Welsh players make up half the list of contenders and Shane Williams is sprinting away from the rest of the pack with over 50% of the votes. Welsh Captain Ryan Jones is another popular choice with Mike Philips the third Welshman of the six selected players.

The Player of the RBS 6 Nations Championship is awarded as a result of a public vote. Members of Team RBS (Jason Leonard, Keith Wood, David Sole, Ieuan Evans, Philippe St Andre, Alessandro Moscardi) each put forward their three recommendations (in order of preference) and these were combined to create the following shortlist:

- Mike Blair
- Vincent Clerc
- Ryan Jones
- Sergio Parisse
- Mike Phillips
- Shane Williams

Voting is open at www.rbs6nations.com and runs until 5pm on Monday 17 March, at which point the player with the most votes will be drawn as the winner.

- ends -
For further information please contact: -

Alex Coulson
RBS 6 Nations Press Office
020 7202 2826
07808 738 937
alexc@karen-earl.co.uk
pressoffice@rbs6nations.com

RBS notes to editors:
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ("RBS Group") is one of the largest financial services groups in the world and includes NatWest, Coutts, Ulster Bank, Direct Line and Churchill Insurance. In October 2007, RBS, in conjunction with Fortis Bank and Banco Santander completed the acquisition of Dutch banking group, ABN AMRO. It serves over 30 million customers worldwide and employs 140,000 people in 4 continents.

The existing portfolio of international sponsorships include: the RBS 6 Nations rugby in Europe; Patron of The Open Championship Golf, which includes official bank status; WilliamsF1 Team; Jack Nicklaus in the US; Sir Jackie Stewart in motor racing, Andy and Jamie Murray in tennis and aspiring golfers, Luke Donald and Paula Creamer.

Team RBS consists of Jason Leonard (Eng), Keith Wood (Ire), Ieuan Evans (Wal), Philippe Saint-Andre (Fra), David Sole (Scot) and Alessandro Moscardi (Ita).

Team RBS Young Guns consists of David Strettle (Eng), Andrew Trimble (Ire), James Hook (Wal) and Rory Lamont (Scot).