Eliota and Charlie up for RPA awards

This weekend's Aviva Premiership Rugby Semi Final between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints will have an added dimension in the back-row as Thomas Waldrom and Tom Wood battle for supremacy and the Computacenter Players' Player of the Year award.

Joining them on the shortlist are Northampton Saints' flier Chris Ashton and Harlequins' mercurial fly-half, Nick Evans, while the West Country also has a strong representation with Gloucester's enigmatic centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and Exeter Chiefs' evergreen prop Chris Budgen also making the final six.

Please see below for quotes from the nominees.

For the Norman Broadbent Young Player of the Year award, the Midlands again claim three of the six nominations with 23 year old Tom Wood young enough to qualify for Young Player as well as Players' Player. Wood has an in-house tussle for the title with Saints team-mate Courtney Lawes, who makes the cut for the second year running.

Manu Tuilagi caps a remarkable first season for Leicester Tigers with a place on the shortlist, having already won the Young Player award at the Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards dinner this week.

Saracens' string-pulling fly-half Owen Farrell, Gloucester's prolific wing Charlie Sharples and Harlequins' fully Mohican-ed prop, Joe Marler, complete the shortlist.

Sharples and Farrell have the chance to show why they've been nominated as they go head to head in the Aviva Premiership Rugby Semi Final this weekend.

The nominations in full are:

Computacenter Players' Player of the Year 2011

Chris Ashton - Northampton Saints
Tom Wood - Northampton Saints
Thomas Waldrom - Leicester Tigers
Nick Evans - Harlequins
Chris Budgen - Exeter Chiefs
Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu - Gloucester Rugby

Norman Broadbent Young Player of the Year 2011

Courtney Lawes - Northampton Saints
Manu Tuilagi - Leicester Tigers
Tom Wood - Northampton Saints
Charlie Sharples - Gloucester Rugby
Owen Farrell - Saracens
Joe Marler - Harlequins

Other awards to be presented at the RPA Computacenter Rugby Players' Awards 2011 are:

RPA Special Merit Award, sponsored by HSBC
Hall of Fame Induction
RPA Blyth Spirit Award, sponsored by Towergate tlc
The Sunday Times Try of the Year

Damian Hopley, RPA CEO said, " If you asked players at the beginning of the season which award they would covet most, the vast majority would opt for the Players' Player of the Year because it shows you have earned the respect of all of your peers.

"Once again we see the depth of talent on show in the Aviva Premiership. It is heartening that for the second year running all nominees for the Norman Broadbent Young Player of the Year are English qualified. It is not unreasonable to expect over half of these Young Player nominees to feature in the 2011 World Cup so the future of English Rugby is in very capable hands.

"The RPA Computacenter Rugby Players' Awards is a key date in the rugby calendar as it not only gives players the opportunity to recognise their colleagues' achievements, but also raises much needed funds for the RPA Benevolent Fund - the professional players' charity."

Quotes from RPA Computacenter Players' Player of the Year nominees:

Thomas Waldrom - Leicester Tigers: "The Players' Player Award is always the trophy that a player treasures the most as your team-mates and opponents know what it takes to reach that stage, so it's a privilege even to make the shortlist, especially in my first season at Leicester Tigers. It has been such an exciting move for me joining the Tigers and I really appreciate the opportunity the coaches have given me and thank the players for helping me to settle in so well."

Tom Wood - Northampton Saints and England: "It has already been an unbelievable year for me, making my England debut and reaching the Aviva Premiership Semi Final and the Heineken Cup Final with Northampton Saints. I can't thank the coaches and players enough for helping me get this far. It's a privilege to be nominated by my fellow players and to make the cut for both the Players' Player and Young Player Awards. At least I get two shots at coming away with something!"

Chris Ashton - Northampton Saints and England: "It's a privilege to be voted for by the players again. You look at the names on the list and you realise how much quality there is out there and how hard it is to win. Tom's already won one award this week so I reckon it's time he takes a back seat for a while, but as long as the award goes to a Northampton player, I'll be happy."

Nick Evans - Harlequins and All Blacks: "It's the ultimate accolade to be nominated by fellow players. I'm loving my time at Harlequins and playing alongside such a fantastic group of guys. You can see by the quality of the players on the shortlist why the Aviva Premiership is such an exciting and tough competition to play in."

Chris Budgen - Exeter Chiefs: "It was a complete shock to be nominated and I was over the moon, it is an honour. It's been a great season for Exeter and a lot of the praise must go to the coaches. They have been fantastic and after a few wins they managed to keep our feet on the ground and focussed on the next challenge. It will be fantastic to go to the RPA Awards Dinner and catch up with the rest of the players and to fully celebrate Exeter's first season in the Aviva Premiership."

Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu - Gloucester Rugby and Samoa: "I am honoured that the players have nominated me. I don't really mind who wins because I'm humbled to be acknowledged by my peers. I accept the nomination on behalf of my outstanding teammates."