BALE COULD MISS CARDIFF FINAL

JUSTIN Tipuric has crowned an outstanding personal season by being named the Welsh rugby writers' player of the year.

It is the FIFTH bauble for the Wales international to receive this month, with the 27-year-old picking up all four awards in the senior players' section for the Ospreys at their end-of-season dinner.

Tipuric held off a strong challenge from Scarlets and Wales hooker Ken Owens for the Welsh Rugby Writers' Association gong, just two votes separating the pair in one of the closest ballots in years.

It is the first time for him to win the award and he becomes the third Osprey in four seasons to be chosen for the accolade, Rhys Webb having won it in 2015 and Alun Wyn Jones in 2014.

The electric-heeled Steff Evans ran away with the award for the Welsh game's most promising player, with the Scarlet's closest rival being another free-scoring wing, Keelan Giles, from the Ospreys.

The award for best player in the Premiership went to Aberavon's verastile back Stef Andrews.

No fewer than 18 players from eight clubs were nominated, including Matthew Jarvis (Merthyr), Jay Baker (Aberavon) and James Garland (Aberavon).

The honour will be seen as the perfect send-off for Tipuric ahead of his exertions with the Lions in New Zealand this summer.

His form has been consistently strong for a number of seasons but this term he has taken his performances to another level, backing up his eye-catching work in attack with remarkable defensive work that has seen him make 319 successful tackle and miss only seven, giving him a completion rate of 98 percent.

He also scored one of the tries of the season when he collected the ball from a kick off against Newcastle Falcons in the European Challenge Cup, chipped ahead and beat the cover to the ball, racing the past part of 65 metres in the process.

The awards will be presented at the 43rd annual dinner of rugby writers at Cardiff rugby club later in the year.