Leinster's Jack Boyle nominated for URC award
LEINSTER'S JACK BOYLE has been nominated for the URC Next-Gen Player of the Season.
The 23-year-old prop is the only Irish player on the 16-strong shortlist, with six apiece from South Africa and Wales, two from Scotland, and Italy the other nation with a sole representative. Scarlets are the leading club with three nominees.
Boyle helped Leinster top the URC table this year, having made his Ireland debut during the Six Nations. Leo Cullen's side face Scarlets in the quarter-finals at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Powerful scrummager Boyle made 12 appearances during the URC's regular season, scoring a try against Cardiff in March. He is third in the Leinster squad for attacking ruck arrivals (170), is credited with three breakdown steals, and has averaged over five metres per carry.
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The award is open to players who were aged 23 and under at the beginning of the URC campaign and who had won no more than five international caps at that point. They also need to have made nine appearances in the league this season. The winner will be determined by a media vote.
Luke Marshall (2013), Joey Carbery (2017), Jordan Larmour (2018), Caelan Doris (2020), Scott Penny (2021), Tom Stewart (2023), and Jack Crowley (2024) are the previous Irish winners.
URC Next-Gen Player of the Season nominees
Quan Horn – Emirates Lions
Jan-Hendrik Wessels – Vodacom Bulls
Matt Currie – Edinburgh Rugby
Gabe Hamer-Webb – Cardiff Rugby
Henco van Wyk – Emirates Lions
Ellis Mee – Scarlets
Jack Boyle – Leinster Rugby
Cameron Hanekom – Vodacom Bulls
Suleiman Hartzenberg – DHL Stormers
Andre-Hugo Venter – DHL Stormers
Macs Page – Scarlets
Simone Gesi – Zebre Parma
Aneurin Owen – Dragons RFC
Paddy Harrison – Edinburgh Rugby
Blair Murray – Scarlets
Dan Edwards – Ospreys.
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