And the award goes to ...
SA RUGBY GONGS: South Africa revealed their stars for 2021 on Thursday, with a few surprises.
The main event, Player of the Year, when to Siya Kolisi.
The Springbok captain garnered the most votes for his performances during a tough season, while the exciting Aphelele Fassi underlined his great potential by winning the Young Player of the Year award.
The 30-year-old Kolisi edged out strong challenges from his national teammates Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth and Makazole Mapimpi to become the first Bok captain since Jean de Villiers in 2013 to win the top award.
Kolisi – who was named the Springbok of the series against the British and Irish Lions last year and was the only Springbok to play in all 13 Tests in 2021 – led South Africa to a superb series victory over the B&I Lions in August and went on to captain the side under difficult circumstances in the Rugby Championship, which culminated with a nail-biting win over the All Blacks.
Fassi made his Springbok debut in 2021 and although he featured in only two Tests – scoring superb tries on both occasions – he showed that he is one for the future playing with increased maturity at fullback and on the wing.
As a result of showing true grit while spending five months in various bio-secure bubbles in South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom and delivering some outstanding performances – notably coming from 0-1 down to clinch the B&I Lions Series – the Springboks were named Team of the Year for 2021.
In a brand-new category, Lusanda Dumke was named Springbok Women’s Player of the Year, while the Border captain also walked away with the award for Provincial Women’s Player of the Year after leading her side to the Women’s Premier Division title.
Ronald Brown capped a fine debut season for the BlitzBoks as he was named Springbok Sevens Player of the Year, while Henco van Wyk’s performances in the Under-20 International Series saw him walk away with the award for Junior Springbok Player of the Year.
Aimee Barrett-Theron capped a remarkable season by winning the Referee of the Year Award for the second time, after she also walked away with the accolade in 2019.
Another new award, the Test Try of the Year – which was voted for by supporters on various digital platforms – went to Cheslin Kolbe for his superb and crucial try in the third Test against the British & Irish Lions in Cape Town.
The Bulls’ second successive Currie Cup title was reflected as Jake White was named Coach of the Year for the second year running, while their up-and-coming loose forward Elrigh Louw edged out teammate Johan Goosen and fellow flank Evan Roos in the race to Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year.
The award for First Division Player of the Year, which wasn’t contested in 2020, was won by Dylan Maart of the Boland Cavaliers, whose eight tries were the most in the competition last year.
Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, congratulated the winners and applauded their achievements in 2021.
“Siya led from the front as the Springboks completed what was arguably their toughest season – for many reasons – in a very long time,” said Alexander.
“Supported very well by Jacques Nienaber and his coaching team, as well as his teammates, Siya showed true leadership under challenging conditions, and he became better as the year progressed, which culminated with a spot in the World Rugby Dream Team for 2021, along with Makazole, Lukhanyo, Eben and Malcolm Marx.
“Aphelele is a star in the making and last year we saw glimpses of what he can do, which is why he fully deserves the award for Young Player of the Year, while Cheslin’s try-scoring exploits are well-documented and his excellent five-pointer in the final Test against the Lions was crucial in helping the Boks clinch the series.
“Lusanda, Ronald and Henco are all deserved winners after stellar performances as three of our other national teams kept the South African flag flying high around the world.
“I would like to congratulate Jake and the Bulls on their season, as well as Elrigh, Dylan and Lusanda again for showing that our provincial game is as strong as ever, with the two Currie Cup competitions as well as the Women’s Premier and First Divisions delivering superb rugby all season long.
“As we gear up for what promises to be a massive year ahead, I would like to congratulate every winner on their awards, but would also like to thank every player, coach, administrator, referee, sponsor and all other role players for making 2021 a season to remember.”
All the winners are below!
SA Rugby Player of the Year: Siya Kolisi
Finalists: Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Makazole Mapimpi
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year: Aphelele Fassi (Springboks / Sharks)
Finalists: Jaden Hendrikse (Springboks / Sharks), Jordan Hendrikse (Junior Springboks / Lions), Elrigh Louw (Bulls), Evan Roos (Stormers / Western Province)
Springbok Women’s Player of the Year: Lusanda Dumke
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year: Ronald Brown
Finalists: Selvyn Davids, Siviwe Soyizwapi
Junior Springbok Player of the Year: Henco van Wyk
Finalists: Jordan Hendrikse, Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Team of the Year: Springboks
Finalists: Bulls, Springbok Sevens
Coach of the Year: Jake White (Bulls)
Finalists: Jacques Nienaber (Springboks), Neil Powell (Springbok Sevens)
Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year: Elrigh Louw (Bulls)
Finalists: Johan Goosen (Bulls), Evan Roos (Western Province)
First Division Player of the Year: Dylan Maart (Boland Cavaliers)
Finalists: Anrich Richter (Falcons), Danrich Visagie (Leopards)
Provincial Women’s Player of the Year: Lusanda Dumke (Border Ladies)
Test Try of the Year: Cheslin Kolbe – Springboks v British & Irish Lions (third Test)
Finalists: Cobus Reinach – Springboks vs Georgia; Makazole Mapimpi – Springboks vs British & Irish Lions; Sizophila Solontsi – Springbok Women vs Kenya; Aphelele Fassi – Springboks vs Argentina; Damian de Allende – Springboks vs New Zealand; Malcolm Marx – Springboks vs Wales; Makazole Mapimpi – Springboks vs Scotland; Zintle Mpupha – Springbok Women v Wales; Libbie Janse van Rensburg – Springbok Women v Wales
Referee of the Year: Aimee Barrett-Theron
🇿🇦 Ladies and gentlemen, your SA Rugby Player of the Year for 2021 is none other than our Springbok captain, @SiyaKolisi, who led by example and is the only player to feature in all 13 Tests last year. Siyavuyisana nawe Siya! #SARugbyAwards #StrongerTogether #StrongerForever pic.twitter.com/q0VtoKQO8E
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
💥 The penultimate award is for the Young Player of the Year for 2021, and the winner is @aphelele_fassi, who underlined his massive potential with a string of strong performances at provincial and international level! Well done young man! #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/fGgiADrboQ
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
🙋 The next award – her second for 2021 – goes to Lusanda Dumke, who is our @WomenBoks Player of the Year. Congratulations Lusanda, you can be very proud of your achievements last year! #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/s1nv7oWVB4
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
😍 What’s not to love about everything that Ronald Brown achieved last year? He is our @Blitzboks Player of the Year for 2021! #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/YBO2n9JY3R
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
💪 The @JuniorBoks Player of the Year for 2021 is the promising Henco van Wyk, who was a star for the SA U20s during their international series last year. #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/UcKOqLzvrj
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
🇿🇦 The Team of the Year for 2021 – our very own Springboks! #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/jrbG1QAtzX
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
👊 The Coach of the Year, for a second successive season, is Jake White of @BlueBullsRugby, who led his team to yet another title in @TheCurrieCup. #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/8UBkUigNAS
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
ICYMI, the @CastleLagerSA Test Try of the Year for 2021. #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/Ze3Mn18s1N
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
✅ The fans voted for this one – the @CastleLagerSA Test Try of the Year – and it goes to @CheslinKolbe for his superb try in the nail-biting final Test against @lionsofficial in Cape Town last year. #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/qeejhMZX0z
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
🐂 And the #CarlingCurrieCup Premier Division Player of the Year is @BlueBullsRugby‘s barnstorming loose forward Elrigh Louw, one of the best young talents in the country! #SARugbyAwards @blacklabelsa #ReachForGold #TheChampionWithin @TheCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/tH0zwIrGKc
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
🐎 The third award goes to try-scoring machine Dylan Maart of the @bolandkavaliers for the #CarlingCurrieCup First Division Player of the Year. #SARugbyAwards @blacklabelsa #ReachForGold #TheChampionWithin @TheCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/odD0x8vGpi
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
🤗 Next up, a new award for the Provincial Women’s Player of the Year – no surprises here, it’s Lusanda Dumke who led the Border Ladies to the Women’s Premier Division title last year. #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/W6aUVgX9tE
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
👍 The first award is for the ***** Referee of the Year, and the worthy recipient is none other than @AimeeBarrett44 – congratulations! #SARugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/lmQpW1SBqH
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 27, 2022
