(Reuters) – Saracens flanker Ben Earl has been named Premiership Player of the Season after steering his side to second place in the regular season following their promotion from the Championship, organisers said.
The 24-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Bristol Bears, beat Harlequins duo Danny Care and Andre Esterhuizen as well Leicester Tigers’ George Ford and Julian Montoya to the award, which was announced late on Tuesday.
“We’re enormously proud of Ben and how he has developed through our system,” said Saracens head coach Joe Shaw. “His impact coming back this season has been huge and he has become an increasingly important player in our squad.”
Despite his fine form, Earl has been overlooked by England coach Eddie Jones for more than a year, with the last of his 13 caps coming in the Six Nations against Ireland in March 2021.
Leicester coach Steve Borthwick won Director of Rugby of the Season for guiding them to top spot in the table while London Irish fullback Henry Arundell took home the Discovery of the Season award.
Saracens face Harlequins in the first semi-final on Saturday followed by Leicester taking on Northampton Saints. The final will be played at Twickenham on June 18.
(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
