The Premiership Rugby Player of the Season is an annual rugby union award presented to players in England, which recognises the most outstanding player in the Premiership each season.
Rugby union turned professional in 1995, and 1996–97 marked the first professional Premiership Rugby season. However, the Player of the Season award was only first bestowed during the 1997–98 season. The first Player of the Season award was given to Newcastle Falcons player Pat Lam, who won the Premiership Rugby title and scored five tries that season.
Chris Robshaw is the only player to have won the award more than once, winning in the 2008–09 and 2011–12 seasons. Vereniki Goneva and Sam Simmonds are the only players to have won the Player of the Season award whilst also being the leading try-scorer in the league. Henry Slade is the only player to have won the award whilst being the leading point-scorer in the league.
Following the 2024–25 season, the award was presented as part of The Rugby Awards, joining Premiership Rugby, the Rugby Players' Association (RPA), Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) and the Rugby Football Union (RFU). A shortlist is chosen by a panel consisting of members of the RPA and the media, and the recipient is chosen by the public.
The current holder of the award is Saracens' Tom Willis.
Winners +KeyPlayer Name of the player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one)Indicates player also scored the most points in the same seasonIndicates player also scored the most tries in the same season§Denotes the club were Premiership Rugby champions in the same season
+Premiership Rugby Player of the Season winnersSeasonPlayerPositionNationalityClubRef(s)1997–98Number 8Newcastle Falcons1998–99LockLeicester Tigers1999–2000Scrum halfLeicester Tigers2000–01CentreLeicester Tigers2001–02WingSale Sharks2002–03FlankerGloucester2003–04LockLondon Wasps2004–05Number 8Leicester Tigers2005–06CentreLondon Irish2006–07PropLeicester Tigers2007–08WingGloucester2008–09 FlankerHarlequins2009–10WingNorthampton Saints2010–11FlankerNorthampton Saints2011–12 FlankerHarlequins2012–13HookerLeicester Tigers2013–14Full-backHarlequins2014–15Fly-halfBath2015–16Full-backSaracens2016–17Fly-halfWasps2017–18WingNewcastle Falcons2018–19Fly-halfGloucester2019–20FlankerWasps2020–21Number 8Exeter Chiefs2021–22FlankerSaracens2022–23CentreBath2023–24CentreExeter Chiefs2024–25Scrum halfGloucester2025–26Number 8Saracens
Multiple awards won by players The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at least two Player of the Season awards.
Players in bold are still active in the Premiership Rugby.
AwardsPlayerCountrySeasons22008–09, 2011–12
Awards won by nationality Country Players Total
Awards won by position Position Players TotalFlankerWingCentreNumber 8Fly-halfFull-backLockScrum halfPropHooker
Awards won by club Club Players TotalLeicester TigersGloucesterWaspsSaracensHarlequinsNorthampton SaintsNewcastle FalconsBathExeter ChiefsSale SharksLondon Irish
See also Premiership Rugby Young Player of the Season Premiership Rugby top scorers Premiership Rugby Team of the Season Premiership Rugby Director of Rugby of the Season
References