Pro14: Edinburgh's Bill Mata and Glasgow Warriors' Adam Hastings lead annual awards

7th May 2019 | Source: BBC

Fiji forward Bill Mata joined Edinburgh in 2016

Edinburgh back-row Bill Mata was named Pro14 Players' Player of the Season and Glasgow Warriors' Adam Hastings won the Next Gen Star of the Season award.

New Zealander Kieran Crowley was voted Coach of the Season by his peers for leading Italian side Benetton to the play-offs for the first time.

Edinburgh fly-half Jaco van der Walt received the Gilbert Golden Boot for the best percentage conversion rate.

And team-mate Ross Ford received an award for his "incredible longevity".

The Scotland hooker, who is leaving Edinburgh at the end of the season after 11 years with the club, was recognised with the Chairman's Award to make it a treble celebration for the capital side along with Fijian Mata and South African Van der Walt.

Meanwhile, two of Van der Walt's countrymen were rewarded for Cheetahs' first season in the Pro14.

Rabz Maxwane won the Top Try-Scorer Award for crossing the line 14 times, while Tian Schoeman's "incredible accumulation of 1,564 minutes" meant he was the Dacia Iron Man winner for the 2018-19 season.

Ospreys forward James King was named the Pro14's Tackle Machine, the Australia-born Wales international's 96.6% completion meaning he missed only eight tackles all season - 224 in total.

English flanker Olly Robinson, who was the previous Tackle Machine winner, received a newly introduced award for being the Turnover King, the Cardiff Blues player finishing the season by winning possession against the head 26 times.

Main award winner Mata, the 27-year-old who joined Edinburgh two seasons ago after helping his country to Olympic gold and who has nine full caps, scored five tries as his side finished fifth in Conference B.

The 22-year-old Hastings, who joined Glasgow from Bath in 2017, scored two tries and contributed 38 points with the boot during a Pro14 season in which he took his total of Scotland caps up to 11.