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English trio on Champions Cup player award shortlist

Marcus Smith has been Harlequins’ standout performer during the Investec Champions Cup

The English trio of Courtney Lawes, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith have been nominated for the Investec Champions Cup player of the year award.

Leinster have four nominations in Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Dan Sheehan.

Toulouse’s France scrum-half Antoine Dupont, who won the award in 2021, makes up the eight nominees.

The winner will be announced after the Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 25 May.

Sam Simmonds was the last Englishman to win the award in 2020 while playing for Exeter Chiefs.

The shortlist was based on a public vote and the decisions of a panel of judges.

La Rochelle number eight Gregory Alldritt, who saw his side comfortably defeated by Leinster in the quarter-finals on Saturday, was the winner last season after lifting back-to-back European titles.

The Irish province face Northampton Saints at Croke Park on 4 May in the semi-finals, with Toulouse…

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