Munster’s Farrell Wins Inaugural URC Playermaker Award
Ever-present Munster centre Tom Farrell finished their BKT URC campaign with nine tries and five try assists
Tom Farrell, Ioan Lloyd, Harri Millard, Ruben van Heerden, and Cam Winnett have added their names to the BKT United Rugby Championship Awards roll of honour by collecting the Playmaker, Gilbert Golden Boot, OFX Top Try Scorer, Tackle Machine, and Ironman prizes respectively.
They become the first award winners of the 2024/25 season as the league’s best in class is celebrated ahead of the semi-finals.
The Elite XV, Next-Gen Player of the Season, Innovation award, Try of the Season (powered by URC.tv), South African Vodacom URC Player of the Season, BKT Coach of the Season, and Players’ Player of the Season winners all set to be announced this week.
A breakdown of the winners so far:
Playmaker: Tom Farrell (Munster Rugby) – 158 points
Playmaker is a brand new award for the 2024/25 season, with Munster centre Farrell named as the inaugural winner.
Adaptability, creativity, and composure under pressure define a true playmaker. The Playmaker award is given to the player who creates chances and tries for his team, with three key metrics used to decide the winner – try assists for his team, successfully completed offloads, and defenders beaten on the pitch.
A player is awarded three points for each try assist, two points for each offload, and one point for each defender beaten.
Farrell’s tally of 158 points comes from five try assists (15 points), 41 offloads (82 points), and 61 defenders beaten (61 points).
He finishes ahead of DHL Stormers full-back Warrick Gelant (118 points), and Emirates Lions star Quan Horn (111 points).
Gilbert Golden Boot: Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets) – 124 points
The Gilbert Golden Boot is awarded in recognition of the player who kicks the most points during the regular season.
Scarlets playmaker Lloyd tops the charts this season with 124 points. 46 of those came from try conversions, with the remaining 78 points coming from successful penalty kicks.
He finishes ahead of Hollywoodbets Sharks star Jordan Hendrikse (108 points), and Edinburgh’s Ross Thompson (105 points).
OFX Top Try Scorer: Harri Millard (Cardiff Rugby) – 9 tries
Millard finished the regular season with nine tries, level with DHL Stormers winger Leolin Zas, and Munster centre Tom Farrell.
But the Cardiff ace takes the award having scored his tries in the least amount of time, bagging his nine tries in just 796 minutes across 13 appearances this season.
Previous winners of this award include Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews last season, and Ulster’s Tom Stewart back in 2022/23.
Tackle Machine: Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers) – 171 tackles, 98% accuracy
This award is given to the player who boasts the best tackle success rate among those who have attempted 150 or more over the course of the campaign.
Van Heerden takes home the prize having made 171 tackles at a success rate of 98%.
The 27-year-old edged out Glasgow Warriors forward Rory Darge who made 160 tackles with an accuracy of 97%, as well as the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ Phepsi Buthelezi in third place, with 157 tackles, and a tackle accuracy of 96.82%.
Ironman: Cam Winnett (Cardiff Rugby) – 1427 minutes
Cardiff’s Winnett takes home the award which recognises the player who has racked up the most minutes over the 18 rounds of the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Winnett started all 18 rounds of the regular season for the Welsh side, missing just 13 minutes all season.
He finished ahead of Munster’s Tom Farrell (1371 minutes), and Dragons forward Shane Lewis-Hughes (1353 minutes).
Be sure to follow all the URC Awards announcements using the hashtag #URCAwards.
2024/25 BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP AWARD WINNERS:
Playmaker: Tom Farrell (Munster Rugby)
Gilbert Golden Boot: Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets)
OFX Top Try Scorer: Harri Millard (Cardiff Rugby)
Tackle Machine: Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers)
Ironman: Cam Winnett (Cardiff Rugby)