CONOR MURRAY HAS been named the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland player of the year ahead of a ceremony in Dublin this evening.

The gong comes after a superb individual year for the scrum-half on the back of a season of incredible work done by Munster, who were named the Dave Guiney team of the year.

Murray started all three Tests for the Lions, scoring a crucial try in the second Test victory over the All Blacks in Wellington. The Limerick man was pivotal in guiding Munster to the Pro12 final and through the pool stages of the Champions Cup. His absence was sorely missed in the semi-final loss to Saracens at the Aviva Stadium.

“I can’t lie about, it’s nice to get these things,” says the 28-year-old.

“You have to be realistic about it, you play in a good team and then you get credit but it shows you that there are good squads to be involved in at the moment.”

“Watching the Axel documentary recently kind of brought it all back about how big a year it actually was (for Munster).

“I know we got to the Pro12 final and we lost to Saracens in the Champions Cup semi but it was a good year. It’s not silverware but it’s a definitely a big step in the right direction.

“Looking back on that it was a tough year but I think we did really well and it’s another honour to get an award like that.”

Meanwhile, the RWI award for women’s player of the year went to Dr Claire Molloy.

The relentless openside helped Ireland to set up a Grand Slam decider against England in the spring and stepped in as Ireland captain after Niamh Briggs was a late withdrawal from the Rugby World Cup due to injury. Though a disappointing campaign as hosts yielded only an eighth-place finish, the flanker persevered through every minute of the pool stages before a head injury against Australia brought her tournament to an early end.

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

“It’s a huge honour to receive the award and be recognised. It’s very humbling and it’s a product of the people I’ve been lucky enough to play with and to be coached by over the years,” says Dr Molloy.

“At the World Cup we didn’t quite get the results we wanted, we got two good wins at the start but we didn’t quite perform for the rest of it to achieve where we wanted to go.

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“Hosting a home World Cup was an amazing experience and the crowd, everything that came with it was great to be part of.”

2017 RWI awards

Dave Guiney team of the year: Munster

Club of the Year: Cork Constitution

Tom Rooney award for significant contribution to rugby: Michael Kearney

Guinness RWI Hall of Fame: Colin Patterson

Guinness RWI men’s player of the year: Conor Murray

Guinness RWI women’s player of the year: Dr Claire Molloy

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