Six Edinburgh stars nominated for PRO14 Dream Team

• 22 May 2019

Six Edinburgh players have been nominated for the Guinness PRO14 Dream Team, which will be revealed tomorrow night in a TV special broadcast on Premier Sports 1 and eir sport 1.

Props Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel, back-row duo Hamish Watson and Bill Mata, golden boot winner, Jaco van der Walt, and Darcy Graham have all been put forward for the prestigious starting XV.

A panel of over 75 media members were invited to take part in the voting. A group that included many former players and coaches alongside some of the most trusted and respected writers involved in covering rugby from across the UK, Ireland, Italy and South Africa.

The voting has now closed and three nominees have been identified at every position for the Guinness PRO14 Dream Team with 12 teams represented across all five participating countries.

The voting has been closer than ever thanks to the rich form of the near 300 internationals who compete in the Championship each season. The 2018/19 season has seen heightened levels of competitiveness across the Guinness PRO14 with Benetton Rugby becoming the first Italian team to reach the knock-out stages which saw Kieran Crowley voted as the Coach of the Season by his peers while the club also have seven nominations

Benetton received the highest nominations, followed by Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh (both six), Ulser, Munster and Connacht (all with five).

The best talent from eir sport and Premier Sport will break down the Dream Team selections and discuss who has rightly won their spot, and who was unlucky to miss out. Murray Kinsella, Rory Lawson, Sean Holley and Luke Fitzgerald, who were all part of the 75-plus voting panel, will come together for this TV special to voice their opinions on the best performers in the Guinness PRO14.

Please note: The show will be broadcast on Premier Sports 1 at 20:00 in the UK and on eir sport 1 at 19:00 in the Rep of Ireland.

Nominations (listed by alphabetical order):

Loosehead Prop: Dave Kilcoyne (Munster); Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster); Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh)

Hooker: Epalahame Faiva (Benetton Rugby); Rob Herring (Ulster); Ken Owens (Scarlets)

Tighthead Prop: Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Marco Riccioni (Benetton Rugby)

Second Row: Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby)

Second Row: Scott Fardy (Leinster); Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors); Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)

Blindside Flanker: Max Deegan (Leinster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster); Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues)

Openside Flanker: Colby Fainga’a (Connacht), Braam Steyn (Benetton); Hamish Watson (Edinburgh)

No 8: Marcel Coetzee (Ulster), Bill Mata (Edinburgh), CJ Stander (Munster)

Scrum-Half: Caolin Blade (Connacht); John Cooney (Ulster); Dewaldt Duvenage (Benetton)

Out-half: Jack Carty (Connacht); Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors); Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh)

Left Wing: Darcy Graham (Edinburgh); James Lowe (Leinster); Rabz Maxwane (Toyota Cheetahs)

Inside Centre: Bundee Aki (Connacht); Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Blues); Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)

Outside Centre: Tom Farrell (Connacht); Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues); Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors)

Right Wing: Monty Ioane (Benetton Rugby); Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets); Ratuva Tavuyara (Benetton Rugby)

Full Back: Dan Evans (Ospreys); Mike Haley (Munster); Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues),