O'Gara and Munster honoured
Ronan O'Gara of Munster in action during the Heineken Cup match between Sale Sharks and Munster at Edgely Park on October 19, 2008 in Stockport, England. Photo: Laurence Griffiths, Getty Images
IRELAND and Munster out-half Ronan O'Gara was last night honoured with the Rugby Writers' of Ireland Player-of-the-Year award at a function in Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
O'Gara recovered brilliantly from Ireland's disappointing World Cup to steer Munster to their second Heineken Cup, while his international form was equally impressive -- despite Ireland enduring a difficult Six Nations campaign.
Munster were named Team of the Year for their European exploits while scrummaging expert Roly Meates picked up the Tom Rooney award for making an exceptional contribution to the game.
Cork Constitution were named Club of the Year after winning the AIB League title following a nine-year gap. While the Cork club's achievement was well-earned, Bruff may feel aggrieved after a season which saw them earn promotion to Division Two after 14 wins from 15, which produced the remarkable points against total of 56.
Rugby Writers' of Ireland Awards 2008 -- Player of the Year: Ronan O'Gara; Club of the Year: Cork Constitution; Tom Rooney Award: Roly Meates; Team of the Year (Dave Guiney Award): Munster; Guinness Hall of Fame: Mick English, Sean Lynch.
- Hugh Farrelly
