Filo Tiatia, Marty Holah, Jerry Collins, Justin Tipuric and Duncan Jones were among those honoured at the Ospreys End of Season Awards Ceremony at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Holah took the Persimmon Homes Ospreys Coaches' Player of the Year Award, just ahead of Dan Biggar, with Jerry Collins and Tommy Bowe tied in third place, while his Kiwi compatriot Collins took the players choice in his first ever season as an Osprey. Based on players votes throughout the season, the destructive back-rower was a clear winner, with Biggar again finishing in second place and Ricky Januarie in third place after his influential spell with the region in mid-season.
20-year old Tipuric took the Lliw Building Supplies Elite Youth Player of the Year trophy after a breakthrough season that saw him shining with Aberavon in the Welsh Premiership and making his Ospreys bow in the LV= Cup, while the Nathaniel Cars Most Improved Elite Youth Player of the Year award went to young fly half Matthew Morgan.
There were two special awards presented on the evening, with Filo Tiatia receiving an acknowledgement to commemorate his contribution in an Ospreys shirt and marking his playing retirement after the forthcoming Magners League Grand Final against Leinster, while Duncan Jones received an outstanding contribution award for his work and commitment as part of the long term injured group at the region this season.
The final award of the night was the RWE nPower Renewables Osprey of the Year. Judged by members of the senior management team from various departments of the organisation, the award recognises the person who has given the most to the Ospreys on or off the field over the course of the season, giving the most to the Ospreys culture while offering support and/or assistance to players, management and staff while maintaining the highest professional standards at all times. All players, management and staff members are eligible for the award, which eventually went to Elite Performance Director, Andrew Hore, for his hard work and efforts behind the scenes at the region.
Speaking about the Awards Ceremony, Ospreys Managing Director, Roger Blyth, said:
"While we still have one hugely important fixture remaining, against Leinster at the RDS next weekend, it is always good to be able to take the opportunity to look back at the achievements of a season and pay tribute to those who have really made a difference to the organisation over the course of the last twelve months.
"It has been a long and difficult season with a number of challenges thrown up along the way, but I think that in retrospect, we can be pleased with what we have achieved. While disappointed to have exited the Heineken Cup at the quarter-final stage again, we can take comfort from the manner of the performance and the narrowest of defeats, which certainly indicated the huge progress made since last season. In addition to that, we once again finished the highest of the four Welsh regions in the Magners League, qualifying for the first ever Grand Final and a week on Saturday we could win the title for the third time in our short history.
"Add to that the continued excellent work that we have done in developing local talent, with a number of young players coming to the fore over the course of the season with both the Ospreys and Wales, and the unseen work behind the scenes to strengthen the business, and we can look forward to next season with real confidence.
"Those honoured at our Awards ceremony can take real pride from their achievements. At the senior end of the scale we have experienced players like Filo Tiatia, Jerry Collins and Marty Holah showing exactly why our recruitment policy is to bring in selected, influential and top quality players from outside the region to supplement the excellent local talent that we are bringing through. Their influence, on and off the field, is unquestionable, and is recognised in these awards. Another experienced player, Duncan Jones, is also honoured for the outstanding commitment, dedication and attitude displayed throughout what has been a very difficult season for him personally, where he has never given less than 100 per cent to his colleagues despite his own injury problems.
"At the other end of the scale, I'm delighted to see the likes of Justin Tipuric and Matthew Morgan honoured, and as with the other players on the short-lists for those awards, we all look forward to seeing them going on to make a real impact with the Ospreys and Wales in the future.
"Finally, the Osprey of the Year award honours the person who has given the most to the Ospreys over the last twelve months, who most epitomises what it is to be an Osprey. It is perhaps fitting that the award goes to Andrew Hore, who continues to work tirelessly to improve the environment for everybody and is 100 per cent dedicated to delivering long term, sustainable success to the region."
FULL LIST OF AWARDS
Nathaniel Cars Most Improved Elite Youth Player of the Year
Presented by Andrew Hore and Wayne Griffiths (Nathaniel Cars)
Winner - Matthew Morgan
Also nominated -
Dan Baker
Joe Rees
Lliw Building Supplies Elite Youth Player of the Year
Presented by Andrew Millward and Geraint Llewellyn (Lliw Building Supplies)
Winner - Justin Tipuric
Also nominated -
Eli Walker
James King
Fujitsu Outstanding Contribution to the Long-Term Injured Group
Presented by Chris Towers and Jason Clement (Fujitsu)
Winner - Duncan Jones
Persimmon Homes Ospreys Coaches' Player of the Year
Presented by Jonathan Humphreys and Sarah Bailey (Persimmon Homes)
Winner - Marty Holah
Also nominated -
Dan Biggar
Jerry Collins/ Tommy Bowe
Worthington's Ospreys Players' Player of the Year
Presented by Scott Johnson and Diane Rees (Worthington's)
Winner - Jerry Collins
Also nominated -
Dan Biggar
Ricky Januarie
Spencer Morgan Retirement acknowledgement - Filo Tiatia
Presented by Sean Holley and Carwyn Morgan
RWE nPower renewables Osprey of the Year
Presented by Roger Blyth and Julia Lynch-Williams (RWE npower renewables)
Winner - Andrew Hore
Also nominated -
Gruff Rees