Williams wins IRUPA Players Player Award

When Nick Williams signed for Ulster in June last year from Aironi, you'd have been given long odds indeed, especially within the environs of Munster, on the one-time Junior All Black being voted the player of the year by his fellow players.

It’s not that overseas players have been overlooked – Isa Nacewa scooped the prestigious award in 2011 – more that Williams did not exactly leave an indelible impression in his two years with Munster, circa 2008 to 2010. He played just 19 games for Munster, scoring four tries – three of them in one game against the Dragons.

Even sceptical Ulster fans who had glimpsed the burly New Zealander – allowing for his considerable 6ft 3in and 18st 12lbs – would have envisaged him being back-up to the prodigal Roger Wilson.

Far from it. Such has been the rejuvenated 29-year-old's form he has surpassed those statistics in his first season with Ulster, scoring seven tries in 21 appearances and winning seven Man of the Match awards, and accordingly, last night Williams took the Hibernia College IRUPA Players' Player of the Year 2013 voted by his fellow players at the 11th annual awards ceremony at the Burlington Hotel. This augments the RaboDirect Pro12 Player of the Year award Williams received last Sunday night.

North Harbour
New Zealand born, of Fijian extraction, Williams had played under Ulster coach Mark Anscombe when they were at North Harbour and Anscombe clearly knows how to extract the best from him.

For a one-time All Blacks contender, who made 37 appearances with Auckland Blues, his arrival in Ulster after two years with the now extinct Aironi must have also felt like a last-chance saloon.

His bustling, all-action carrying and try-scoring surges close to the line quickly endeared him to the Ravenhill public, where he has filled the void left by Stephen Ferris to a degree.

A humble and somewhat shy man in public, he is hugely popular amongst team-mates and supporters alike, and quickly became an invaluable source of go-forward ball and points for his new team.

Indeed, when he suffered medial ligament damage to his left knee in Ulster’s Heineken Cup win over Glasgow at Ravenhill on January 11th and was sidelined for nine weeks, his team won only one of five games.

Having been chosen ahead of the shortlisted Cian Healy and Simon Zebo, Williams said: “It is an honour to be recognised with this award, especially as it’s voted for by the players”.

His Ulster team-mate and Ireland winger Craig Gilroy won the VW Try of the Year for his score on his Ireland debut against Argentina in November, while Connacht’s Robbie Henshaw was also among those recognised when he was awarded the Nevin Spence Young Player 2013, named in honour of the Ulster centre who won this award two years ago.

Joining Ireland's heroes in the BNY Mellon IRUPA Hall of Fame was former Leinster and Ireland winger Denis Hickie.
Players' Player Of The Year : Nick Williams (Ulster). Nominations: Williams, Cian Healy (Leinster), Simon Zebo (Munster).
Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year: Robbie Henshaw (Connacht). Nominations: Henshaw, Ian Madigan (Leinster), Luke Marshall (Ulster).
Try of Year: Craig Gilroy (Ireland v Argentina, Autumn Series). Also nominated: Ian Henderson (Saracens v Ulster, Heineken Cup); Simon Zebo (Ireland v Wales, Six Nations).
Medal For Excellence: Isaac Boss (Leinster). Nominations: Boss, Chris Henry (Ulster), Marcus Horan (Munster).
Hall of Fame: Denis Hickie (Leinster).
Unsung Hero: Billy Holland (Munster). Nominations: Holland, Nigel Brady (Ulster), Michael Swift (Connacht).
Supporters' Player Of The Year: Simon Zebo .