LEINSTER’S s dominance of the RaboDirect Pro 12 regular season was reflected at last night’s awards ceremony in Cardiff, writes Gavin Cummiskey. Joe Schmidt was named coach of the year, while Jonathan Sexton’s 90 per cent kicking return was recognised with the “Rhino Golden Boot” award.

Sexton landed 27 from 30 kicks in just six Pro 12 outings, which included 13 consecutive goals.

Schmidt’s constant insistence on his team’s discipline was reflected for the second consecutive campaign with Leinster winning the Spec Savers Fair Play award, with just eight yellow cards, no reds and no citings.

Despite Edinburgh finishing 11th in the final standings, their Dutch-born winger Tim Visser was voted the “Players Player of the Year” after running in 13 tries in 19 appearances. The 2010 young player of the year becomes eligible for Scotland this summer. The young player award went to Glasgow and Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg.

The Chairman’s Award, presented by Andy Irvine, went to the retiring Shane Williams with the Glasgow Warriors deemed the “collision kings” after “a panel of experts assessed their efficiency at the breakdown and tackling”.

Player’s Player of the Season: Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby); Young Player of the Season: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow); Coach of the Season: Joe Schmidt (Leinster); Chairman’s Award: Shane Williams (Ospreys); Rhino Golden Boot: Jonathan Sexton (Leinster); Rhino Collision Kings: Glasgow Warriors; Specsavers Fair Play Award: Leinster; Rabodirect Straight Talking Award: Nigel Owens; RaboDirect Pro 12 Dream Team: Isa Nacewa (Leinster); Tim Visser (Edinburgh), Casey Laulala (Cardiff, Ashley Beck (Ospreys), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff); Duncan Weir (Glasgow), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster); Jon Welsh (Glasgow), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), BJ Botha (Munster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), Tom Ryder (Glasgow), Dave Denton (Edinburgh), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Ben Morgan (Scarlets).