It's not altogether unexpected, but Ireland have another nominee for the World Rugby U20 Player of the Tournament.
Max Deegan joins Garry Ringrose and JJ Hanrahan as Irish players who have been nominated for the award, as well as Jamie Heaslip who was nominated for the now defunct U21 player of the year.
Deegan has been astounding in this tournament. His carrying ability, with a strong combination of power and pace has made earned him two man of the match awards. His footwork going into contact has been brilliant, and he gets through a serious amount of tackles. There have been shades of Jamie Heaslip circa 2009 in Deegan's play, and it's fantastic that he's following in Heaslip's footsteps with this nomination.
See Also: Watch: Max Deegan Touches Down For Lung-Busting Intercept Try In World Semi-Final
Deegan is up against some stiff competition for the award though. England's Harry Mallinder - who is likely to win, will be Ireland's biggest threat to claiming the title on Saturday - gets a nomination. New Zealand's Shaun Stevenson, South Africa's Curwin Bosch, and Japan's answer to Jonah Lomu Ataata Moeakiola also get a nod. Mallinder has already played Premiership rugby, Stevenson has Super Rugby experience, and Moeakiola already has senior Japanese caps. Only Deegan and Bosch have no experience at a level higher than his tournament.
The winner will be decided by a public vote on the World Rugby facebook page, and at the time of writing, Deegan looks to be the early leader. Get your votes in, and hopefully Ireland will have it's first winner of the award ever - in any of it's forms.
A mention must be made for Ireland's Andrew Porter, who has been outstanding, and I think as good as Deegan - for missing out on a nomination.
VOTE for the #WorldRugbyU20s Player of the Tournament! Head to World Rugby Facebook to vote!https://t.co/KjcTg38vllhttps://t.co/CcFDOhC7wd
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 23, 2016
