Lions duo headline first round of URC award winners

SPOTLIGHT: Three South African players form part of the first round of the United Rugby Championship 2025/26 award winners list.

Chris Smith, Ben Carter, Quan Horn, Evan Roos and Jack Walsh have added their names to the United Rugby Championship Awards roll of honour by collecting the Golden Boot, Tackle Machine, Ironman, Top Try Scorer, and Playmaker prizes respectively.

They become the first award winners of the 2025/26 season as we celebrate the league’s best in class ahead of the semifinals, with the Elite XV, Next-Gen Player of the Season, Innovation Award, Try of the Season, South African URC Player of the Season, Coach of the Season, and Players’ Player of the Season winners all set to be announced this week.

A breakdown of the winners so far:

Golden Boot – Chris Smith (Lions)

It’s a case of practice makes perfect for Chris Smith – the winner of the Golden Boot Award for a second time.

The Lions flyhalf has secured the prize by kicking more points than anyone else in the regular league season, racking up 149 in all – made up of 17 penalties and 49 conversions.

That saw him finish clear of his nearest rival, Stormers star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who kicked 113 points.

For Smith – who also won the Golden Boot award in 2024 when he was with the Bulls – it’s reward for all the hours he puts in on the training field.

“You do really have to put the work in,” said the 31-year-old marksman.

“It’s a daily work-on, and you have to focus on the small things and the detail to be able to kick at a good percentage.

“There’s no specific number of kicks or routine that I do every single week. I probably go more on feeling than I want to kick 100 kicks this week.

“I focus on rhythm and build it up towards the game. If I feel really good and have hit some good ones, then I will stop.”

Smith is also quick to acknowledge the debt of gratitude he owes to his kicking coach at the Lions – former Springbok great Morne Steyn.

“You honestly couldn’t have a much better mentor. He’s probably one of the best ball strikers the game has ever seen. He ranks right up there,” he said.

“To be able to learn from him has been priceless. That’s been quite special.”

Tackle Machine – Ben Carter (Dragons RFC)

Wales star Ben Carter has rounded off a big season by picking up the Tackle Machine award.

The prize goes to the player with the highest percentage accuracy among those who made 150-plus tackles during the regular season.

Dragons RFC second row Carter finished top of that list with a 97.6 percent return. It’s been a campaign to remember for the 25-year-old.

He’s established himself as a first-choice lock for Wales, starting the last three games in the Six Nations and sharing in the much-needed win over Italy on the final weekend.

He’s also played a key part in the Dragons having a much-improved season, helping them increase their points tally in the URC by 19 and reach the Semi-Final of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

It’s been all the sweeter for Carter given the injury issues he has been through in recent years.

In October 2024, he suffered serious knee damage while training with the Welsh squad, which meant surgery and a six-month lay-off.

Then, after waiting a year to return to the international arena, his comeback lasted just 27 seconds as he sustained an alarming head injury in the opening minute of Wales’ first Test on tour against Japan last summer.

Now that’s all behind him with his huge work-rate – epitomised by his defensive stats – making him such a valuable asset.

He was pushed hard for this award by his Dragons teammate Harry Beddall, with Ospreys flanker Harri Deaves and Benetton Rugby’s Alessandro Izekor other strong performers in the category.

Ironman – Quan Horn (Lions)

Just like his Lions colleague Chris Smith, Quan Horn is now a two-time award winner.

It was back in 2023 that the fullback first received the Ironman prize, which is given to the player who has racked up the most minutes in the regular URC season.

Now Mr Consistent has done it again, and he even surpassed his previous best.

During the 2022-23 season, he was on the field for 1,428 minutes as he started all 18 games.

This time around, he took the term ever present to a new level as he posted a tally of 1,440 minutes played – meaning he didn’t miss a single minute of the season!

It’s been a remarkable effort from the 24-year-old Springbok who says: “As a player, being part of the match-day 23 ignites confidence knowing you are backed week-in and week-out.”

A word too for Stormers wing Leolin Zas, who was just ten minutes behind Horn, having also started every regular season game in the league.

Top Try Scorer – Evan Roos (Stormers)

Evan Roos has been dubbed an “old school” character who just enjoys playing rugby – and what he’s particularly enjoyed doing this season is scoring tries.

The Stormers No.8 finished the regular URC campaign as the leading try scorer in the competition, having touched down 12 times.

He ended up one clear of Ulster winger Zac Ward and two above Ward’s teammate Werner Kok and Connacht No.8 Sean Jansen.

That sees Springbok Roos receive the Top Try Scorer award, following in the footsteps of two hookers – Ulster’s Tom Stewart (2023) and Glasgow Warriors’ Johnny Matthews (2024) – and Cardiff’s Harri Millard (2025).

The 26-year-old set the tone for what was to come by crossing twice in the opening game of the URC season against Leinster, while there was to be another double v Edinburgh in March.

His table-topping tally also included tries against Ospreys, Scarlets, Lions, Bulls, Dragons RFC, Connacht, Glasgow Warriors and Ulster.

If that wasn’t enough, he touched down twice in the Champions Cup and crossed the whitewash for the Barbarians against an All Blacks XV in November.

That makes a grand total of 15 tries for the season in all matches, which is some haul.

Giving his thoughts on Roos’ prolific finishing, Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “He’s very fast and he also runs good support lines.

“He’s just a kid who enjoys rugby. He just wants the ball in his hands, he wants to play, he wants to tackle people.

“He’s like an old-school rugby player. He’s ‘Yes coach, no coach, sorry coach, what do you want coach?’

“I think if rugby was an amateur sport, he’d still be playing exactly the same.

“He’s like a kid. He’s got humour, he giggles, he contributes, he’s fantastic. I love him.”

As for the man himself, eight-cap Springbok Roos confirms how much he relishes his rugby role.

“I am just enjoying it. It’s fun. The tries are just a nice bonus for me,” he said.

Playmaker – Jack Walsh (Ospreys)

Jack Walsh has signed off from the Ospreys and the URC by winning the league’s Playmaker Award.

After four years with the Welsh region, he is leaving to join French club Montauban.

Departing with the Playmaker Award illustrates just what a game-breaking impact the USA-born, Aussie-raised utility back has had since arriving from Exeter in 2022.

The prize recognises creativity, with three key metrics used to decide the winner – try assists, defenders beaten, and successfully completed offloads.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: “I didn’t know anything about Jack until I arrived here.

“He was a pretty young player at the time, in his early 20s. His appetite to get better and his thirst to improve as an individual was pretty evident from day one.

“He’s been a consummate professional. His preparation is top drawer, while his work ethic, both on and off the field, to make sure he was maximising his time, has also been evident.

“That’s why we’ve seen the improvement in his all round game, both as a 15 and as a 10.

“He’s tough, if you look at how durable he is, and he’s very skilful. He’s made big progress.

“We are obviously disappointed that we can’t keep him in the building, but I fully understand his reasons why.

He’s got a great opportunity to move overseas to a great climate with a team that’s recruiting pretty heavily.

“He’s an Australian, and they like to travel and see the world. I wish him all the best, and I am sure he will do a great job for Montauban.”

Other strong contenders for the Playmaker Award included Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale and the ubiquitous Quan Horn.