Welsh duo among first winners of United Rugby Championship season awards

Simon Thomas 

Two Wales-based players have been recognised among the winners of this season’s United Rugby Championship awards, with Dragons lock Ben Carter and Ospreys back Jack Walsh picking up individual honours.

Carter was named the league’s top tackler, while Walsh claimed the URC’s Playmaker Award after a standout campaign for the Swansea-based region.

The awards were announced as the URC prepares for its semi-finals, with further honours, including Player of the Season and Coach of the Season, due to be unveiled later this week.

For Wales international Carter, the recognition caps a remarkable season in which he established himself as a first-choice member of the national side while helping Dragons enjoy a much-improved campaign.

The 25-year-old won the IPVanish Tackle Machine Award, which goes to the player with the highest tackle success rate among those making more than 150 tackles during the regular season. Carter finished with an accuracy rate of 97.6%.

The honour comes after a difficult period for the second row, who suffered a serious knee injury while training with Wales in 2024 and later endured a head injury just seconds into his international comeback against Japan.

The URC said Carter’s defensive work-rate had made him one of the competition’s most valuable forwards this season.

Meanwhile, Ospreys utility back Walsh signed off from Welsh rugby by winning the Playmaker Award before his summer move to French club Montauban.

The award recognises attacking creativity and is based on a combination of try assists, defenders beaten and successful offloads.

Development

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones praised the Australian-born, USA-qualified back’s development since arriving from Exeter in 2022.

He said: “His appetite to get better and his thirst to improve as an individual was pretty evident from day one.

“He’s been a consummate professional. His preparation is top drawer, while his work ethic, both on and off the field, to make sure he was maximising his time has also been evident.”

Jones added: “He’s tough, if you look at how durable he is, and he’s very skilful. He’s made big progress.

“We are obviously disappointed that we can’t keep him in the building, but I fully understand his reasons why.”

The remaining awards announced saw Fidelity SecureDrive Lions fly-half Chris Smith win the Gilbert Golden Boot as the league’s leading points scorer, team-mate Quan Horn claim the Ironman Award for playing every minute of the regular season, and DHL Stormers number eight Evan Roos take the OFX Top Try Scorer prize after crossing 12 times.