Dream Team Boks up for another award

NEWS: Five members of World Rugby’s Dream Team are up for another major award.

World Rugby’s Player of the Year, Springbok flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, is one of five nominees for South Africa’s awards.

He was nominated as Player of the Year, along with Damian De Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and Ox Nche.

Etzebeth – SA’s Men’s Player of the Year in the past two seasons – and Kolbe were also nominated for the World Rugby Award, while De Allende and Nche, both members of World Rugby’s 2024 Dream Team, added their names to a star-studded shortlist for the top award in South Africa with consistently good performances in the Green and Gold.

The South African Rugby Union announced the nominees in nine categories on Friday.

The winners will be named early next year, along with the annual Referee of the Year, Provincial Women’s Player of the Year and Associate Member of the Year.

The five players nominated for the Women’s Player of the Year all played key roles helping the country win the Africa Cup and qualify for the World Cup 2025 in England.

They are Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Nadine Roos, all previous winners of the award, as well as Chumisa Qawe and Vainah Ubisi.

Five players who underlined their massive potential were nominated for the Young Player of the Year Award.

Four of them – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cameron Hanekom, Jordan Hendrikse and Quan Horn – made their Test debuts in 2024 and the fifth, Henco van Wyk, played for the SA ‘A’ side two years ago.

The three players nominated for the Springbok Sevens Player of the Year Award all helped South Africa qualify for and win the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. They are BlitzBok captain Selvyn Davids, who is currently recovering from an injury, as well as Zain Davids and Ryan Oosthuizen.

Bathobele Hlekani, Jurenzo Julius and JF van Heerden all put up their hands for the South African Under-20 this year and are the nominees for the Junior Springbok Player of the Year Award.

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has been nominated with Philip Snyman (Springbok Sevens) and Jake White (Bulls) for the Coach of the Year Award, while the Springboks and BlitzBoks are up against the Sharks for the Team of the Year.

On the Currie Cup front, Renzo du Plessis (Lions), Clinton Swart (Pumas) and Vincent Tshituka (Sharks XV) are the nominees in the Premier Division, while two players who helped the Boland Cavaliers to the First Division title, Ashlon Davids and Thurlow Marsh, are up against EP’s Jayden Bantom.

“While the past year was not without its challenges, we saw again over most weekends how deeply ingrained rugby is in the South African psyche, and these nominations celebrate the best of the best in our teams in Green and Gold and on the domestic front,” SARU President Mark Alexander said.

“Rugby is a team sport and every player that has represented the Boks has played his part in our successes, but the five players who are nominated this year have been at the core of the side that have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups and two Rugby Championship titles, while they have finished the year as the top-ranked team in the world for a second consecutive year.

“We had a great year with the Boks doing us proud yet again, but so too our other national teams, with the Springbok Women lifting their game and the Blitzboks bringing home an Olympic medal yet again, finishing off a tough season on a high note.

“I would like to congratulate all the players who made the shortlists for their nominations after a wonderful year of rugby, and I would like to thank all our players, coaches, administrators, referees and sponsors – from international down to grassroots levels – as well as everyone else who works hard at promoting and organising our game for their roles in a very successful 2023 season.”

The nominees

Player of the Year
Damian De Allende
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Eben Etzebeth
Cheslin Kolbe
Ox Nche

Women’s Player of the Year
Aseza Hele
Libbie Janse van Rensburg
Chumisa Qawe
Nadine Roos
Vainah Ubisi

Young Player of the Year
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Springboks / Stormers)
Cameron Hanekom (Springboks / Bulls)
Jordan Hendrikse (Springboks / Sharks)
Quan Horn (Springboks / Lions)
Henco van Wyk (Lions)

Sevens Player of the Year
Selvyn Davids
Zain Davids
Ryan Oosthuizen

Junior Springbok of the Year
Bathobele Hlekani
Jurenzo Julius
JF van Heerden

Team of the Year
Sharks
Springboks
BlitzBoks

Coach of the Year
Rassie Erasmus (Springboks)
Philip Snyman (BlitzBoks)
Jake White (Bulls)

Currie Cup Player of the Year
Renzo du Plessis (Lions)
Clinton Swart (Pumas)
Vincent Tshituka (Sharks)

First Division Player of the Year
Jayden Bantom (Eastern Province)
Ashlon Davids (Boland Cavaliers)
Thurlow Marsh (Boland Cavaliers)