Jake White's Bulls look to sweep the boards at awards
SPOTLIGHT: The list of nominations for the SA Rugby Player of the Year Awards for 2020 has a distinct blue tinge to it, with the Bulls underlining their dominance of the season with a host of names on the shortlists.
The Bulls accumulated 11 nominations out of a possible 22 for which they were eligible, with Springbok No.8 Duane Vermeulen leading the individual lists with three nominations – in the categories for overall SA Rugby, Super Rugby Unlocked, and Currie Cup Player of the Year.
Vermeulen, the SA Rugby Player of the Year in 2014, is up against his Bulls teammate Cornal Hendricks, Curwin Bosch (Sharks), Steven Kitshoff (Western Province/ Stormers) and Frans Steyn (Cheetahs) for the main award.
Bosch, the top points scorer of the season, is also a nominee in the Young Player of the Year Award, where he contests the title with the Bulls duo of Stedman Gans and Ruan Nortje, as well as Dylan Richardson (Sharks) and Wandisile Simelane (Lions).
Gans is one of the three nominees for Springbok Sevens Player of the Year – in competition with the ‘Davids twins’, Angelo and Selvyn, for this award.
Just like Gans, who also shone for the Bulls, Hendricks and Marco van Staden were also nominated in two categories each.
Jake White and the Bulls have also been recognised for their successful Super Rugby and Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup campaigns with nominations in the categories for Coach and Team of the Year.
Other nominees in these categories are Sean Everitt and the Sharks, runners up in the Currie Cup, as well as Neil Powell and the BlitzBoks, winners of two tournaments in the shortened World Rugby Sevens Series for 2019/20, and overall silver medal winners in the series.
The winners in the eight categories will be revealed on Thursday, March 4.
(Nominations follow below video …)
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
SA Rugby Player of the Year
1 Curwin Bosch (Sharks)
2 Cornal Hendricks (Bulls)
3 Steven Kitshoff (WP / Stormers)
4 Frans Steyn (Cheetahs)
5 Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year
1 Curwin Bosch (Sharks)
2 Stedman Gans (Bulls)
3 Ruan Nortje (Bulls)
4 Dylan Richardson (Sharks)
5 Wandisile Simelane (Lions)
Team of the Year
1 Bulls
2 Sharks
3 Springbok Sevens
Coach of the Year
1 Sean Everitt (Sharks)
2 Neil Powell (BlitzBoks)
3 Jake White (Bulls)
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year
1 Angelo Davids
2 Selvyn Davids
3 Stedman Gans
Super Rugby and Unlocked Player of the Year
1 Frans Steyn (Cheetahs)
2 Marco van Staden (Bulls)
3 Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)
Currie Cup Player of the Year
1 Cornal Hendricks (Bulls)
2 Marco van Staden (Bulls)
3 Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)
