O’Halloran Honoured As Connacht Players’ Player Of The Year

Tiernan O’Halloran has had a phenomenal season as a leader in Connacht’s young back-line. The Clifden man has featured in 24 games for the province this season, starting all but one of those.

In the GUINNESS PRO12, the 26-year-old holds the record for the most carries and the most metres made this season. He earned his third Ireland cap against Canada during last November’s GUINNESS Series, touching down for a brace of tries in the Aviva Stadium win.

O’Halloran was up to the stage for a second time on Sunday to pick up the award for Back of the Year, while Connacht captain John Muldoon, who recently celebrated his record 300th appearance for the province, was the deserved recipient of the Forward of the Year honour for the second season in a row.

Ballina RFC were announced as the Connacht Club of the Year following an outstanding season of success and development across every aspect of the Co. Mayo club, from regenerating the facilities at Heffernan Park to a thriving schools and competitive youths programme.

Ballina’s remarkable success underpins the senior men’s team who, as well as winning the Cawley Cup, claimed their first Connacht Junior League title in 32 years.

Chris Davies was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Rugby award for his commitment to schools rugby in Connacht over the past decade. He steps away from the role as Chairman of the Schools Committee having played a massive part in the development of schools rugby, with the number of games played tripling in recent years.

2017 CONNACHT RUGBY AWARDS BALL – AWARD WINNERS:

CONNACHT U-18 PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Top Oil
Niall Murray

CONNACHT U-19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Edward Holdings
Sean Masterson

CONNACHT U-18 GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Mongey Communications
Sarah Dent

CONNACHT WOMEN’S CLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Eventus
Emma Clery (Galwegians RFC)

CONNACHT WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by My Club Finances
Grainne Egan

CONNACHT COACH OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Deloitte
Brett Wilkinson (Buccaneers RFC)

CONNACHT CLUB OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Ulster Bank
Ballina RFC

CONNACHT REFEREE OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Golden Eye Security 
Karol Collins

CONNACHT JUNIOR CLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Radisson Blu Hotel 
John O’Brien (Connemara RFC)

CONNACHT SENIOR CLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Keller Travel
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO RUGBY – sponsored by AIB 
Chris Davies

CONNACHT ACADEMY PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by RDJ 
Conor McKeon

CONNACHT RUGBY FORWARD OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Heineken
John Muldoon

CONNACHT RUGBY BACK OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Deep RiverRock
Tiernan O’Halloran

CONNACHT RUGBY TRY OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Irish Independent 
James Connolly – Connacht v Ulster

CONNACHT RUGBY TEAM MAN OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Mazda
Jake Heenan

CONNACHT RUGBY PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Bank of Ireland 
Tiernan O’Halloran