Bok wins Saracens Players' Player of the Year award
NEWS: A Springbok has walked away with the Players’ Player of the Year award at Saracens.
Scrumhalf Ivan Zyl has made his mark in a side brimming with talent. When he joined the club in 2021, he knew he would face a tough battle to get into the side ahead of his Welsh rival, Aled Davies, and the two international quality no 9s went head-to-head throughout.
“I’ve been fortunate to get a lot of game time this season, and I’m thankful for that. The only way you can properly settle into a new club is by playing regularly,” he told the Saracens website in 2022.
“Not everything went the way I wanted in my first season, so I knew I needed a good start this time round. I had a great pre-season, and I couldn’t have written the script better by playing almost 80 minutes in every game so far.
“Everyone is pushing and challenging everyone else in a positive way and that is bringing out the best in each and every one of us.
“What I’ve found in my time at the club is that the more settled you are, and the more valued you feel, the greater difference you can make on the field.
“We were welcomed into the Saracens family with open arms, and nothing has been too much trouble for the club in ensuring we feel settled and happy.”
The other driver for Van Zyl is that by playing regularly and well for Saracens he might just catch the eye of the South African selectors ahead of the World Cup. He won the first of his six Springbok caps to date against a Wales side that had Aled Davies on the bench in a friendly in Washington DC in 2018.
His last cap was in another defeat to Wales in Cardiff at the end of 2018, but he remains hopeful of staying on the Springbok selector’s radar.
“I’d never say no to playing for the Springboks again. The only way that will happen, though, is if I am on the top of my game here at Saracens,” he added.
Source: @Saracens
