Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards
Robshaw scoops Player of the Year gong
ESPNscrum Staff
May 8, 2012
Chris Robshaw poses with the Aviva Premiership Player of the Season trophy,  Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards Dinner, Hilton Hotel, London, May 8, 2012
Chris Robshaw capped a brilliant season with the Player of the Year award © Getty Images
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Harlequins and England skipper Chris Robshaw scooped the Player of the Year award at the Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards on Tuesday evening.

Past winners of the Premiership Rugby Player of the Season

  • 2010-11: Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
  • 2009-10: Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
  • 2008-9: Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
  • 2007-8: James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby)
  • 2006-7: Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers)
  • 2005-6: Mike Catt (London Irish)
  • 2004-5: Martin Corry (Leicester Tigers)

Robshaw - who is the first player to win the award twice after taking it back in the 2008-09 season - was joined in collecting an award at the ceremony by fellow England star Owen Farrell who won the Discovery of the Year category. Exeter Chiefs' Rob Baxter was awarded the Director of the Year award.

Robshaw has experienced a remarkable year for both club and country skippering Quins to the top of the Premiership and helping England in their renaissance under Stuart Lancaster to second in the 2012 Six Nations. Robshaw pipped team-mate Mike Brown for the award who was nominated alongside Leicester's Julian Salvi, Gloucester's Nick Wood, Exeter's James Scaysbrook and Saracens' Brad Barritt.

Robshaw will now lead his Quins side into their Premiership semi-final with Northampton Saints on Saturday. Quins director of rugby Conor O'Shea paid tribute to his skipper saying: "This award is richly deserved. What I like about him is that no matter which accolades come his way or what he achieves we all know what comes first with Chris is the team.

"Chris is the sort of guy who'll never get above himself. For him it is all about the team. He wants nothing more than for the team to be successful."

Robshaw's England team-mate Farrell followed in the footsteps of Manu Tuilagi who scooped the award in 2010-11 in taking the Discovery of the Year vote. Farrell broke onto the scene last term but backed it up this season with a series of impressive performances for both Saracens and England.

Robshaw made the ESPN Dream Team as one of four Harlequins representatives with Joe Marler, Mike Brown and Nick Easter also getting the nod. Leicester wingers Alesana Tuilagi and Horacio Agulla were named on the wings with George Pisi partnering George Lowe in the centres. Toby Flood was the chosen fly-half with Exeter's Haydn Thomas at scrum-half.

In the forwards, Schalk Brits and Dan Cole partnered Marler in the front-row while Samu Manoa and Geoff Parling were in the second-row. Scaysbrook joined Robshaw and Easter in the back-row.

Baxter, who was nominated for the Director of Rugby award last year, has guided the Exeter Chiefs into the Heineken Cup next season and confounded the critics at the start of the campaign who said his side would struggle in their second season. It was not the only piece of silverware for the Chiefs on the evening with Gonzalo Camacho taking the game changer award.

Try of the Year went to Gloucester's Jonny May for his sensational solo effort against Harlequins - one of the two in the Scrum Sevens awards.

Jonny May v Harlequins, February 25, 2012

The Aviva Premiership Rugby Award winners:

Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season:
Winner: Chris Robshaw
Shortlist: Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), James Scaysbrook (Exeter Chiefs), Julian Salvi (Leicester Tigers) and Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby)

Land Rover Discovery of the Season:
Winner: Owen Farrell
Shortlist: Owen Farrell (Saracens) Jonathan Joseph (London Irish), Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Christian Wade (London Wasps) and Luke Wallace (Harlequins)

QBE Director of Rugby of the Season: Rob Baxter (Exeter Chiefs)

MBNA Try of the Season: Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby v Harlequins)

Gatorade Game Changer of the Season: Gonzalo Camacho (Exeter Chiefs)

Aviva Community Player of the Season: Bob Casey (London Irish)

J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series Player of the Season: Luke Fielden (Newcastle Falcons)

Guinness Top Try Scorer: Rob Miller (Sale Sharks) - 10 tries

Gilbert Golden Boot: Tom Homer (London Irish) - 253 points

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