Ollie Hassell-Collins, Alfie Barbeary, Will Evans among nominees for Land Rover Discovery of the Season
The winner will be announced on 17th June
©PA
Premiership Rugby has announced six players among the nominees to win the Land Rover Discovery of the Season shortlist following their performance in the ongoing season.
The award which is aimed to encourage young players, who are aged under-23 as on 1st September 2020 and should have played at least six Premiership games in the 2020/21 season.
London Irish's Ollie Hassell-Collins, who is third in the most metres gained in the season behind Tom O'Flaherty and Tom Parton and also tops the list for most clean breaks is among the six players along with Wasps' Alfie Barbeary, Harlequins' Will Evans, Bristol Bears' Ioan Lloyd, Sale Sharks' Bevan Rodd and Leicester Tigers' Freddie Steward.
The shortlist and winner was voted for by a panel of media professionals. The judges were: Ben Coles (Daily Telegraph); Duncan Bech (Press Association); Will Kelleher (Daily Mail), Nick Heath (Freelance), Gerard Meagher (The Guardian) and Kate Rowan (Daily Telegraph). The panel was chaired by Paul Morgan, Premiership Rugby's Communications Director.
"I’ve been really impressed with the number of talented young players emerge onto the Gallagher Premiership Rugby scene this season, and become immensely valuable to their teams," said Land Rover ambassador Lewis Moody.
"It’d be hard to leave all of the players on the shortlist out of any Premiership Rugby team of the year, and that’s testament to them for putting the hard work in and showcasing their potential.
"It just goes to show the strength in depth at clubs up and down the country at the moment, which is really exciting for all of us that are passionate about the sport.
"Many of the previous winners of this award have gone on to earn international honours, and I’m looking forward to seeing how all of the guys on the shortlist progress in years to come."
The previous winner of the award include Sam Simmonds, Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje, Henry Slade, Billy Vunipola, Joe Launchbury, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs, Jordan Turner-Hall, Danny Cipriani, Tom Rees, Tom Varndell and Ollie Smith.
