Bok sensation Arendse joins battle for SA Rugby player of the Year
NEWS: Springbok youngster Kurt-Lee Arendse has been nominated for the South Africa Player of the year in his first season in the Green and Gold jersey.
The 26-year-old will be up againt three experienced Springboks – Lukhanyo Am, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi – who were nominated for the coveted SA Rugby Player of the Year Award for 2022 for a second year running and Frans Malherbe after the Boks earned the most votes in the nomination process.
SA Rugby announced the nominees in nine categories on Wednesday and the winners will be named in 2023, along with the annual Referee of the Year and the Provincial Women’s Player of the Year.
Springbok captain Kolisi won the award for a stellar 2021 season and along with Etzebeth, who became the seventh player to earn his 100th Springbok Test cap this year, and Am, whose influence was crucial before he picked up a season-ending injury in August, the trio were central to the Boks’ efforts in 2022.
Former Blitzbok star Arendse was sublime in his debut season for the Boks and scored seven tries in as many Tests, while the ever-reliant Malherbe, who played in his 50th Test this year, was a rock in the pack and he quietly went about his job of putting the Boks on the front-foot from first phase.
For the first time, media and SA Rugby stakeholders also voted for the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year, and the five nominees all played in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October – last year’s winner Lusanda Dumke, 2019 winner Aseza Hele, as well as Zintle Mpupha, Aphiwe Ngwevu and Nadine Roos.
The next generation of national players were nominated in the category for Young Player of the Year, which only takes into consideration Under-23s. They are Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jaden Hendrikse, Canan Moodie, Evan Roos and Henco van Wyk.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was also nominated in the category for Junior Springbok Player of the Year after he led the SA Under-20s to an unbeaten run in the Six Nations U20 Series in Italy, while Suleiman Hartzenberg and Ruan Venter were also nominated for this award.
And the three Blitzboks who were nominated for the Springbok Sevens Player of the Year Award are Selvyn Davids, Zain Davids and JC Pretorius.
After a good season in which they won eight Test out of 13 and had close defeats to the top two teams in the world, the Springboks were nominated as one of the three Teams of the Year, with the Stormers, winners of the inaugural United Rugby Championship, and the Currie Cup champions, the Pumas, the two other nominated sides.
These three teams’ coaches, John Dobson (Stormers), Jacques Nienaber (Springboks) and Jimmy Stonehouse (Pumas) also got the most votes in the category for Coach of the Year.
The Pumas’ domestic triumph was reflected in the Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year nominations, with three men from Mpumalanga up against each other for the award – Sebastiaan de Klerk, Willie Engelbrecht and Devon Williams.
And in the final category, Jaywinn Juries and Duan Pretorius of eventual champions, the Down Touch Griffons, are up against Jaiden Baron of the Boland Kavaliers for the Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year award.
Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, congratulated all the nominees on their performances and achievements in 2022.
“As we returned to normal after a few tough years due to the pandemic, it was really heart-warming to see rugby played on weekends all over the country and abroad, by schools, clubs, provincial unions, our franchises and national teams,” said Alexander.
“This list of nominees honour those players who performed brilliantly week in and week out and I would like to congratulate all of them on their achievements in 2022.
“All of our national teams enjoyed some form of success and again underlined our status as one of the top rugby nations in the world. With that comes big responsibility though and our men and women in green and gold did us proud this year.
“On the local front, we saw excellent rugby played across the board. The Stormers were deserved champions of the United Rugby Championship after winning an all-South African final against the Bulls, and the two Currie Cup competitions delivered some of the best action seen in recent years, with especially the Pumas and Griquas underlining the fact that there is no such thing anymore as ‘minnow teams’ in South Africa.
“Our most sincere gratitude also goes out to every player, coach, administrator, referee, sponsor and all other significant role players for playing their part in making the 2022 season one for the ages.
“Next year the Boks will be defending the Webb Ellis Cup at the Rugby World Cup in France, our other national teams will again have full schedules and our franchises will be continuing their participation in the Northern Hemisphere in the URC, Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, while the local season will also be jam-packed yet again.”
Like last season, when Evan Roos of the Stormers walked away with the honours, the award for the Player of the United Rugby Championship will be made at the conclusion of the competition next year.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
SA Rugby Player of the Year
Lukhanyo Am
Kurt-Lee Arendse
Eben Etzebeth
Siya Kolisi
Frans Malherbe
Springbok Women’s Player of the Year
Lusanda Dumke
Aseza Hele
Zintle Mpupha
Aphiwe Ngwevu
Nadine Roos
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Junior Springboks / South Africa ‘A’ / Stormers)
Jaden Hendrikse (Springboks / Sharks)
Canan Moodie (Springboks / Bulls)
Evan Roos (Springboks / Stormers)
Henco van Wyk (South Africa ‘A’ / Lions)
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year
Selvyn Davids
Zain Davids
JC Pretorius
Junior Springbok Player of the Year
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Suleiman Hartzenberg
Ruan Venter
Team of the Year
Pumas
Stormers
Springboks
Coach of the Year
John Dobson (Stormers)
Jacques Nienaber (Springboks)
Jimmy Stonehouse (Pumas)
Currie Cup Player of the Year
Sebastiaan de Klerk (Pumas)
Willie Engelbrecht (Pumas)
Devon Williams ( Pumas)
Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year
Jaiden Baron (Boland Kavaliers)
Jaywinn Juries (Griffons)
Duan Pretorius (Griffons)
