South Africans primed to dominate URC awards
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: With 50 days to go until the United Rugby Championship Final, the regular season reaches its climax, and the 2025/26 URC Awards are fast approaching.
The winners are set to be announced between June 2 and 5.
While some honours are decided by a voting panel following Round 18, five awards are determined purely by on-field statistics: the Top Try Scorer, Golden Boot, Tackle Machine, Ironman and Playmaker Award.
With margins so tight across several categories, we take one final look at the state of play before the winners are decided.
*READ: Another all-South African URC Final on the cards?
Top Try Scorer
Awarded to the player who has scored the most tries during the regular season.
The race for this award has been fiercely competitive all season, but for the first time, a clear leader has emerged. Evan Roos (Stormers) crossed in both Rounds 15 and 16 to take his tally to 11 tries, moving ahead of Embrose Papier (Bulls), Joshua Kenny (Leinster) and Sean Jansen (Connacht), who are all tied on nine.
No other player has more than seven, so with just two rounds remaining, the winner is likely to come from this leading group. Should Roos or Jansen prevail, they would become the third forward to claim the award in the last four seasons.
Golden Boot
The Golden Boot is awarded to the player who kicks the most points in the regular season.
This award is all but decided. After Round 14, it already looked unlikely that anyone would catch Chris Smith (Lions), and he has only strengthened his position since.
Buoyed by the Lions’ outstanding form, the flyhalf has surged to 140 points – nearly 50 clear of Jacob Umaga (Benetton) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), who are both on 91.
Tackle Machine
Players who have made 150 or more completed tackles during the regular season will be eligible for the award, with the individual who boasts the highest accuracy taking the prize.
This award recognises the perfect blend of tackle volume (minimum 150 tackles) and accuracy, rewarding not just work rate but technical excellence. It’s no surprise, then, that it is typically dominated by second-row and back-row forwards – the players often responsible for the unseen graft – and this season is no different.
Cardiff’s Alun Lawrence leads the way for total tackles made with 243, but his 94.2% success rate places him seventh among players who have reached the 150-tackle threshold. In contrast, Dragons RFC’s Ben Carter boasts an outstanding 97.2% success rate, missing just five of his 180 attempts, and has led in accuracy for most of this season.
However, he is closely followed by teammate Harry Beddall (97.1%) and Munster’s Gavin Coombes (96.5%). With margins so fine, this is an award that looks set to go right down to the final whistle of Round 18.
Ironman
The Ironman award is given to the player who has racked up the most minutes in the regular season.
Another award that celebrates commitment, consistency and a willingness to put the body on the line. Last season’s winner, Cam Winnett, missed just 13 minutes across the entire campaign – a benchmark that only two players are on course to better this season.
Quan Horn, who won the award in 2022/23, is in contention once again, having remarkably not missed a single minute for the Lions so far this season, and he is followed closely by Leolin Zas (Stormers), just 10 minutes behind.
Barring injury, it is likely to go to one of these two, with Sharks captain Vincent Tshituka the only other player within 80 minutes of the two leaders.
Playmaker
The total of three key metrics used to decide the winner: try assists for his team, defenders beaten on the pitch, and successfully completed offloads.
Creativity, adaptability and composure under pressure define a true playmaker. Introduced last season, the Playmaker Award recognises the player who creates the most chances and tries for his team.
There has been a change at the top, with injury preventing long-time leader Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls) from adding to his tally. Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) now leads the way, holding a narrow two-point advantage over Ospreys’ Jack Walsh.
Lions duo Quan and Francke Horn, along with Ignacio Mendy (Benetton), are among the closest challengers. Given the nature of this award, standings can shift quickly, leaving it all to play for over the final two rounds.
