Coetzee nominated for top European award

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Springbok and Ulster flank Marcell Coetzee is among the 15 nominees for the prestigious EPCR European Player of the Year award for 2020.

Coetzee is the only South African nominee this year and stands a chance to become the first South African to claim the award after an excellent season with Ulster.

The 28-year-old faces tough competition, though, with Leinster, the top-ranked club going into the Champions Cup quarter-finals, contributing three players as do Racing 92 and the Exeter Chiefs.

Ireland internationals Tadhg Furlong, Jordan Larmour and Garry Ringrose all represent Leinster, while Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg and English duo Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds represent the Chiefs.

Racing 92 have French backs Teddy Thomas and Virimi Vakatawa as well as Scotland flyhalf Finn Russell on the list.

The Toulouse pair of Jerome Kaino and Romain Ntamack get the vote of the judges as does Coetzee’s Ulster teammate John Cooney, while Clermont Auvergne centre George Moala and the brilliant Semi Radradra complete the list of nominees.

Voting for the award is now open here and fans will be in the running to win two VIP tickets to the Champions Cup final in Marseille next May with one night’s accommodation courtesy of EPCR, and a signed jersey of one of the Champions Cup finalist clubs.

The list will be reduced to five players in early May following the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semi-finals by a combination of the public vote and the verdict of the judges, and players who have not been included in the initial list of 15, but who make a significant impact in a quarter-final or semi-final match, may be considered for the shortlist.

The voting will then reopen and the winner of the 2020 award will be announced following the Champions Cup final at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Saturday, 23 May.

Photo: John Dickson/Sportsfile via Getty Images

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SA Rugby magazine