Key named rugby director of the year

Captain Marco Wentzel, Hendre Fourie and Seru Rabeni were all included in the team of the year.

The honours were announced at an awards dinner in London last night and is nationwide recognition of the job Key, together with head coach Neil Back, have achieved at Headingley.

Key and Back guided Leeds to safety against the odds with six wins in the second half of the season.

"It is a huge honour for Leeds Carnegie to win this award especially when you consider the outstanding coaching quality that now exists in the Guinness Premiership," said Key.

"It is great recognition for the players within the squad because, regardless of what goes on during the week, it was them who did the job when they went across the whiteline.

"It is also a major boost for our coaching team. Neil Back and I knew the potential when we came to Leeds Carnegie and set out to achieve those goals but the passion and commitment that all the coaching staff have shown has gone above and beyond what we could have expected.

"Whilst it was my name that was included in the nomination, in reality this season has been all about the team effort therefore the award is shared with the whole management team but especially Neil Back, Simon Middleton and Steve Nance as we have all played an equal part in helping the club reach our goal for the season."