Rugby Awards: Five nominees including 2005 winner Dan Carter have been short-listed for this year's International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the Year Award which will be announced in London on November 23rd.

The New Zealand outhalf is joined on the prestigious list by Scotland scrumhalf Mike Blair, Italy captain Sergio Parisse and Wales pair Shane Williams and Ryan Jones.

"The IRB Player of the Year Award is the ultimate accolade for a player and takes into account performances in all the major internationals played during the year including the RBS Six Nations, Tri-Nations and the June-July Tests," said Bernard Lapasset, IRB chairman.

"The list of past winners of this coveted award is impressive and reads like a who's who of the international Game in recent years. Jonny Wilkinson, Schalk Burger, Richie McCaw, Fabien Galthié, Dan Carter, Bryan Habana and Keith Wood were all worthy recipients of the award, while Carter would be the first player to win twice should he be selected," added Lapasset.

The nominees were selected by an independent panel of judges including; Tana Umaga, Raphaël Ibanez, Will Greenwood, Francois Pienaar, Agustin Pichot, Gavin Hastings, Scott Quinnell, Paul Wallace and convenor John Eales.

"Now that the shortlist has been selected the panel will reconvene during the November Tests when the IRB Player of the Year will be selected," added Lapasset.

The player of the year is one of 13 category awards that will be announced on the night.