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Bristol favourite Radradra heads 5-strong European player of the year award shortlist

By Online Editors
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Fijian favourite Semi Radradra is going head to head with Scottish duo Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg, England’s Sam Simmonds and Virimi Vakatawa of France after Bristol Bears, Racing 92 and Exeter were all represented on the shortlist for the 2020 EPCR European player of the year award.

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Fifteen initial nominees were trimmed to five based on the combined verdict of a panel of rugby experts and a public vote, and the final five includes four players whose performances were vital in taking their clubs through to the Heineken Champions Cup final at Ashton Gate next month. 

Exeter are represented by Simmonds, the leading try scorer in this season’s tournament, as well as Hogg, whose Scotland colleague Russell makes it onto the list for Racing alongside his clubmate Vakatawa. The Top 14 club are looking for a second accolade in three years as Leone Nakarawa, their former second row, won in 2018.

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Former All Blacks back row Jerome Kaino talks about Cheslin Kolbe, his Toulouse teammate

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Former All Blacks back row Jerome Kaino talks about Cheslin Kolbe, his Toulouse teammate

The selection of Radradra, meanwhile, comes on the back of a stellar series of performances in the European Challenge Cup, initially for Bordeaux during the pool stage and more recently for finalists Bristol. His presence on the shortlist is unusual in the sense that players in the Challenge Cup don’t often get this type of recognition.

Voting has now reopened on epcrugby.com/epoty and the winner and recipient of the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy will be announced following the Heineken Champions Cup final in Bristol on October 17.

EPCR European Player of the Year shortlist

STUART HOGG (Exeter Chiefs)
SEMI RADRADRA (Bristol Bears/Bordeaux)
FINN RUSSELL (Racing 92)
SAM SIMMONDS (Exeter Chiefs)
VIRIMI VAKATAWA (Racing 92)

Judging panel

Erik Bonneval (beIN SPORTS), Bryan Habana (Channel 4), Emmanuel Massicard (Midi Olympique), Sonja McLaughlan (BBC Radio 5 Live), Brian O’Driscoll (BT Sport), Alan Quinlan (Virgin Media), Dimitri Yachvili (France Télévisions)

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Roll of Honour

2019: Alex Goode (Saracens)
2018: Leone Nakarawa (Racing)
2017: Owen Farrell (Saracens)
2016: Maro Itoje (Saracens)
2015: Nick Abendanon (Clermont)
2014: Steffon Armitage (Toulon)
2013: Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon)
2012: Rob Kearney (Leinster)
2011: Sean O’Brien (Leinster)
2010: Ronan O’Gara (Munster – best player of first 15 years of European club rugby)

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

41 Go to comments
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