Rugby: Scots double as Tim Visser and Stuart Hogg land awards

SCOTTISH rugby claimed a unique double last night when Tim Visser was voted Players’ Player of the Year at the 2011-12 RaboDirect PRO12 awards and Glasgow full-back Stuart Hogg collected the Young Player of the Year title.

Edinburgh winger Visser was the only player to be named in the league’s ‘Dream XV’ for a third year running and is a former Young Player winner, but he was stunned to discover at the ceremony in the Cardiff Hilton last night that he had also topped the poll of his fellow players in Ireland and Wales.

It is less of a surprise when one considers that he has beaten his own try-scoring tally for the second year in a row, going from 15 last season (14 in the league) to 17 this season, again topping the league charts with 13, and adding four in the Heineken Cup this time. Visser’s tally with Edinburgh stands at 37 in 57 league matches and 43 in 74 overall.

Coming from a player in the side that has struggled to make any impact in the league, finishing second bottom in the PRO12 this season, it underlines the quality of finishing that has Visser earmarked for a call-up to the Scotland tour squad this summer.

Hogg held off competition from Ben Morgan, the Scarlets No8, and Leinster’s Ian Madigan to lift the Young Player title.

Glasgow beat Connacht 24-3 at the weekend to reach the RaboDirect play-offs, while Edinburgh rounded off their season with a 44-21 win over Treviso.

Glasgow’s managing director Nathan Bombrys said: “Glasgow Warriors have already enjoyed a very positive weekend, and Stuart Hogg and the team being recognised with these awards caps a truly memorable 24 hours.

“Stuart thoroughly deserves to be named Young Player of the Year. He has been consistently excellent for us and has the potential to develop into an even more fantastic asset in the years ahead.”