Caelan Doris has scooped the Guinness PRO14 Next-Gen Star of the Season award with Max Deegan, Scott Fardy, and Will Connors also recognised by the media in the competition’s Dream Team.

Doris has played 10 times in the Guinness PRO14 this season, scoring one try and winning two Player of the Match awards. The 22-year-old also won his first Ireland cap in this season’s Guinness Six Nations.

Since making his Guinness PRO14 debut in 2018 the Leinster man has established a big reputation as a rising star in the tournament and his performances have been recognised by the media vote.

Speaking about the award, Doris said: “I’m delighted. It’s nice recognition of all the hard work that’s gone into this point and all the support I’ve had, all the coaches, friends, family, and players that have been a part of the journey so far.

“I think we’ve got a great pathway in Leinster. There’s plenty of small steps from schools rugby to the professional set up. From the outside, it can sometimes seem like one big jump that happened very quickly when in reality there are lots of small steps that prepare you and make it less of a big leap. The pathway we have is great, you can see all the talent coming through and it’s definitely working.”

Media from across all five countries including former players and coaches voted for the Guinness PRO14 Dream Team 2019/20.

Players needed to appear a minimum of eight appearances during the current campaign. In total, seven teams are represented in the Dream Team selection.

Dream Team 2019/20:

15. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh)
14. Monty Ioane (Benetton)
13. Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues)
12. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh)
10. Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh)
9. John Cooney (Ulster)
1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh)
2. Joseph Dweba (Cheetahs)
3. Leon Brown (Dragons)
4. Scott Fardy (Leinster)
5. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh)
6. Max Deegan (Leinster)
7. Will Connors (Leinster)
8. Bill Mata (Edinburgh)

Guinness PRO14 2020 Winners to date:

Next-Gen Star of the Season: Caelan Doris, Leinster Rugby
Gilbert Golden Boot: JJ Hanrahan, Munster Rugby
Ronseal Tackle Machine: Paul Boyle, Connacht Rugby
Big Red Cloud Turnover King: Josh MacLeod, Scarlets
Guinness PRO14 Top Try-scorer: Rhyno Smith, Toyota Cheetahs
Guinness PRO14 Ironman: Matthew Screech, Dragons