Jennings In Contention For Player Award

Ireland ‘A’ flanker Shane Jennings is one of three Leicester Tigers players in the running to be crowned the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season. Meanwhile, former Munster coach Alan Gaffney, who is now in charge at Saracens, has also been nominated for the Premiership’s Director of Rugby of the Season award.

Jennings has quickly become a key player at Tigers since his arrival at the club in 2005. His eight tries this season – three in the Heineken Cup, including the clincher in the recent semi-final defeat of Llanelli – have seen him hit top form and he was duly rewarded this week with a call-up to the Ireland squad for the summer tour to Argentina.

The 25-year-old Dubliner, who will rejoin Leinster in the summer, could reap further rewards in the coming weeks as he bids to help Leicester claim a famous ‘treble’, adding the Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership titles to the EDF Energy Cup which Pat Howard’s side won last month.

Jennings won Leicester’s Newcomer of the Year award last season. His competition for the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season award include his Welford Road team-mates Martin Corry and Martin Castrogiovanni, and Saracens’ Glen Jackson and Roy Winters of Bristol.

The winners of the award categories, which also include Discovery of the Season, Try of the Season and the Golden Boot, will be announced at the Guinness Premiership Awards dinner on Wednesday, May 9 at the Nursery Pavilion at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The panel of judges consists of Andrew Baldock (Press Association), Mick Cleary (Daily Telegraph), Miles Harrison (SKY Sports), Alastair Hignell (BBC), Stephen Jones (The Sunday Times), Barry Newcombe (UK Media Sport), Dave Rogers (Getty Images) and Phil Winstanley, Rugby Manager at Premier Rugby.

2006/07 GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP AWARDS NOMINATIONS –

Guinness Premiership Player of the Season:

Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers)
Martin Corry (Leicester Tigers)
Glen Jackson (Saracens)
Shane Jennings (Leicester Tigers)
Roy Winters (Bristol Rugby)

Land Rover Discovery of the Season:

Toby Flood (Newcastle Falcons)
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Rees (London Wasps)
Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps)

O2 Director of Rugby of the Season:

Alan Gaffney (Saracens)
Richard Hill (Bristol Rugby)
Pat Howard (Leicester Tigers)
Dean Ryan (Gloucester Rugby)

MBNA Try of the Season:

Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby v Leicester Tigers, Saturday, September 9)
Tom May (Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks, Tuesday, December 26)
Ben Cohen (Northampton Saints v NEC Harlequins, Saturday, February 17)
Mark Foster (Gloucester Rugby v NEC Harlequins, Saturday, March 17)
Kieran Roche (London Irish v Bristol Rugby, Saturday, September 16)
Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers v London Irish, Saturday, November 18)

Gilbert Golden Boot:

Olly Barkley (Bath Rugby)
Glen Jackson (Saracens)
Adrian Jarvis (NEC Harlequins)

EDF Energy Community Player of the Season:

Richard Haughton (Saracens)
Matt Perry (Bath Rugby)
Dale Rasmussen (Worcester Warriors)
Dave Walder (London Wasps)

Gillette Power Award:

Alex Brown (Gloucester Rugby)
Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
Bruce Reihana (Northampton Saints)
Roy Winters (Bristol Rugby)