VIDEO: Nominees for World Rugby Player of the Year revealed
NEWS: Two Springboks, Malcolm Marx and Faf de Klerk, are amongst a group of five players nominated for the prestigious 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year Award.
The Springbok duo will be up against All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Rieko Ioane, as well as Ireland’s Johnny Sexton for 2018 World Rugby Men’s XVs Player of the Year Award.
Marx, the Boks’ a dynamic ball-carrying hooker, has played the fewest tests of the nominees with only six, having missed the June internationals through injury.
With five starts and a try in the win over New Zealand in Wellington, the 24-year-old Marx has picked up where he left off in 2017, combining athleticism, power, pace and a wide skill-set in attack with the breakdown skills to turnover many a ball for South Africa.
De Klerk returned to the Springbok jersey after missing the 2017 Test season and quickly made himself indispensable.
The 27-year-old played virtually every minute of South Africa’s Rugby Championship campaign, scoring tries against Argentina and Australia and proving a constant thorn in the side of his opposite numbers across his nine starts.
The shortlist was selected by the star-studded World Rugby Awards panel which comprises Rugby World Cup winners Richie McCaw, John Smit, George Gregan, Maggie Alphonsi and former England coach Clive Woodward alongside Brian O’Driscoll, Fabien Galthié and Agustín Pichot.
The award is one of 13 categories of awards, including the World Rugby Team of the Year, World Rugby Coach of the Year, World Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens Players of the Year in association with and World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.
Previous World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year Award winners:
2017 – Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
2016 – Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
2015 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2014 – Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
2013 – Kieran Read (New Zealand)
2012 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2011 – Thierry Dusautoir (France)
2010 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2009 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2008 – Shane Williams (Wales)
2007 – Bryan Habana (South Africa)
2006 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2005 – Dan Carter (New Zealand)
2004 – Schalk Burger (South Africa)
2003 – Jonny Wilkinson (England)
2002 – Fabien Galthié (France)
2001 – Keith Wood (Ireland)
