RUGBY UNION: JOE Launchbury has been nominated for the European Player of the Year award along with team mate Elliot Daly.
The England lock becomes the eighth player to be nominated for the award, with Daly, Tyler Bleyendaal, Owen Farrell, Tadhg Furlong, Jonny Gray, Stuart Hogg and Maro Itoje also nominated.
A total of 15 players from the European club game have been selected for the vote, which will open on April 3 after the quarter-final matches in the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.
The list will be whittled down to five candidates, with the winners being announced as a combination of the fans vote and the choice of a distinguished panel of rugby experts, around the Finals weekend in Edinburgh in May.
