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Gallagher Premiership

Courtney Lawes and Finn Russell on four-man shortlist for top gong

By Josh Raisey

215 days ago

Courtney Lawes of Northampton Saints looks on during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Northampton Saints and Exeter Chiefs at Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on November 12, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Departing Northampton Saints legend Courtney Lawes has been nominated for Gallagher Premiership player of the season.

The retired England centurion is joined by Bath fly-half Finn Russell and fellow England internationals Henry Slade and Fin Smith on the shortlist ahead of the Premiership Rugby Awards in London on Wednesday.

Smith’s inclusion means two Northampton players have made the list after topping the Premiership table heading into the play-offs.

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Their boss Phil Dowson has also been nominated for director of rugby of the season, where he is up against Bath’s Johann van Graan, Sale Sharks’ Alex Sanderson and Saracens’ Mark McCall.

Scotland captain Russell is in contention for the coveted prize after his first season in the Premiership. He has helped steer the West Country outfit to second in the table, booking a semi-final against Sale Sharks at the Rec.

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Gallagher Premiership

Northampton

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Saracens

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Russell’s Bath teammate next season, Newcastle Falcons flanker Guy Pepper, has been nominated for breakthrough player of the season alongside Exeter Chiefs winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and the Harlequins duo of Fin Baxter and Chandler Cunningham-South.

The nominations for Feyi-Waboso and Cunningham-South come after a season where they were both capped by England during the Guinness Six Nations. Smith also became an England international during the tournament, with all three making their debuts in white from the bench in the round one victory over Italy in Rome.

Lawes has a maximum of two matches remaining of his Saints career before joining Brive at the end of the season. Despite retiring from international rugby after the World Cup, his level has not dropped at all as he has been pivotal in the Saints’s table-topping campaign and their journey to the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals.

Slade’s nomination caps a season where he worked his way back into Steve Borthwick’s England squad after missing out on selection for the World Cup at the end of 2023.

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Comments

1 Comment

finn 215 days ago

It’s a shame that Baxter wasn’t nominated for DoR of the season. what he did is more impressive than McCall imo

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Comments on RugbyPass

GrahamVF 9 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

There is a continued murmur in local circles about reciprocal bi annual tours between SA and Argentine. Whether it's full blooded test tours or development tours or a mixture - ie touring with a "test" 20 and a development 20 the cream of which will be used in tests. We actually really enjoy playing the Argies and I believe they enjoy playing us. It goes back seventy years to the Junior Bok tours to Argentine involving Isaac van Heerden.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 17 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

About 500K of those are schoolboys 90% of which will not go on to play club rugby.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 18 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Exactly. Shoo would that it was so easy to develop competitions.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 22 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

SA wealthy? Compared to which countries. The economy is in tatters unemployment is at record low numbers and you think SA has money to spend on rugby development -0 and remember the SARU was technically bankrupt and was only saved by the COVID tour of the B&I Lions. No Sa doesn't have spare cash lying round for rugby development and given the resources SARU is doing just fine.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 25 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

South African domestic rugby is in great shape. Four top tier franchises fed by a series of competitions ranging from national schools competitions through Varsity Cup to Currie Cup and then to top four franchises is a model Australia would do well to follow. SA should never have more than four top domestic teams.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 30 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

That might be the best spin off from SA's involvement north of the line.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 30 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Of course not Nick 😉

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 34 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

We have our own theories about The Sharks. Plumtree is a good coach but he has not done anywhere near the best he could with the talent and money he has at his disposal and it doesn't help to have a marquee director of rugby who has spent by far the majority of his career playing and coaching sevens.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 39 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Don't worry - you'll win again soon then you'll feel a lot better. Right now get on with your SH comps and we'll get on with being barely the best in the world.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 43 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

JW you really have no idea of how Africa works. It will take generations not decades no matter how much SA puts into it. The poverty in Africa is something that is obviously beyond your understanding. Do you think the governments of impoverished nations are going to watch happily as rugby pours massive investments into infrastructure to promote what is essentially a white western game? And SA was trying hard to develop the game in Africa until the African vote blocked our "23 bid after the independent consultants to the RFU voted unanimously for SA? The Confederation of African Rugby virtually excluded South Africa.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 52 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Nick, our association with Argentina Rugby runs very long and deep. We are exploring reciprocal two/three test tours in the future - and even more games at neutral venues such as in Europe where a lot of both teams have players anyway.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 56 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.

"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"

After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Which country do you think was instrumental in developing rugby in Argentina which then spun off into the rest of Latin South America? South Africa was touring Argentine in the 50's with their Junior Bok side on three months development tours. And they didn't do it to cultivare players for the Boks. Regarding Africa you are not taking into account that South Africa itself is an emerging nation. The rugby union has prioritised the development of rugby in South African rural communities with outstanding success.

It has taken 15 years to build the participation of rugby both in playing and watching. For South Africa on its own to build a viable international rugby competition in africa will take generations - not decades. New Zealanders seem to resent the fact that SA has doubled the income of the URC since their inclusion. If New Zealand Rugby hadn't insisted on have a disproportionate slice of the pie in Super Rugby, SA might not have fled the coop.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

I think this debate is avoiding the elephant in the room. Money. According to the URC chief executive Martin Anayi, the inclusion of SA teams has doubled the income of the URC. There is no doubt that the SA teams benefit from the URC but so do the other countries' teams. Perhaps it doesn't affect a club like Leinster but the less well off clubs benefit hugely from South African games' TV income. I don't think SA continued inclusion in the URC is a slam dunk. They don't hold all the cards by a long way - but they do have an ace in the hole. The Ace of Diamonds.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

How Wallace Sititi humbly reacted to All Blacks Player of the Year honour