Players acknowledge Bowe's imposing year

IRUPA AWARDS RUGBY NEWS:IRELAND AND Ulster wing Tommy Bowe received the ultimate approbation from his fellow players when he was confirmed as the BT IRUPA Players' Player of the Year at the sixth annual awards ceremony in UCD's O'Reilly Hall last night.

Bowe was shortlisted along with Leinster number eight Jamie Heaslip and Wasps scrumhalf Eoin Reddan for the highly coveted honour. His performances in what was a difficult season for Ulster and also in the green jersey of Ireland during the Six Nations Championship made him a worthy recipient.

"It means a huge amount to me," Bowe admitted. "Missing out on the World Cup was a huge disappointment and made me totally reassess my goals and question where I was going with my rugby career. It made me focus on what I wanted to achieve and the work that had to be done to achieve that.

"My priority was to get into the Ireland squad for the Six Nations and I managed that even if initially it was down to injuries. It hasn't been an easy season with Ulster but on a personal level this recognition is a definite high point."

He took the difficult decision to leave Ulster for the Ospreys whom he joins this summer. "I needed a new challenge and wanted to avoid any staleness in terms of settling for what I had. I know it'll be like starting from scratch especially with players of the calibre of Shane Williams, Nikki Walker and Lee Byrne at the Ospreys but that's the challenge for me."

Before then Bowe is hoping to be a part of the Ireland squad that takes in matches against the Barbarians before heading for New Zealand and Australia. He plans to stay on and see a little bit of both countries, if he makes the squad, before returning to pre-season training with his new club in Wales.

Robert Kearney won the try of the year for his touchdown against Scotland, David Humphreys was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Connacht outhalf Andy Dunne was deemed the "Unsung Hero", while 20-year-old Leinster prop Cian Healy was adjudged the sport's most exciting newcomer.

Niall Woods, CEO of IRUPA, said: "Winning one of these awards is the recognition players themselves want.

"The winners can take great pride in knowing that they have the total respect of those who they play with and against. Congratulations to all those nominated and in particular to Tommy, Rob, Andy, Cian and David in winning what are the most sought after awards in Irish rugby."

IRUPA AWARDS

Players' Player:Tommy Bowe (Ulster).
Unsung Hero:Andy Dunne (Connacht).
Hall of Fame:David Humphreys (Ulster).
Try of the Year:Rob Kearney (Ireland v Scotland).
Newcomer:Cian Healy (Leinster)