Awards haul for Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs players were among the major winners at the 2015 Aviva Premiership Annual Awards Night held at the Hilton Park Lane on Wednesday night.
After another hugely successful season – on and off the field at Sandy Park – Henry Slade, Thomas Waldrom and departing skipper Dean Mumm were among those to pick up prizes at the glitzy ceremony.
On a night when many young players took centre stage the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award, for the best Under-23 player in Aviva Premiership Rugby, went to playmaker Slade.
The Plymouth-born back has emerged from an incredible Aviva Premiership Rugby season that saw him become one of only three players (all from Exeter) to have started in all 22 rounds this season.
“Henry Slade is an exciting and special talent who is a key factor in Exeter Chiefs drive to be a regular top six Aviva Premiership Rugby club,” said Mike Hynard, Premiership Rugby’s Head of Academies and Development.
“Henry has developed a fantastic all round game that makes him effective at 10, 12 and 13. He is a real threat in attack and has the ability to put players around him into space. I look forward to seeing him make an even greater impact in Aviva Premiership Rugby next season and push for international recognition.”
Slade who was selected in England’s Rugby World Cup training squad this week first came to international prominence in 2013, scoring 13 points in England’s victory in the Junior Rugby World Cup Final.
He followed this up in 2014 by helping the Chiefs to their LV= Cup victory and scored 27 points for Exeter versus Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop on February equalling Gareth Steenson’s
Also taking to the stage was Waldrom, who picked up the divisional accolade for Trivento Top Try-Scorer in the Premiership.
No.8 Waldrom enjoyed a remarkable first season at Sandy Park becoming the leading try-scorer with an incredible 16 tries to his name – and he became the first forward to top the try scoring charts since Neil Back in 1998-99.
The Exeter Chief may have crossed the line more often than any other player in Aviva Premiership Rugby, but when it came to points from the boot Wasps outside-half Andy Goode was a cut above the rest with 235 points.
Goode, who broke the Premiership Rugby record for points in a game with 33 against London, lifted the Gilbert Golden Boot Award for the third time in his career, edging out Northampton’s Stephen Myler and Exeter’s Gareth Steenson.
Further reward for the Chiefs on the night saw Mumm named as skipper of the BT Sport Dream Team, which also included club-mates Slade, Tomas Francis and Dave Ewers.
Ewers and Waldrom were defeated to the Green Flag Forward of the Season as they went to Nathan Hghes of Wasps, while head coach Rob Baxter also missed out in the Guinness Director of Rugby for the year as this went to Bath’s Mike Ford.
Meanwhile, Ford’s son, George, George Ford was tonight named Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season at a glittering ceremony in central London.
The Bath Rugby outside-half has enjoyed a stellar season for both club and country as Bath have made the Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-finals for the first time since 2010.
“George is a worthy recipient of this year’s Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season award,” said Phil Winstanley, the Rugby Director at Premiership Rugby.
“There is no doubt he has spear-headed an extremely talented back-line at Bath Rugby and his control and composure at fly-half show a remarkable maturity for someone so young.
“Having graduated through the Leicester Tigers Academy and becoming the youngest player to make his professional debut in the Premiership he went on to become the first Englishman to claim the IRB Young Player of the Year award.
“This season he has now cemented his position in the England team and I’m sure we all hope he can take his fantastic form from this season into this year’s Rugby World Cup.”
Other awards on the night went to Joe Simpson, whose try against the Chiefs at the Ricoh last month was named Try of the Season and Saracens hooker Jamie George collected the Community Player of the Year.
