And the award for starting too early goes to ...

FOUR rounds of knockout rugby and 109 days early, there it was: the longlist for the European Professional Club Rugby player of the year. Yes, really.

There is plainly something wrong with this premature outpouring of nominations – and before you ask, it has nothing to do with the continuing attachment of the word “European” to a tournament featuring teams based in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.

Rather, it is the notion that any sensible judgement can be made on the basis of four pool matches. Which is why the custodians of these awards are prepared to make their list even longer if someone scores, say, three tries in the round of 16, another three in the quarter-finals, a brace in the semis and an injury-time winner in the Grand Decider in Dublin, two-thirds of the way through May.

This is not to mock the idea of the award itself. Past winners include Ronan O’Gara, Jonny Wilkinson, Maro Itoje and Antoine Dupont: hardly the worst quartet of players ever to lace up a pair of boots.

But there is no conceivable logic in jumping the gun to this degree, any more than it is reasonable to insult us with a roster that doesn’t include Hugo Keenan, the Leinster full-back, or Andrew Porter, his front-row clubmate.

Of those who made the early cut, the Saracens back Elliot Daly is now out for three months and will barely have a chance to build on his pool-stage splendours in an effort to recapture the attention of the judges. Which pretty much sums it up.

As for those tempted to place a bet now, make sure you keep your slip close at hand. Otherwise, you’ll forget all about it by the time the tournament is over.