Latest news with #RugbyPlayersIreland
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Munster star ‘surprised' to overcome Leinster rivals to be named Irish rugby men's player's player of the year
TADHG Beirne was recognised by his fellow players as the OCC Consulting Men's XVs Players' Player of the Year 2025. He was up against clubmate Tom Farrell as well as provincial rivals Jamison Gibson-Park and Caelan Doris to win the award. 2 There were plenty of options for the award from the triple crown winning team 2 Tadhg Beirne was deservedly voted the winner The Munster second-row commented 'I'm honoured to be named as the OCC Consulting Men's Players' Player of the Year. "It comes as quite a surprise given that Caelan, Tom and Jamison have all had brilliant seasons. "To be chosen by my fellow Rugby Players Ireland members makes this award even more meaningful, and I really appreciate their support and acknowledgement.' Beirne was a stalwart in the Irish team and a crucial part to the Read more on Rugby The lock played all but 10 minutes of the campaign scoring a crucial try against Tom Farrell was an unexpected addition to the nominations list, having not been selected for Simon Easterby's side this season. The centre had an impressive debut season with Munster, starting in all their Champions Cup and URC games and scoring 10 tries, including a hat-trick It came as no surprise that Ireland out-half Sam Prendergast was named as the Nevin Spence Men's XVs Young Player of the Year. Most read in Rugby Union The 2022 winner of the award and also brother of Sam, Cian Prendergast presented the award to his younger brother. Dan Sheehan came away with the MSL Mercedes-Benz Ballsbridge Men's XVs Try of the Year for his unbelievable effort off the bench against England. 'Jack Crowley he's coming for you' jokes Peter O'Mahony's wife Jess as son practices his rugby skills The try which saw Sheehan start, continue and finish the move started with a line break pass to Jack Conan which then led to Sheehan again picking out James Lowe with a long pass before receiving the ball back off Lowe, fighting off two players and getting to the line. There was more good news for Leinster as Aoife Dalton won OCC Consulting Women's XVs Players' Player of the Year, Erin King was named Energia Women's XVs Young Player of the Yearand Anna McGann was the winner of the AIB Corporate Banking Women's XVs Try of the Year Upon collecting the award Aoife Dalton said 'It's a very exciting time to be involved with this group of players. "To be recognised by them at such a crucial time for this team is hard to put into words. "When I first came into camp, I could sense that something was beginning to build and I think we have started to see the fruits of that over recent months both collectively and individually, through the performances of my fellow nominees Amee-Leigh, Niamh and Dorothy.' Dylan O'Grady who was named as the possibly last ever TritonLake Men's 7s Players' Player of the Year and Lucinda Kinghan was named the TritonLake Women's 7s Players' Player of the Year. Rugby Players Ireland Executive Board Member and Ulster lock Iain Henderson said: 'While this season has brought its share of challenges both on and off the field, it's also been a year marked by plenty of individual standout achievements across the game. It's important that we celebrate them and use this as an opportunity to look ahead with real optimism. There's still work to do, but through the support of Rugby Players Ireland, the steps being taken show a collective commitment to moving the game forward.'
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster's Tadhg Beirne named Players' Player of the Year
Tadhg Beirne was named Men's XVs Players' Player of the Year at the Rugby Players Ireland awards at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday night. The Munster second row beat competition from provincial teammate Tom Farrell and Leinster duo Caelan Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park, who were also nominated. Berine started every game for Ireland in this Six Nations, and has featured 16 times for Munster in his first season as the province's captain. Earlier this month, his form was rewarded with a place in the Lions squad for this summer's tour of Australia, while in February he signed a new two-year extension with the IRFU and Munster. 'I'm honoured to be named as the OCC Consulting Men's Players' Player of the Year," said Beirne. "It comes as quite a surprise given that Caelan, Tom and Jamison have all had brilliant seasons. To be chosen by my fellow Rugby Players Ireland members makes this award even more meaningful, and I really appreciate their support and acknowledgement.' The women's award was claimed by Leinster centre Aoife Dalton. The 22-year-old from Offaly has become a key player for Ireland. Amee-Lee Costigan, Niamh O'Dowd and Dorothy Wall were the others nominated. 'It's a very exciting time to be involved with this group of players," said Dalton. "To be recognised by them at such a crucial time for this team is hard to put into words. When I first came into camp, I could sense that something was beginning to build and I think we have started to see the fruits of that over recent months both collectively and individually, through the performances of my fellow nominees Amee-Leigh, Niamh and Dorothy.' Erin King won the Women's Young Player of the Year award while Sam Prendergast took the men's equivalent. Ireland and Leinster out-half Prendergast was presented with the award by his older brother Cian, the Connacht captain, who was a previous winner in the category. Two scores from the Six Nations were named the tries of the year. Dan Sheehan starting and finishing off a team move against England back in February won in the men's category. Anna McGann touching down to finish what was also a team move against Italy, one which sealed her hat-trick in the game, was named Women's Try of the Year. Eimear Considine, who retired from rugby in November after 10 years at the top level of the women's game in Ireland, won the Zurich Contribution to Irish Society Award for her contributions to mental health discourse. On behalf of the Irish men's team, Caelan Doris accepted the Moment of the Year award for Ireland's Triple Crown win in the Six Nations. Rugby Players Ireland Awards winners OCC Consulting Men's XVs Players' Player of the Year: Tadhg Beirne; OCC Consulting Women's XVs Players' Player of the Year 2025: Aoife Dalton; Nevin Spence Men's XVs Young Player of the Year: Sam Prendergast; Energia Women's XVs Young Player of the Year: Erin King; MSL Mercedes-Benz Ballsbridge Men's XVs Try of the Year: Dan Sheehan (v England); AIB Corporate Banking Women's XVs Try of the Year: Anna McGann (v Italy); Tritonlake Men's 7s Player of the Year: Dylan O'Grady; Tritonlake Women's 7s Player of the Year: Lucinda Kinghan; Zurich Contribution to Irish Society Award: Eimear Considine; Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort Moment on the Year: Ireland's Triple Crown Success (accepted by Caelan Doris.)
RTÉ News
15-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Players face 'huge challenge' after axing of men's sevens programme - Rugby Players Ireland CEO Simon Keogh
The decision to end the Irish men's rugby sevens programme will leave players with a "huge challenge" in trying to maintain careers in the game, the CEO of Rugby Players Ireland Simon Keogh has said. On Wednesday, the IRFU confirmed the programme will be brought to a conclusion at the end of the 2024/25 season, with financial considerations paramount, given the backdrop of an €18million deficit for the 2023/24 period. However, former Ireland sevens captain Billy Dardis described the decision as "short-sighted" and "unbelievably deflating". The challenge now for players on the men's programme will be considerable, particularly with a dwindling number of professional teams to choose from. In an interview with RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Rugby Players Ireland CEO Keogh said the timing of the decision makes it even more difficult for players aiming to pivot towards the XVs format. "It's a huge challenge and particularly the timing, and now you're late in the season and we're in a market that's saturated in players off the back of three teams being liquidated in the UK," he said. "And with the late timing of it, it means that it's going to be a real challenge. The conversion from sevens to XVs is challenging in itself, never mind that they have to go into a market that's pretty challenging. "And where to for these players? Hopefully there's an avenue for them into the professional game because we don't want those players lost out in the game. "We have a player development manager who works solely with these players to hopefully get them an avenue - maybe not just in rugby but outside of rugby so they've prepared themselves the best possible way they can and this is done in partnership with the IRFU to try and get that transition as seamless as possible." However, Keogh admitted that there had been a sense that the writing was on the wall for the men's programme. "To be honest with you, I don't think there's a huge amount of surprise, particularly among the male playing group," he said. "We've kept them informed since January as to the possibility that there's a threat on the programme. "And ultimately that's for a number of reasons. We had a huge change in personnel following the Olympic cycle and then we had a change of personnel which culminated in a lower positioning of our world series which then has an impact on funding. "And then in addition to that and this is probably the [last] straw, it's that there's a change in the World Rugby competition structure which ultimately means halfway through the season we have been relegated. "So if you look at that just in isolation, it's crazy to think in a competition that you could have relegation introduced halfway through a season and that ultimately has an impact on a number of things including the finances, and where we are in Irish rugby evidenced by last year's losses of €18 million, puts us in a pretty precarious position and as a result the sevens programme has been sacrificed."
