| IRP Special Merit Award | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | World Rugby |
| First awarded | 2007 |
| Currently held by |  Bryan Habana (2022) |
The International Rugby Players Special Merit Award is presented at the World Rugby Awards by World Rugby.
| IRP Special Merit Award | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | World Rugby |
| First awarded | 2007 |
| Currently held by | Bryan Habana (2022) |
The International Rugby Players Special Merit Award is presented at the World Rugby Awards by World Rugby.
| Year | Recipients | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Fabien Pelous | |
| 2008 |  Agustín Pichot | |
| 2011 |  George Smith | |
| 2015 |  Brian O'Driscoll Nathan Sharpe | [1] [2] |
| 2016 | Jean de Villiers | [3] |
| 2017 |  Richie McCaw  Rachael Burford | |
| 2018 | DJ Forbes Stephen Moore | |
| 2019 | Jamie Heaslip | [4] [5] |
| 2022 | Bryan Habana | [6] |
| 2023 | John Smit | [7] |
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Gordon William D'Arcy is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is second on the record list for most Leinster appearances at 257, behind Devon Toner and is third on the all time Leinster try list with 60. He was registered to club side Lansdowne.
Leo Francis Matthew Cullen is an Irish rugby coach and former professional rugby union player. He played at lock for Leinster Rugby and Ireland. He was appointed coach of Leinster rugby on 19 August 2015.
The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an award presented annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It is given to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". First presented in 2001, it was initially named the IRB International Player of the Year; from 2007 until 2014 it was the IRB Player of the Year and in 2014 it was titled World Rugby Player of the Year, before being given its current name in 2016.
The World Rugby Awards are given out annually by World Rugby, the worldwide governing body for rugby union, for major achievements in the sport. The idea of rewarding excellence in rugby was disclosed in 2001 following the Annual Meeting of the International Rugby Board Council in Copenhagen, and the first ceremony was first awarded later that year. The International Rugby Players' Association also gives out awards, for Try of the Year, and Special Merit, as a part of the programme. As of 2021, they now present Women's Try of the Year.
James Heislip is an Irish former rugby union player who played for Leinster and Ireland. He played as a number 8. Heislip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, making him one of the most capped players in Irish national team history.
The World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year is awarded by World Rugby each year. It was first awarded in 2004. The award is based in large part on the player’s performance over the course of the World Rugby Sevens Series, along with other Sevens tournaments during the year.
Cian Eoin James Healy is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and Racing 92.
Seán Kevin O'Brien is an Irish retired professional rugby union player. He previously represented home province Leinster for eleven seasons. At Leinster, he helped the team win four European titles, and was named ERC European Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season, he then played three season's for English Premiership Rugby side London Irish.
The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 school players in Ireland. There is an equivalent Ireland under 18 clubs side that play international rugby.
Rugby union trophies and awards have been given out to teams and participants from the very earliest days of the sport's history. In common with many other sports rugby union has an array of competitions, both domestic international, covering the spectrum of competition structures from season long leagues, to one-off matches. The list below is divided into sections such that trophies and awards competed for by national sides are grouped together, as are those competed for by club and provincial sides. In both cases, the type of award can differ. The award might be a perpetual trophy, which is one competed for in perpetuity by two sides such that on each occasion they meet, which may or may not be on a regular basis, that honour is contested. The award may be one that is given to the winner of a tournament, or as a subset of this, as an award for a particular honour attained in that tournament. Additionally, the sport of rugby union bestows certain honours on individual players, and these too have their own dedicated section below.
Jordi Murphy is an Irish international rugby player. He plays for provincial and United Rugby Championship side Ulster as a loose forward, and also plays for the Ireland national rugby union team.
The IRP Men's Try of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The International Rugby Players (IRP) – formerly International Rugby Players Association – select the nominees from which the winner is decided by a public vote. As of 2017, the IRPA selection panel comprises Isaac Boss, Andries Pretorius, Hale T-Pole and Stefan Terblanche.
The Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service, previously called the IRB Distinguished Service Award, is awarded by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It has been awarded annually since 2001. It honours an individual, Union or group, male or female, who has given outstanding service to their country and contributed to the International Game in as many as possible of the following areas: Playing, Coaching, Management, Training, Administration, Media & Broadcast.
The World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year is awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. Prior to 2015, the IRB presented the Women's Player of the Year award from 2001–2002, and in 2012 and 2014. The IRB Women's Personality of the Year award was presented from 2003–2011.
World Rugby Men's 15s Dream Team of the Year was first presented in 2021 by World Rugby. They were voted by a panel of international past players and coaches, World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees and the rugby media. The 2021 panel was composed of Maggie Alphonsi (ENG), Fiona Coghlan (IRE), Thierry Dusautoir (FRA), George Gregan (AUS), Richie McCaw (NZL), Brian O’Driscoll (IRE), Melodie Robinson (NZL), John Smit (RSA), and 2003 Coach of the Year, Clive Woodward (ENG).