Welsh rugby awards: best player, worst signings and team of the season

THE URC SEASON IS FINALLY OVER FOR WALES' FOUR PROFESSIONAL CLUBS AND IT'S TIME TO DISH OUT THE AWARDS 13:43, 01 Jun 2025 It's the end of another long season for Wales'

four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - with plenty of drama both on and off the pitch. Operating from a salary cap of just £4.5m, three of Wales'

professional clubs achieved competitiveness in the United Rugby Championship, with the Scarlets reaching the end of season play-offs and qualifying for next season's Investec Champions

Cup. The Ospreys went furthest in Europe reaching the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup before bowing out with a disappointing home defeat to Lyon. But there were plenty of players who

impressed significantly throughout the season. Here are the WalesOnline awards at the end of another season. PLAYER OF THE SEASON - BLAIR MURRAY A year ago very few people would have heard

of the 23-year-old when he originally signed for the Scarlets, but he has proved to be an excellent signing. Article continues below Murray was playing for Canterbury in the Bunnings NPC but

with some excellent work by Scarlets recruitment and operations officer James Davies he was picked up by the west Walians. Murray is electric with the ball in hand and has the ability to

create opportunities out of absolutely nothing while he is also a deadly finisher. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes

in Welsh rugby. The Scarlets flyer is currently joint top of the URC try scoring charts with nine touchdowns which emphasises the impact he has made in west Wales. Murray - who is Welsh

qualified courtesy of his Tonyrefail born mother - was also one of Wales' better players in a disappointing campaign, making such an impression he was touted as a British & Irish

Lions bolter. SIGNING OF THE SEASON - MARNUS VAN DER MERWE In all honesty Murray could and should also take this title but South African hooker Marnus van der Merwe has been just as good for

the Scarlets. The west Walians struggled badly upfront last season and the 28-year-old has played a big part in the Scarlets' resurgence. Van der Merwe is an explosive ball carrier who

regularly gets over the gain line and is extremely physical in defence, while his work in the set-piece is also top class. Stylistically, the former Cheetahs hooker is similar to Springboks

World Cup winner Malcolm Marx with his ability to win turnovers at the breakdown as good as any openside in the URC. The Scarlets star has made such an impact this season he has been

included in the Springboks alignment camp and is expected to be included in Rassie Erasmus' squad for summer Tests against Italy and Georgia before the Rugby Championship begins in

August. UNSUNG HERO - HARRI MILLARD The 28-year-old who can play centre or wing has been outstanding for Cardiff this season. Millard may not be a big name but he has been one of the most

consistent performers in the Welsh game this season. The Cardiff man has scored some important tries for Matt Sherratt's side this and is level with Blair Murray and the Stormers'

Leolin Zas as the top try scorer in the URC with nine. Millard is a safe pair of hands and rarely makes mistakes while he is dangerous with the ball in hand. There has to be an honourable

mention to his Cardiff teammate Alun Lawrence who a couple of years ago found himself without a job after English Championship outfit Jersey Reds went to the wall. Luckily the 26-year-old

was offered an opportunity to return to Cardiff where he has been a consistent performer over the past couple of seasons. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON - MACS PAGE The 20-year-old Scarlets back

- who can cover both centre and wing - edges out Ospreys backrower Morgan Morse for this award. In his first full season of professional rugby, Page made a big impression and there were a

number of standout moments for the man from Crymych who just oozes class. Page has scored five tries this season with his stunning score against Zebre in October arguably the try of the

season. The rising Scarlets star is pure X-factor with his explosive physicality, electric footwork, pace and finishing ability marking him out as a star of the future. JOIN WALESONLINE

RUGBY'S WHATSAPP CHANNEL HERE TO GET THE BREAKING NEWS SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE FOR FREE His performances have not gone unnoticed, with Page in line to win his first senior

international cap on Wales' tour of Japan this summer. COACH OF THE SEASON - DWAYNE PEEL A year ago the former Wales scrum-half's future was openly questioned after an extremely

poor season which included a shocking home defeat to Georgian outfit Black Lion. But the Scarlets board decided to stick with Peel and he has repaid the faith by turning around the fortunes

of the Llanelli-based club. At the start of the season Peel stated the club's goal was to be competitive this season and they have certainly achieved that. A strong recruitment drive

last summer significantly strengthened the pack - the Scarlets' Achilles heel last season - while the experienced Leigh Jones was brought in as rugby performance director to support

Peel. The Scarlets have been competitive in all bar a couple of games this season and while they fell on the wrong side of some narrow defeats to begin with, things finally clicked into

place during the latter part of the season. After last season's struggles, to finish as the only Welsh representative in the URC play-offs which has also led to Champions Cup

qualification, is a significant step in the right direction. Peel deserves praise for how he has turned the Scarlets around and he is no doubt a better coach as a result of last

season's struggles. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT - THE DRAGONS' SIGNINGS It has been a shocking season at Rodney Parade with the Dragons finishing bottom of the URC table with just one

win to their name - 20 points short of 15th placed Zebre. This is in large parts down to getting last season's recruitment drive so badly wrong. Apart from Wales international Shane

Lewis-Hughes, the Dragons' new signings have flopped badly. Much was expected of highly-rated Australian signing Harry Wilson but while the centre made a decent start to the season he

has not had anywhere near the impact required and looks set for an early exit. Powerful No 8 Solomone Funaki was also expected to be a key player for the Dragons this season but has spent

most of his time on the sidelines and has not figured at all for Filo Tiatia's side. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily

newsletter. Sign up here. Former Scarlets lock Steve Cummins has also been a big disappointment and such a poor recruitment cycle undoubtedly played a part in former head coach Dai Flanagan

leaving his role in October. Article continues below Things are looking a bit brighter next season with new head coach Filo Tiatia having recruited heavily again and it goes without saying

the Dragons board will be expecting a huge improvement. TEAM OF THE SEASON Blair Murray (Scarlets); Tom Rogers (Scarlets), Harri Millard (Cardiff), Johnny Williams (Scarlets); Gabriel

Hamer-Webb (Cardiff); Dan Edwards (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets); Alec Hepburn (Scarlets), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Henry Thomas (Scarlets), Josh McNally (Cardiff), Teddy

Williams (Cardiff), Jac Morgan (Ospreys), Josh Macleod (Scarlets), Morgan Morris (Ospreys)