Find out who won what at the Annual Award Night, hosted by the South Wales Evening Post at the Brangwyn Hall on Friday night.
Following last weekend’s bonus point win at the Millennium Stadium to secure a place in the PRO12 play-offs, the annual end of season awards on Friday night saw players and staff honoured for their achievements throughout the season.
The event, at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea, was hosted by the South Wales Evening Post with more than 300 guests, including players, coaches, staff and commercial partners, coming together to celebrate on and off-field achievements over the last 12 months.
Alun Wyn Jones, Tyler Ardron and Dan Evans were among those honoured, taking the Coaches’, Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year awards respectively.
Other winners included youngsters Joe Thomas and Kieran Williams, while individual landmarks including 50, 100 and 200 caps were recognised along with a special farewell to those moving on at the end of the season.
A presentation was also made to Aisea Natoga, Morgan Allen and Tevita Cavubati to mark their services to the Ospreys before they depart at the end of the season.
Team Logistics Manager, Dai Davies, took the Osprey of the Year award, while Ospreys ‘original’, Shane Williams was the winner of the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chief Executive, Andrew Hore, paid tribute to all the winners on the night saying:
“While our focus is very much on next weekend’s huge game at the Liberty against Glasgow and, beyond that, the play-offs, it is only right that at this time of the year we reflect on what we have achieved as a team and the individual landmarks within that.
“We have come a long way on and off the field this season and to be the only Welsh side to have secured a European Rugby Champions Cup slot while also qualifying for the play-offs with two rounds still to go, is quite an achievement. There is still a hell of a lot of rugby to be played this season, but let’s acknowledge where we are at this moment in time.
“While Alun Wyn, Tyler and Dan are all very proud and worthy winners, these awards are not just about acknowledging the senior players. Joe and Kieran have both enjoyed some real success, while Dai has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to drive standards within our environment and is a fantastic role model – and friend - to everybody at the Ospreys.
“It’s important that we say ‘well done’ to those players hitting significant appearance landmarks, as we have done once more this year, and acknowledge the service of those who are saying their farewells over the coming months.”
19-year old centre, Joe Thomas, took the Most Improved Elite Youth Player after a season where he scored 11 tries in 12 games for Swansea, and made his senior Ospreys debut in the LV= Cup. 17-year old centre, Kieran Williams, took the Elite Youth Player of the Year award, recognition of his impressive form with the Ospreys and Wales U18 squads where he topped the stats for most tackles and most carries.
The Supporters’ Player of the Year, voted for by the Ospreys Supporters Club via their Facebook page and the official fans forum at ospreysrugby.com, was a closely fought contest with the winner eventually confirmed as Dan Evans, ever present in the PRO12 since his move to the region last summer, just ahead of Ardron, Alun Wyn Jones and Rhys Webb.
Skipper Jones was named Coaches’ Player of the Year after another inspirational season, leading from the front as a young Ospreys side has continued to show the way in Wales. Josh Matavesi and Webb were also mentioned in dispatches.
The third senior player award, the Players’ Player. is based on votes cast throughout the season by the match day 23 following each individual match, with the total votes totted up at the end of the season. The award went to Canadian national team captain Ardron, a model of consistency, ahead of Webb and Nicky Smith.
Ospreys legend and all-time record try scorer, Shane Williams, was the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of all his efforts on and off the field for the Ospreys. The new award is intended to honour an individual who has contributed to the Ospreys cause throughout their career, someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty and truly helped to shape the region’s destiny, making Shane a very worthy first ever recipient.
The final award of the night was Osprey of the Year. Judged by members of the senior management team from all departments of the organisation, the award recognises the person who has represented the four core behaviours of the business and consistently gone over and above their core role for the good of the business.
All players, management and staff members are eligible for the award, which eventually went to Team Logistics Manager, Dai Davies, not only for his tireless off-field work, driving standards within the organisation, but in recognition of his ongoing commitment to the Ospreys development pathway where he continues to volunteer out of hours as Team Manager within the age-grade set-up.
“As a business, and as a rugby team, we are in a good position at the moment.” Hore added.
“We’ve continued to work hard towards our ultimate aim of delivering long-term, sustainable success and every one of the individuals honoured tonight can take great pride in their award, and also, the knowledge that they have played a part in what we hope will ultimately prove to be another successful season for the region, hopefully with a fifth league title to round it off.”
Full list of awards:
Most Improved Elite Youth Player of the Year, sponsored by LTC Mobility
Winner – Joe Thomas
Also nominated -
James Ratti
Phil Jones
Elite Youth Player of the Year, sponsored by Sony UK Technology Centre
Winner – Kieran Williams
Also nominated -
Joe Thomas
Jordan Collier
Ospreys Supporters Club Player of the Year, sponsored by Tidal Lagoon
Winner – Dan Evans
Also nominated -
Tyler Ardron
Alun Wyn Jones
Rhys Webb
Ospreys Coaches' Player of the Year, sponsored by Norwave
Winner – Alun Wyn Jones
Also nominated -
Josh Matavesi
Rhys Webb
Ospreys Players' Player of the Year, sponsored by Worthington’s
Winner – Tyler Ardron
Also nominated -
Nicky Smith
Rhys Webb
Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Clarity Copiers
Winner – Shane Williams
Osprey of the Year, sponsored by Dryhouse
Winner – Dai Davies
Honourable mentions-
Andrew Millward
Peter Owen
Chris Towers