Lions finally win something
SPOTLIGHT: Benetton centre Joaquin Riera and Lions fullback Quan Horn have added their names to the United Rugby Championship Awards list.
The Benetton centre, Riera, claimed the Try of the Season accolade.
The Lions fullback Horn picked up the Ironman award – which recognises the player who has racked up the most minutes over the 18 rounds of the URC.
Try of the Season – Joaquin Riera (Benetton)
Riera crossed the whitewash during his side’s thrilling 33-43 Round 17 loss to the Sharks at Kings Park on April 14.
The 29-year-old, capped 11 times by Argentina, got on the end of a chip from Rhyno Smith, who had collected his own Garryowen, to dart over in the corner.
It was Benetton’s third of five tries in the match, which yielded 11 in total and received the most votes for the award.
There were 10 tries nominated, with the others being:
Stravino Jacobs (Bulls v Sharks, Round Seven)
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh v Ospreys, Round 17)
Manie Libbok (Stormers v Dragons, Round Nine)
Rio Dyer (Dragons v Munster, Round Two)
Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets v Stormers, Round Eight)
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors v Bulls, Round Four)
Suleiman Hartzenberg (Stormers v Bulls, Round 10)
Jordan Larmour (Leinster v Connacht, Round 11)
Thaakir Abrahams (Sharks v Leinster, Round Four)
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Ironman: Quan Horn (Lions) – 1,428 minutes
The award for having played the most minutes in the URC this season goes to Lions fullback Quan Horn.
The 21-year-old racked up 1,428 minutes on the field of play and was one of only 10 players to feature in all 18 of their team’s matches.
Bulls lock Ruan Nortje – the 2021/22 Ironman with 1,394 minutes – had to settle for second place after playing two more minutes this campaign than last season.
Horn’s Lions teammate Marius Louw was third with 1,371 followed by Connacht’s John Porch (1,340) and Cardiff’s John Turnbull (1,321).
URC Awards 2022-23 Winners
Top Try Scorer: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Tackle Machine: John Hodnett (Munster)
Turnover King: Thomas Young (Cardiff Rugby)
Next-Gen Player of the Season: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Try of the Season: Joaquin Riera (Benetton)
Ironman: Quan Horn (Lions)
Elite XV: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), 14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Daniel du Plessis (Stormers), 11 Simone Gesi (Zebre), 10 Ross Byrne (Leinster), 9 Grant Williams (Sharks), 8 Gavin Coombes (Munster), 7 Scott Penny (Leinster), 6 Vaea Fifita (Scarlets), 5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton), 4 Niall Murray (Connacht), 3 Finlay Bealham (Connacht), 2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster), 1 Steven Kitshoff (Stormers).
