Earl, Aki & Van der Merwe up for Player of Championship
Written by I Dig Sports
Ben Earl, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe and Tommaso Menoncello have been nominated for the Six Nations Player of the Championship award.
England number eight Earl, 26, was named player of the match after home wins over Wales and Ireland for his try-scoring displays with ball in hand.
He is joined on the shortlist by Ireland centre Aki, Scotland wing Van der Merwe and Italy centre Menoncello.
The public vote will close at 23:00 GMT on Sunday, 24 March.
Aki made the most metres in contact during the tournament and was influential in Ireland's title defence, while Van der Merwe's five tries for Scotland meant he finished joint-top try scorer with Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan.
Menoncello was imposing in attack and defence, making the most dominant tackles of any back in the tournament as Italy claimed their best Six Nations return with two wins and a draw.
Earl made 73 carries - more than any other player in the tournament - as England finished third, while only France wing Damian Penaud beat more defenders.
He was also named the best player of the tournament by former Scotland captain John Barclay and former Wales captain Sam Warburton, who covered the tournament as pundits for the BBC.
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