Leinster captain Jamie Heaslip has been named on the EPCR European Player of the Year shortlist.
Also on the list are Clermont duo Nick Abendanon and Fritz Lee, last season's winner, Toulon's Steffon Armitage and Billy Vunipola of Saracens.
Heaslip bounced back from the broken vertebrae sustained during Ireland's Six Nations campaign to regain a fine vein of form in Leinster's valiant run to the Champions Cup semi-final, where they came up short in extra-time against French powerhouses Toulon.
The judging panel selected a longlist of 15 players based on performances during the pool stages of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup and that list has now been reduced to five players following the quarter-finals and semi-finals weekends.
The panel comprised of Emmanuel Massicard (Editor, Midi Olympique), Stuart Barnes (Sky Sports/The Sunday Times), Alan Quinlan (Sky Sports/The Irish Times), Mick Cleary (Rugby Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph) and Dimitri Yachvili (beIN Sports).
In addition to the decision of the judges, the 40 clubs in the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup will have the opportunity to vote for the shortlist contender while supporters can also have their say on Twitter using #EPCRPlayer2015, and on the tournament Facebook pages.
The winner will be announced after the Champions Cup final.
