Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon) has been named ERC European Player of the Year 2013. The prestigious award crowns an outstanding season for the out-half who led the French club to a dramatic Heineken Cup final victory over ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

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.

With the build-up to the Dublin 2013 European club rugby finals intensifying by the day, the four elite clubs of ASM Clermont Auvergne, Toulon, Leinster Rugby and Stade Francais Paris, who are focused on their quest for Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup silverware respectively, won't be the only clubs with Europe on their mind over the weekend of 17 and 18 May.

Benoit August of Biarritz Olympique and Perpignan's Daniel Leo have been suspended for four weeks and two weeks respectively following citing complaints arising from last weekend's Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finals.

ERC has received two citings arising from the Amlin Challange Cup semi-finals with the hearings set for Thursday.

With eight leading clubs still in the race for coveted Dublin 2013 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup final berths, this weekend's European semi-finals will be watched keenly by Bath Rugby, Connacht Rugby and London Wasps among others as their hopes of qualification for the 2013/14 Heineken Cup hang in the balance.

A vastly experienced quartet of referees with a total of 269 European club rugby matches between them will be in charge of next weekend's high-profile Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finals.

Stade Français Paris scrum half, Jérôme Fillol (No 9), has been suspended for fourteen (14) weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Dublin arising from the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final match against Bath Rugby.
Read all three hearing decisions here..

ERC has received two citing complaints arising from the Bath Rugby v Stade Francais Paris Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final at the Recreation Ground on Saturday, 6 April.

As the world-class action unfolds over the weekend, a compelling subplot will be the search for a successor to Leinster Rugby's Rob Kearney as the ERC European Player of the Year 2013, which is one of the most prized individual accolades in the game.

Veteran scrum-half Peter Stringer will bring his Heineken Cup-winning experience with Munster Rugby to bear on Bath Rugby's push for European silverware when the English club takes on Stade Francais Paris in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final at the Recreation Ground on Saturday, 6 April. Stringer was among the list of additional players named by the quarter-final.

Two Heineken Cup winners and a World Cup winner have been included in the list of additional players nominated by their clubs for the forthcoming knockout stages of the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup.

With as many as 14 European titles among the qualifiers, the high-profile match officials appointed for the upcoming Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals reflect the quality of the games in the last eight of the tournament.

With one of the most eagerly-anticipated weekends of the European season fast approaching, England's Wayne Barnes will get the Heineken Cup quarter-finals underway when he takes charge of the all-French clash which sees ASM Clermont Auvergne going up against Montpellier at a sold-out Stade Marcel Michelin.

The citing complaint against the VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo second row, Jean Francois Montauriol (No 5), arising from the Amlin Challenge Cup, Pool 2, Round 6 match against Perpignan on Thursday, 17 January 2013, was not upheld at an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Dublin.

Decisions of the independent Disciplinary Hearings arising from Round 6 of the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup