O’Brien And O’Gara Shortlisted For Player Award

The final shortlist for the official 2011 RBS Player of the Championship has been announced, with a fans’ poll deciding the result now open on www.rbs6nations.com.

Grand Slam-chasing England have four on the shortlist of 12 players with Toby Flood, Chris Ashton, James Haskell and Tom Palmer all receiving a nod.

The shortlist includes France captain Thierry Dusautoir and his team-mate Maxime Medard, while Sam Warburton and James Hook for Wales and Fabio Semenzato and Andrea Masi for Italy have made the list.

Finally, Ireland’s Ronan O’Gara and Sean O’Brien are also in contention to win the award. There have been two Irish winners in recent years, current captain Brian O’Driscoll and Tommy Bowe.

In a change from previous years, where a panel of experts selected the shortlist, all the players who won RBS man-of-the-match awards during the first four weekends of the Championship were automatically placed in contention for the prestigious award.

The winner will be chosen by rugby fans from across the six nations who are being asked to vote for their RBS Player of the Championship, based on performance, form and achievement.

Fans can vote for the 2011 RBS Player of the Championship at www.rbs6nations.com and voting will remain open until midnight on Sunday, March 20.

Once the votes have been counted and verified, the announcement of the official RBS Player of the Championship will be made on Wednesday, March 23.

RBS PLAYER OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP – PREVIOUS WINNERS:

2010: Tommy Bowe
2009: Brian O’Driscoll
2008: Shane Williams
2007: Brian O’Driscoll
2006: Brian O’Driscoll