The outside back was deservedly named the supporters club player of the year.
McKay is currently the top try-scorer in the Mitre 10 Cup with nine. He also leads the competition in metres carried. Meanwhile, Canterbury lock Chelsea Bremner was named the women’s player of the year.
A number of up-and-coming stars were also recognised, including Sam Darry who was named under-19 player of the year.
Darry was part of the High School Old Boys side which won the metro premiership.
He was also a key cog in Canterbury’s under-19 national title-winning side. Off the pitch, Hornby president John Catchpole was named volunteer of the year.
CRFU chief executive Tony Smail said the evening not only celebrated the teams in red and black, but also the hundreds of volunteers, administrators, coaches and players who help rugby to thrive in the province.
“We have a lot to be proud of here in Canterbury, and our 2019 awards evening was testament to the growth in our game this season,” said Smail.
“We acknowledged what has been a successful season to date, but we did so knowing that the year is far from over for some of our teams and we took the opportunity to wish those teams the best of luck for the remainder of their 2019 campaigns.”
As well as the formal awards for the evening, CRFU president Julie Patterson paid a special tribute to Canterbury legend, Tiny Hill, following his death last week.
Canterbury Rugby Award winners
•Canterbury Rugby volunteer of the year – John Catchpole.
•Men’s sevens player of the year – Daniel Fransen.
•Women’s sevens player of the year – Kendall Buckingham.
•Dennis Young Canterbury under-19 player of the year – Sam Darry.
•Canterbury Maori player of the year – Louis Harmon.
•Stan ‘Tiny’ Hill Canterbury B team player of the year – Caleb Aperahama.
•Patterson Cup most promising women’s player of the year – Amy Rule and Melanie Puckett.
•First year player – Cullen Grace and Dallas McLeod.
•Women’s player of the year – Chelsea Bremner.
•Supporters club player of the year – Josh McKay.
