Zurich announced as Title Sponsor for the 2016 Irish Rugby Players’ Awards

The Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA) are delighted to announce Zurich Insurance plc as new title sponsor of the prestigious Irish Rugby Players’ Awards 2016. The event will be hosted on Wednesday 4th May and is primed to attract over 800 people to the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, with a mix of professional and elite players rubbing shoulders with the Irish corporate community.

Now into its 14th year, the event represents one of the biggest nights in Irish sport, marking itself as the only truly national awards night in Irish rugby. Adding to the prestige of the night is the fact that the large majority of the awards are voted for by the players themselves. These include the Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year and of course the main award of the night - The Zurich IRUPA Player’s Player of the Year. The big award was last year won by Irish legend Paul O’Connell, who commented:

"The Zurich IRUPA Players’ Player award is the greatest individual achievement that a professional rugby player in Ireland can win, given that it is voted on by the entire player group. I look forward to seeing who takes home the award this year in what I’m sure will be another wonderful celebration of Irish rugby."

The Player’s Player of the Year takes into account the entire year’s matches, with players rating each other’s performances across all international and provincial matches, including the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The awards’ star studded honour roll includes some of the biggest names of the modern era:

Conor Brennan, CEO of Zurich Insurance plc, Ireland commented on the partnership between Zurich and IRUPA: "Zurich is delighted to be title sponsor for the awards this year as they highlight the great work the players are doing as part of a team and also in the community. With our recent joint initiative of the Tackle your Feelings campaign launched with IRUPA, both organisations are committed to promoting awareness of mental wellbeing, so we are honoured to also be supporting all the players on their annual night of reward and recognition."

IRUPA CEO Omar Hassanein added:

"The Zurich Irish Rugby Players’ Awards now commands its place as the premier rugby black tie event in the country, with the top award – The Players’ Player being regarded as the number one personal accolade in the game. We are incredibly pleased to have Zurich on board as title sponsors of the event for the first time – a blue chip organisation whose brand values and behaviours align nicely with the IRUPA as an organisation and our membership".

Pictured at the launch of the 2016 Irish Rugby Players’ Awards
From left: Dave Kearney, Omar Hassanein and Jordi Murphy of the IRUPA with Conor Brennan of Zurich Insurance plc.