D'Arcy lands second Player award

Rugby Awards:Leinster and Ireland centre Gordon D'Arcy was voted the BT IRUPA Players' Player of the Year at tonight's fifth annual  Rugby Players' Awards held in the O'Reilly Hall, UCD.

Shane Horgan, fellow team mate of D'Arcy for both province and country,  was also among those honoured on the night when he was awarded the IRUPA Tyrone Crystal Try of the Year for the second year running for his try against England at Croke Park.

D'Arcy was delighted to have won the award, especially as he becomes the first player to win the prestigious award twice - he also won in 2004.

"The season gets better and better for me both personally and for the teams I have played in," said D'Arcy. "This is the top rugby award in Ireland and I am delighted to have won it for the second time. It gives me great pleasure to win this award as it comes from the people I play with and against throughout the season."

The awards celebrate a year of individual achievements in what has been another successful season for Irish teams. Ireland won the Triple Crown for the third time in four years; Leinster and Munster reached the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and Leinster and Ulster are challenging once again for the Magners Celtic League title over the coming weeks.

Niall Woods, chief executive of IRUPA, said: "What makes these awards so special is that they are voted for by the players from all four provinces. Congratulations to all those nominated and in particular to Gordon, Stephen, Shane, Luke and my old friend Victor in winning what are the most sought after awards in Irish rugby."

The awards were made in the presence of some of the game's most well-known names including; Ireland and Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell, Marcus Horan, Isaac Boss and Ronan O'Gara.

Award Winners

BT IRUPA Players' Player of the Year 2007
Winner: Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster)
Nominations:      
Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster)
John Hayes (Munster)
David Wallace (Munster)

IRUPA Club Energise Sport Unsung Hero 2007
Winner: Stephen Keogh (Leinster)
Nominations:      
John Hayes (Munster)
Trevor Hogan (Leinster)
Stephen Keogh (Leinster)

IRUPA Hooke & MacDonald Hall of Fame 2007
Inducted: Victor Costello (Leinster)
                  
IRUPA Tyrone Crystal Try of the Year 2007
Winner: Shane Horgan (Ireland v England)
Nominations:      
Simon Easterby (Italy v Ireland)
Shane Horgan (Ireland v England)
Stephen Keogh (Leinster v Gloucester)
 
IRUPA Irish Mortgage Corporation Newcomer of the Year 2007
Winner: Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster)
Nominations:
Stephen Ferris (Ulster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster)
Daniel Riordan (Connacht)
 
IRUPA Green Giant Special Merit Award 2007
Garrett Culliton