| Premiership Rugby Young Player of the Season | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The most outstanding young player in each given Premiership Rugby season |
| Sponsored by | Defender, Gallagher |
| Country | England |
| Presented by | Premiership Rugby |
| First award | 1998 |
| Currently held by | Henry Pollock |
| Highlights | |
| Most awards | Iain Balshaw (2) |
| Most team wins | Leicester Tigers (6) |
| Most consecutive team wins | Bath, Leicester Tigers (2) |
The Premiership Rugby Young Player of the Season, also known as the Breakthrough Player of the Season, is an annual rugby union award presented to players in England, which recognises the most outstanding young player in the Premiership each season.
Rugby union turned professional in 1995, and 1996–97 marked the first professional Premiership Rugby season. [1] However, the Young Player of the Season award was only first bestowed during the 1998–99 season. The first Young Player of the Season award was given to Newcastle Falcons player Jonny Wilkinson. [2]
Iain Balshaw is the only player to have won the award more than once, winning back-to-back in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons. [3]
The nominees of the award must be 23 or younger at the start of the season. The award is presented by the Rugby Players' Association (RPA), and is voted on by the players themselves. [4] The trophy is named after Nick Duncombe, a Harlequins and England scrum-half who tragically died in 2003 from a rare form of blood poisoning at just 21 years old. [5]
The current holder of the award is Northampton Saints' Henry Pollock. [6]
| Player (X) | Name of the player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one) |
|---|---|
| † | Indicates player also scored the most points in the same season |
| ‡ | Indicates player also scored the most tries in the same season |
| § | Denotes the club were Premiership Rugby champions in the same season |
The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at least two Player of the Season awards.
Players in bold are still active in the Premiership Rugby.
| Awards | Player | Country | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Iain Balshaw |  England | 1999–2000, 2000–01 |
| Country | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| England | 25 | 26 |
 Wales | 1 | 1 |
| Position | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Flanker | 6 | 6 |
| Fly-half | 5 | 5 |
| Wing | 4 | 5 |
| Centre | 4 | 4 |
| Number 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Lock | 2 | 2 |
| Scrum half | 1 | 1 |
| Prop | 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Leicester Tigers | 6 | 6 |
| Wasps | 4 | 4 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 3 | 3 |
| Saracens | 3 | 3 |
| Bath | 2 | 3 |
| London Irish | 2 | 2 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 1 | 1 |
| Gloucester | 1 | 1 |
| Harlequins | 1 | 1 |
| Bristol Bears | 1 | 1 |
| Sale Sharks | 1 | 1 |
| Northampton Saints | 1 | 1 |