IRISH RUGBY’S recent dominance of the Heineken Cup has been reflected in the nominations for a host of special awards to commemorate 15 years of the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups.
Leinster’s Brian O’Driscoll and the Munster trio of Paul O’Connell, David Wallace and Ronan O’Gara have all been shortlisted for the ERC European Player Award, which will recognise the greatest player in the short history of the Heineken Cup.
O’Gara, European rugby’s record points scorer by some distance, and O’Driscoll, second only to wings Vincent Clerc and Dafydd James on the list of all-time leading try scorers in the Heineken Cup, are among nine players nominated for the top award.
Despite having spent just one season gracing European rugby’s greatest stage, albeit a winning one, Rocky Elsom’s impact during Leinster’s march to the title last year saw the dynamic Australian flanker named on the shortlist.
Lawrence Dallaglio, Yannick Jauzion, Martin Johnson and Fabien Pelous are the other contenders for the European Player Award.
Curiously, Dallaglio is among the nine-man judging panel responsible for choosing the winners. Fabien Galthie, who is up for the ERC Fair Play award, and Ian McGeechan, nominated for the ERC Coach award, are both also on that selection committee.
Presumably, all three won’t have the casting vote in their respective categories.
Declan Kidney, a two-time winner of the European Cup with Munster and beaten finalist on another two occasions, is among the leading candidates for the coaching award but will face stiff competition from the likes of McGeechan and Toulouse legend Guy Noves.
There are 14 Irish players nominated for the “Dream Team” selection. Given their rich history in European competition, it comes as little surprise the majority hail from Munster with the likes of Peter Clohessy and Anthony Foley rewarded for their years of service on the front lines.
ERC president Jean Pierre Lux will announce the winners on the eve of this year’s final in Paris on May 22nd.
Irish fans, meanwhile, will be able to get their hands on tickets for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand from the end of April.
Some 1.65 million tickets will go on sale from April 27th and will be sold in three separate phases, with the first batch of 750,000 tickets being sold as team packages (tickets for all pool matches for a chosen team) and venue packages (tickets for all pool matches at a chosen venue).
Tickets for Ireland’s four Pool C matches against Australia, Italy, USA and Russia range in price from NZ$220 (€115) to NZ$690 (€363), depending on the seating category.
The most expensive ticket package in the first phase will cost NZ$1,720 (€906) for five matches at Auckland’s Eden Park.
New Zealand, who play Tonga in the opening match at Eden Park next September, have the most expensive team pack costing NZ$1400 (€737) for their four matches.
The second phase, when individual match tickets will be released, will begin in either August or September this year.
Tickets for Ireland’s game against Australian at Eden Park are expected to be in short supply and will have a face value of up to NZ$350 (€185).
A third phase for tickets to the semi-finals and the final, all of which will be held at Eden Park, is expected to begin in November. Fans who have bought tickets in the first two phases will go into the ballot for those tickets.
ERC European Player Award: Lawrence Dallaglio, Rocky Elsom, Yannick Jauzion, Martin Johnson, Paul O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Fabien Pelous, David Wallace.
ERC European Coach Award: Warren Gatland, Declan Kidney, Guy Noves, Ian McGeechan, Dean Richards
ERC European Fair Play Award: Fabien Galthie, Jeremy Guscott, John Hayes, Alessandro Troncon, Martyn Williams.
ERC European Dream Team:
Full Back – Josh Lewsey, Geordan Murphy, Clement Poitrenaud, Tim Stimpson, Mark van Gisbergen
Wing – Vincent Clerc, Cedric Heymans, Dafydd James, Josh Lewsey, Emile Ntamack
Centre – Pat Howard, Yannick Jauzion, Christophe Lamaison, Brian O’Driscoll, Fraser Waters
Outhalf – Diego Dominguez, Austin Healey, David Humphreys, Stephen Jones, Ronan O’Gara
Scrumhalf – Philippe Carbonneau, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Austin Healey, Rob Howley, Peter Stringer
Prop – Christian Califano, Pieter de Villers, Peter Clohessy, Darren Garforth, John Hayes, Sylvain Marconnet, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Rodrigo Roncero, Graham Rowntree, Julian White
Hooker – Jerry Flannery, Raphael Ibanez, Mario Ledesma, William Servat, Keith Wood
Secondrow – Ben Kay, Martin Johnson, Paul O’Connell, Fabien Pelous, Simon Shaw
Flanker – Neil Back, Jean Bouilhou, Martin Corry, Rocky Elsom, Greg Kacala, OlivIer Magne, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley
Number Eight – Lawrence Dallaglio, Anthony Foley, Jamie Heaslip, Christian Labit, Scott Quinnell.
