Four Irishmen are on the longlist for the European Rugby Cup European Player of the Year award.

Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Paul O'Connell and Peter O'Mahony are on the list of 15 players, which comes after the conclusion of the pool stages of the Heineken Cup.

Ulster's Ruan Pienaar is also included alongside the likes of George North, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Matt Giteau.