IRB announces final nominees for Sevens Players

Dublin – Ireland, June 29, 2013: The International Rugby Board has announced the final shortlist of nominees for the prestigious IRB Sevens Player of the Year, in association with HSBC, and the IRB Women’s Sevens Player of the Year.

Three men and three women from across five nations and four continents remain in contention for the awards.

Nominations are based on stellar performances across the IRB’s suite of Sevens events, which are played throughout the entire season and continue to reach out to new audiences around the world.

In the men’s category the final three nominees are: Tim Mikkelson (New Zealand), Dan Norton (England) and Joji Raqamate (Fiji).

In the women’s category the final three nominees are: Jennifer Kish (Canada), Kayla McAlister (New Zealand) and Kelly van Harskamp (Netherlands).

Rugby fans have voted in their thousands at facebook.com/irbsevens and facebook.com/irbwomens and those results have been taken into account, along with the initial nomination process covering the HSBC Sevens World Series, IRB Women’s Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens form.

The two winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony in Moscow at the conclusion of Rugby World Cup Sevens on Sunday June 30.

IRB Chairman, Bernard Lapasset, said: “Once again we are seeing here in Russia how the Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens, its spectacle and its competitive edge, showcases all that is good about our global game.

“Many congratulations to these six players, who are all wonderful ambassadors for Rugby’s character-building values. I wish them and all of the teams the best of luck for the knock-out stages here in Moscow.”

Sevens Roll of Honour:

IRB Sevens Player of the Year

2004 Simon Amor, England

2005 Orene Ai’i, New Zealand

2006 Uale Mai, Samoa

2007 Afeleke Pelenise, New Zealand

2008 DJ Forbes, New Zealand

2009 Ollie Phillips, England

2010 Mikaele Pesamino, Samoa

2011 Cecil Afrika, South Africa

2012 Tomasi Cama, New Zealand

IRB Women’s Sevens Player of the Year

While there has been an IRB Women’s personality and IRB Women’s Player of the year in the past, the 2013 recipient will be the first winner of the IRB Women’s Sevens award.