BY RICHARD BULLICK
ULSTER’S wonderful warrior Brittany Hogan is among five nominees for Women’s Player of the Year at the Rugby Writers of Ireland Awards, which will be presented at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin on Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old powerhouse, from County Down, won Player of the Match against Japan in August as Ireland returned to the World Cup stage after an eight-year absence and has delivered a series of thunderous displays in the green jersey over the past 12 months.
For the third time in succession, compact centre Aoife Dalton, who was crowned Women’s Player’s Player of the Year at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards at the end of May, is the only back included on the Rugby Writers shortlist.
Young Offaly woman Dalton is in contention to double up by winning both awards but faces fierce competition from fellow 22-year-old and namesake Aoife Wafer, the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Player of the Championship.
The other two nominees are experienced prop Linda Djougang, who recently became the first member of the present squad to reach 50 caps, and the 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Award winner Erin King.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s women are among three sides shortlisted for Team of the Year along with Leinster’s men, who won the URC title last season, and Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions on the back of their triumphant tour to Australia this summer.
Given that the current Wallabies were regarded as one of the weakest sides the Lions have faced down through the years and how Leo Cullen’s Leinster frustratingly fell short in Europe again, Scott Bemand’s women must surely have a great chance of claiming the title.
The Ireland squad, pictured at the World Cup in September, have made impressive progress in the past two years
The girls in green began this awards window by walloping an Australian team then ranked fifth in the world 36-10 at Ravenhill in a one-off Test which officially launched the IRFU’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
Two weeks later they scored five tries in a famous upset of reigning world champions New Zealand on their way to claiming a superb runners-up spot at the WXV1 tournament in Vancouver, sealed by coming from behind to beat the United States.
Ireland secured a top three finish in the Guinness Six Nations for a second year running with an encouraging Championship campaign which included a record rout of Italy in Parma and an emphatic away win against Wales.
Back at the World Cup this summer after an eight-year absence, Ireland began by breaking their record for most points in a match twice in seven days as they won their first two group games against Japan and Spain, scoring 13 tries in the process.
That secured qualification for the knockout stages and, after being beaten by New Zealand in the Pool C decider in front of a vast sea of green in Brighton, Ireland unluckily came up agonisingly just short in an epic, controversial quarter-final encounter with France.
There is just one difference from the five nominees for the same award 12 months ago, with rookie flanker King – who missed the recent World Cup due to injury – replacing fellow wing forward Edel McMahon, the Ireland co-captain.
By contrast, Dalton had been the only survivor last time round from the previous season’s shortlist which also included winner Nichola Fryday, then the Ireland captain, joint successor Sam Monaghan, Ulster exile Neve Jones and dynamic forward Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird.
It is testament to the understated Dalton’s consistent excellence that she has been shortlisted three years running and striking that the compact centre was the sole back to be nominated on any of those occasions.
The recognition of forwards, who are perceived to do less glamorous jobs than their backline colleagues, perhaps should be regarded as being to the credit of the Rugby Writers, while de facto defence captain Dalton’s own contributions could easily slip under the radar.
Scorer of Ireland’s opening try against both Australia and Italy during the season, Dalton didn’t actually cross the whitewash herself during the recent World Cup but was diligently riding shotgun for a number of the team’s touchdowns had another pass been needed.
In addition to those support lines, the selfless Dalton’s now hallmark hard decoys runs are often very effective for Ireland along with some superb breakdown work, winning important turnovers and ferociously cleaning out opposition players with surgical precision.
Ireland ace Aoife Dalton takes on the Spanish defence during the second World Cup group game in Northampton
Dalton has started all but two of 15 fixtures for Ireland since the start of last season, and one of the exceptions was August’s first World Cup warm-up match against Scotland when fringe players were given the opportunity to audition for squad spots.
Leaving out that Scottish clash, Dalton has been on the field for all but 19 minutes of Ireland’s last 11 matches, putting her top of the team’s game-time chart for that period and an exceptional stat considering the competition in her position.
Player of the Match against Italy, she was one of two Irishwomen – along with winger Amee-Leigh Costigan – to play every second of this year’s Six Nations and jointly topped the table alongside Dannah O’Brien for her team’s most minutes at the subsequent World Cup.
The only midfielder from any of the competing countries to play all 400 minutes in the 2025 Six Nations, the sturdy Dalton made the most post-contact metres and was one of three Irishwomen to make the official Team of the Championship along with Wafer and Jones.
She received treasured recognition from her peers when crowned Players’ Player of the Year at May’s Irish Rugby Awards and, along with Wafer, King and Jones, Dalton was one of an Irish quartet named in the World’s Top 50 list ahead of the World Cup.
Outside of the international arena, vice-captain Dalton delivered exceptional performances as Leinster retained the interpro title and was also vice-captain of Wolfhounds, who retained their Celtic Challenge crown.
Last year’s award winner Wafer was an obvious inclusion on the Rugby Writers shortlist for Women’s Player of the Year on the back of a stellar 12 months despite missing six of Ireland’s 15 Test matches due to injury.
She bagged braces of tries in delivering Player of the Match performances in the victories over Australia, New Zealand and Wales, while also touching down twice in the Six Nations opener against France at Ravenhill.
Wafer made World Rugby’s Dream Team last November and was crowned Player of the 2025 Six Nations having again been selected for the Team of the Championship and she was an inevitable inclusion on that World Top 50 list.
It is testament to rookie flanker King’s impact that she has been shortlisted for the RWI Awards despite starting just a third of Ireland’s 15 matches during the adjudication period and missing more than half through injury.
The then 20-year-old only won her first cap against Australia last September before scoring two tries off the bench in the stunning upset of New Zealand and her stats in the Six Nations were very impressive until her campaign was cruelly curtailed.
King became the first Irishwoman to win an individual World Cup award when picking up the Breakthrough gong in Monaco at the end of last year and, along with Wafer, she made the BBC’s Team of WXV as well as joining her fellow loose forward on that World Top 50 roll.
Sydney-born former sevens star King had been named Player of the Match on just her second start for Ireland as they beat USA to claim runners-up place at WXV1 last autumn and she won Young Player of the Year at May’s Irish Rugby Awards.
Linda Djougang takes the applause of team-mates after winning her 50th cap for Ireland at the recent World Cup
While Wafer and King rightly get a lot of headlines, the other two forwards shortlisted for these RWI Awards are relatively unsung heroes, but both the incredibly durable Djougang and formidable Hogan are wonderfully reliable cornerstones of the Ireland pack.
Leinster Player of the Year Djougang is the only caps half-centurion in the present Irish squad, having brought up that impressive milestone in the second World Cup group game against Spain.
The popular 29-year-old prop, who was born in Cameroon but has lived in Ireland for the past two decades, gave an absolutely outstanding display in going for the full 80 minutes of the quarter-final against France a fortnight later.
Such is Djougang’s durability and consistency, the only Ireland fixture she hasn’t started since the end of 2021 was the first World Cup warm-up match against Scotland when Bemand was experimenting ahead of the tournament.
Whether deployed at No 8 or blindside flanker, relentless Ulsterwoman Hogan served up a series of impactful performances in the back row, combining menacing carries with hard-edged breakdown work.
Outside of those shortlisted, honourable mentions must go to several others including previous RWI award winners Jones and the currently injured Dorothy Wall, who lost out to Dalton for that Rugby Players Ireland award.
Dalton’s fellow centre Eve Higgins had a fantastic World Cup, converted fullback Stacey Flood made a significant contribution to Ireland’s attacking game in her new role and young outhalf Dannah O’Brien’s kicking game has been acknowledged beyond these shores.
Meanwhile, Lucinda Kinghan from Monaghan joins the experienced Kate Farrell-McCabe and young winger Hannah Clarke on the shortlist for Women’s Sevens Player of the Year albeit it has been a grim 12 months in that format for the girls in green.
Donegal native Nora Stapleton, Ireland’s outhalf for the historic 2013 Grand Slam, the last Six Nations title triumph two years later and their most successful ever World Cup campaign in between, will be inducted into the Rugby Writers Hall of Fame.
The 42-year-old former Donegal gaelic footballer, who hung up her boots after the 2017 World Cup, having reached 50 caps during that tournament, now works for Sport Ireland in a senior management role.
Experienced prop Linda Djougang barges over for Ireland’s first try in the World Cup quarter-final against France
Breakthrough Award winner Erin King receives her trophy at last November’s World Rugby Awards in Monaco
Ireland taliswoman Aoife Wafer touches down for the first of her two tries against France in this year’s Six Nations
