Abrahams hails 'great leader' Beirne
Beirne is set to lead Munster into their URC quarter-final against the Sharks in South Africa on Saturday and sent a video message from the team's hotel in Durban which was played at the awards ceremony at Aviva Stadium on Wednesday night.
Ireland team-mate Finlay Bealham collected the award on Beirne's behalf at the event after the lock, three weeks on from his selection for a second British & Irish Lions tour, topped a vote of his peers ahead of fellow Munster player Tom Farrell, and Leinster and Ireland stars Caelan Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Munster players woke up to news of Beirne's award on Thursday morning and speaking later to the Irish Examiner from Durban, Abrahams said: 'He's such a great leader.
'He always speaks up in the huddles and things like that but I think he's also a leader that leads by example, which is really good for us. He will always step up and show us the way.
'When it was mentioned this morning, everyone was surrounding him, it was good.
'We can't celebrate too hard now before the game but definitely after the game we'll have a celebration for him. We celebrate moments like that, we're a tight group.'
Doris did collect an award in his capacity as Ireland captain after his side's Triple Crown success in this season's Six Nations was recognised as Moment of the Year, while one of the warmest receptions went to Men's Sevens Players' Player of the Year Dylan O'Grady, with the Irish rugby community to still coming to terms with the IRFU's decision to end the men's sevens programme.
Interviewed on stage by awards co-presenters and former players Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble, O'Grady said of that decision: 'Obviously very disappointed at the news of the last few weeks but it's been a tough year for all of us.
'I couldn't be prouder of the lads. We've found ourselves in difficult positions this year but heart and fight we all showed throughout the year, we can all be really proud of.
'You look back to Cape Town, togging out with eight lads (after a virus within the squad). Anyone who's played sevens knows that playing with only one sub can be quite difficult so, yeah, couldn't be prouder of the lads and the fight we put up this whole year with our backs up against the wall.'
Reflecting on his time in the Sevens programme, O'Grady said: 'It's been an unbelievable honour for me to be able to travel the world and get to represent our country on big stages and be ambassadors for rugby in areas that probably wouldn't see a whole lot of rugby, your Hong Kongs, Singapore and Vancouver.
'So to be able to do that and hopefully make the IRFU proud and everyone in Ireland proud is a huge honour for me.'
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