Wales assistant coach Rob Howley is attending the prestigious ERC Awards ceremony at the Hotel de Ville in Paris this evening, Friday, to be presented with a special commemorative jersey and medal as reward for his selection in the ERC European Dream Team, announced last week.

Howley has taken time out from preparations for Wales’ Principality Building Society Summer Test meeting with South Africa next month (5th June, Millennium Stadium) to join the likes of Ireland’s Ronan O’Gara and Anthony Foley at the invitation dinner, which celebrates the landmark 15th season of European club rugby.

The Wales coach will also take in the sixth Heineken Cup final in Paris on Saturday and look for some inspiration from the side – Toulouse – which has supplied five members of this ERC European Dream Team.

Another Welshman, Blues, Wales and Lions flanker Martyn Williams, was honoured with the ERC European Fair Play Award when the winners were announced on 16th May.

Howley was named in the ERC European Dream Team at scrum-half to form a ‘dream’ half-back partnership with O’Gara, consequently the unique commemorative jersey he will receive this evening will proudly sport the figure nine on the back.
 
The nine-man ERC15 selectoion panel of Sir Ian McGeechan, Lawrence Dallaglio, Ieuan Evans, Fabien Galthie, Donal Lenihan, Michael Lynagh, Stuart Barnes, Stephen Jones and Jacques Verdier deliberated long and hard to come up with the elite and honour the ERC European Dream Team of the past 15 years.

Howley is one of just two players chosen for the ERC European Dream Team who have won both ERC tournaments, the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup, joined by former London Wasps colleague Josh Lewsey.

ERC EUROPEAN DREAM TEAM

15 Geordan Murphy (Leicester Tigers)
14 Josh Lewsey (London Wasps)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster)
12 Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse)
11 Vincent Clerc (Toulouse)
10 Ronan O’Gara (Munster)
9 Rob Howley (London Wasps)

1 Christian Califano (Toulouse)
2 William Servat (Toulouse)
3 Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Français Paris)
4 Martin Johnson (Leicester Tigers)
5 Fabien Pelous (Toulouse)
6 Rocky Elsom (Leinster)
7 David Wallace (Munster)
8 Anthony Foley (Munster)