Beirne among 8 Irish stars on European Player of the Year shortlist

Kildare's Tadhg Beirne has been included in the 15-man shortlist for the 2019 EPCR European Player of the Year award.

Leinster and Munster have six representatives, while try machines Jacob Stockdale for Ulster and Racing 92 winger Simon Zebo are also included.

Hooker Seán Cronin, Garry Ringrose and prop Tadhg Furlong make up the Leinster contingent, joined by the Munster trio of Joey Carbery, captain Peter O’Mahony and second row Beirne.

The list will be reduced to five players in April following the Heineken Champions Cup semi-finals by a combination of the public vote and the verdict of the judges, and players who have not been included in initial list of 15, but who make a significant impact in a quarter-final or semi-final match, may be considered for the shortlist.

The five-man judging panel includes Bryan Habana, Brian O’Driscoll and Dimitri Yachvili.

EPCR European Player of the Year award 2019 nominees

Tadhg Beirne (Munster)

Joey Carbery (Munster)

Sean Cronin (Leinster)

Antoine Dupont (Toulouse)

Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)

Alex Goode (Saracens)

Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse)

Viliame Mata (Edinburgh)

Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92)

Peter O’Mahony (Munster)