The #REAL URC player of the season

NEWS: The United Rugby Championship awards concluded, with two more winners on Friday.

RG Snyman’s ‘X-Factor’ has been lauded as a key reason he was named as the Players’ Player of the Season by his peers.

Snyman has been a key figure for Leinster this season following his switch from rivals Munster in the off-season.

The towering lock helped his side to top of the table in the regular season, with his offload game in particular being pivotal to the Irish province.

One fellow player applauded his “unique skillset”, branding him a “very tough” opponent.

“A threat all over the park. Strong in the set-piece and has a unique skillset which makes him very tough to play against.”

Previous winners of this award include Munster’s Jack Crowley last season, Leinster’s Dan Sheehan back in 2022/23, and Stormers forward Evan Roos in 2021/22.

* Meanwhile Zebre’s Massimo Brunello has been named Coach of the Season.

The Coach of the Season is voted for by the league’s coaches with Brunello receiving the recognition from his peers.

Similarly, the prestigious Players’ Player of the Season award was voted on by the captain and vice-captains of all 16 teams, with all nominees again required to have made a minimum of nine appearances.

Brunello has transformed Zebre this season, leading them to victories over Munster, Ospreys and Dragons at home, as well as famous away wins against Ulster and Edinburgh.

Their away against Ulster ended a four-year wait for a victory on road, and was backed up the following week with another win away against Edinburgh.

One of his fellow coaches said: “Massimo made Zebre even more competitive this season with some impressive wins on the road. These results made qualification for the top eight interesting until late in the competition.”

Previous winners of this award include Graham Rowntree last season, and Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith back in 2022/23.

URC Awards Winners 2024-25

Golden Boot: Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets)
Top Try Scorer: Harri Millard (Cardiff)
Tackle Machine: Ruben van Heerden (Stormers)
Ironman: Cam Winnett (Cardiff)
Playmaker: Tom Farrell (Munster)
Innovation Award: Sharks
Try of the Season: Deon Fourie (Stormers)
Coach of the Season: Massimo Brunello (Zebre)
Players’ Player of the Season: RG Snyman (Leinster)

Elite XV: 15 Jamie Osborne (Leinster), 14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13 Tom Farrell (Munster), 12 Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), 11 Blair Murray (Scarlets), 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), 9 Craig Casey (Munster), 8 Cameron Hanekom (Bulls), 7 Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), 6 Jac Morgan (Ospreys), 5 Tadhg Beirne (Munster), 4 RG Snyman (Leinster), 3 Wilco Louw (Bulls), 2 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls)