Beach, who guided Neath to victory in the league by 13 points to make it four titles in succession and then steered them to victory in the Konica Minolta Cup final, has been nominated with Bridgend skipper Gareth David and Pontypridd captain Nathan Strong for the prestigious Principality Premiership Player of the Year Award.
That award is one of five due to be handed out at the third annual presentation evening.
The full list of Principality Building Society presentations is as follows:
Services to Rugby
Referee’s Fair Play Award
Newcomer of the Year Award
Coach of the Year Award
Player of the Year Award
The nominees for Newcomer of the Year are as follows:
LEIGH HALFPENNY of Cardiff
ASHLEY BECK of Aberavon
JASON TOVEY of Bedwas
LEIGH HALFPENNY – Ended last season’s IRB Under 19 World Championship in Belfast as the top scorer and notched 151 league points for new club Cardiff this season. Was instrumental in steering the Blue and Blacks to second place in the Premiership and played for the Blues in their final Magners League match of the season in Connacht to help them steal the runners-up spot in that competition.
ASHLEY BECK – Made waves in his first season of senior rugby for Aberavon this season, as well as being in inspirational form for the Ospreys Under 18 side in their WRU Reebok Regional Championship title win and for Wales Under 18. Beck made his Ospreys debut at the age of 17 – against Brian O’Driscoll and Felipe Contepomi. A great midfield talent in the making, he made three appearances for the Ospreys off the bench and helped the Wales Under 18 team win four out of five matches this season.
JASON TOVEY – Jason was nominated for this award last season as an 18-year-old when he was playing for Newport. Now with Bedwas, the Wales Under 20 cap played 17 matches in the Premiership and had three end of season run outs with the Dragons, including a starting place at fly-half in the final victory over the champions Leinster.
The nominees for Coach of the year are as follows:
RICHARD HODGES of Glamorgan Wanderers
PAUL JOHN of Pontypridd
JUSTIN BURNELL of Cardiff
RICHARD HODGES guided the Wanderers to their first Konica Minolta Cup semi-final this season and 10th in the Premiership. He is the Cardiff Blues Regional Community Manager and has turned the Wanderers into one of the toughest teams to beat in the division.
PAUL JOHN is following in the footsteps of his father, Denis, in turning into one of the most respected coaches around the Welsh club scene. Denis, of course, was synonymous with the many years of success at Pontypridd and rose to coach Wales. Paul enjoyed a glittering playing career and became an international. This season, as Head Coach at Sardis Road, he took Ponty to the cup final and third place in the Premiership.
JUSTIN BURNELL is the Blues Academy Manager and successfully combines that role with the job of Director of Coaching at Cardiff. Last season he saw his side rise to second place in the Premiership and complete a double over the champions, Neath.
The nominees for Player of the Year are as follows:
NATHAN STRONG of Pontypridd
LEE BEACH of Neath
GARETH DAVID of Bridgend
NATHAN STRONG has become something of a cult figure at Sardis Road since joining Pontypridd in 2005. As captain, he led his side to the Konica Minolta Cup final and third place in the Principality Premiership. A Wales Rugby League international, he was one of the mainstays of the Ponty pack throughout another highly competitive season.
LEE BEACH stepped down from Regional level at the Ospreys to try to ‘rediscover’ himself. He made a pretty good job of it as he led Neath to the league and cup double and also played for Wales in the IRB Sevens World Series and the recent FIRA RWC Sevens qualifying victory in Denmark.
GARETH DAVID was once again the backbone of the Bridgend side and scored more than 200 points in the Principality Premiership. His strong leadership qualities from full back were required throughout a difficult season at the Brewery Field. He inspired his side to reach the quarter-finals of the Konica Minolta Cup and to stave off any prospect of relegation.
The names of the winners will be released on embargo tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday). Former Principality Premiership Player of the Year nominee James Hook will be present at the Awards Dinner, while Wales coach Warren Gatland will present the Player of the Year Award.
