Six Nations 2024: England’s Ben Earl among nominees for Player of the Championship award
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England number eight Ben Earl is one of four nominees for the Six Nations Player of the Championship award.
Earl, 26, was named player of the match after England’s home wins over Wales and Ireland for his powerful try-scoring displays with ball in hand.
He is joined by Ireland centre Bundee Aki, Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe and Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello on the shortlist.
The public vote will close at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, 24 March.
Aki made the most metres in contact during the tournament and was influential in Ireland’s title defence, while Van der Merwe’s five tries saw him finish joint-top try scorer with Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan.
Menoncello was imposing in attack and defence, making the most dominant tackles of any back in the tournament as Italy claimed their best Six Nations return with two wins and a draw.
Earl made 73 carries – more than any other player in the tournament – as England finished third, while only France wing Damian Penaud beat more defenders.
Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson said Earl was “the standout player for England pretty much every week”.
He was also named the best player of the tournament by former Scotland captain John Barclay and former Wales captain Sam Warburton, who covered the tournament as pundits for the BBC.
Full-back Mike Brown was the last Englishman to win the award in 2014.
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