the Year accolade after the Athlone club romped to the title.

Kuba Wojtkowicz of Sligo RFC has been nominated for the Player of the Year award in 2C after his side fell just short in their push for promotion.

That trio are joined by Corinthians' Lise Soloa as the nominees for Connacht's Ulster Bank Provincial Player of the Year with the winner decided by a public vote through the Ulster Bank Rugby social media accounts.

Recognising the dedication and commitment shown across all divisions, the Ulster Bank League Awards celebrate the players, coaches and teams who continually strive to be the best in club rugby.

This year will also see the introduction of a new category, ‘Club Volunteer of the Year’. The award will identify the individuals who work tirelessly in the background at their club and these nominees are put forward by their own club representatives. Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will be in attendance again to present the awards to the winners.

It’s been a memorable season for Cork Constitution having finished with a double trophy haul lifting the Bateman Cup, their fifth in succession, followed by victory over Clontarf, in the Division 1A final, gaining a measure of revenge by overturning the previous seasons result.

Since their introduction in the 2012/13 season the Ulster Bank League Awards have become a recognised event on the Irish rugby calendar providing a unique platform from which to honour the rising stars of the game. The already high standard of the grassroots game showcased throughout the Ulster Bank League season continues to grow in Ireland and provides a pivotal platform for future professionals.

Following a man-of-match performance in the 2016 Division 1A Final, as Clontarf defeated rivals Cork Constitution’s, Joey Carbery topped off the perfect season by taking home the Ulster Bank Division 1A Rising Star of the Year Award and has since gone on to put in stellar performances for Leinster in his 22 appearances while also catching the eye of Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and earning 3 international caps.

Once again, the Provincial Player of the Year awards will be chosen by public vote with the shortlist nominated by our expert judging panel of pundits Damien O’Meara (RTE Sport), Donn O’Sullivan (Limerick Post) and Richard Mulligan (The Newsletter).

Division 1A and Bateman Cup double winners Cork Constitution lead the way with seven nominations with Tómas Quinlan picking up three of the six while Clontarf’s Matt D’Arcy is nominated for two individual awards after a fine season.

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Division 1A: Ulster Bank Player of the Year, Ulster Bank Top Try Scorer, Ulster Bank Top Points Scorer, Ulster Bank Rising Star of the Year Award, and Ulster Bank Coach of the Year.

Ulster Bank Player of the Year - Division 1B, Division 2A, Division 2B, and Division 2C.

Ulster Bank Club PRO (Public Relations Officer) of the Year.

Ulster Bank Club Volunteer of the Year.

Ulster Bank Provincial Player of the Year (Voted by the public through Ulster Bank Rugby social media accounts).

The Ulster Bank League Awards will be held at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, May 25. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ulsterbankrugby.

Ulster Bank League Division 1B Player of the Year

Harry Fleming (U.L. Bohemian)

John Sutton (Buccaneers)

Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers)

William O’Brien (Naas)

Ulster Bank League Division 2C Player of the Year

Brian Haugh (Navan)