18 May, 15:44
It's down to the wire now for the five contenders who have been shortlisted for the ultimate individual accolade in northern hemisphere rugby, ERC European Player of the Year 2013.
The tournament currently known as the Amlin Challenge Cup, initially developed into being, as a tournament in the 1996/97 season.
The original name of the tournament was the European Conference (1996/98).
It was then renamed the European Shield (1998/2001) before being re-titled the European Challenge Cup (2001/09).
Parker Pen Sponsored both the Challenge Cup & the Shield trophies in the early part of the first decade of this century.
In the years 2002/05 a third tier tournament was created which took over the title of European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup.
1996/98 - European Conference
1998/01 - European Shield
2001/09 - European Challenge Cup & 2002/05 European Shield - (Two Tiered Tournament)
2009..... - Amlin Challenge Cup