Stormer beats Sharks loosie for URC prize
NEWS: While the Stormers have not had one of their best seasons, one of their forwards has certainly impressed on the field.
Stormers forward Ruben van Heerden was named the United Rugby Championship Tackle Machine of the season.
The award is given to the player who boasts the best tackle success rate among those who have attempted 150 or more throughout the campaign.
Van Heerden takes home the prize, having made 171 tackles at a success rate of 98%.
The 27-year-old edged Glasgow Warriors forward Rory Darge, who made 160 tackles with an accuracy of 97%, as well as Sharks star Phepsi Buthelezi in third place, with 157 tackles and a tackle accuracy of 96.82%.
URC also revealed the recipients of the Golden Boot, Top Try Scorer, Ironman, and Playmaker, respectively.
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Scarlets Ioan Lloyd picked up the Golden Boot award for his 124 points.
Scarlets’ playmaker tops the charts this season with 124 points. 46 of those came from try conversions, with the remaining 78 points coming from successful penalty kicks.
He finishes ahead of Sharks star Jordan Hendrikse (108 points) and Edinburgh’s Ross Thompson (105 points).
Harri Millard of Cardiff Rugby bagged the Top try-scorer.
Millard finished the regular season with 9 tries, level with Stormers winger, Leolin Zas, and Munster centre, Tom Farrell.
But the Cardiff star takes the award, having scored his tries in the least amount of time, bagging his 9 tries in just 796 minutes across 13 appearances this season.
Previous winners of this award include Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews last season, and Ulster’s Tom Stewart back in 2022/23.
This season’s Ironman is Cardiff’s Cam Winnett.
Winnett takes home the award, which recognises the player who has racked up the most minutes over the 18 rounds of the URC.
He started all 18 rounds of the regular season for Cardiff, missing just 13 minutes all season.
He finished ahead of Munster’s Tom Farrell (1371 minutes) and Dragons forward, Shane Lewis-Hughes (1353 minutes).
Tom Farrell of Munster bagged a new award, the Playmaker of the season.
The accolade is a brand new award for the 2024/25 season, and Farrell is the inaugural winner.
Adaptability, creativity and composure under pressure define a true playmaker. The Playmaker Award is given to the player who creates chances and tries for his team, with three key metrics used to decide the winner – try assists for his team, successfully completed offloads, and defenders beaten on the pitch.
A player is awarded three points for each try assist, 2 points for each offload, and 1 point for each defender beaten.
Farrell’s tally of 158 points comes from 5 try assists (15 points), 41 offloads (82 points) and 61 defenders beaten (61 points).
He finishes ahead of Stormers fullback, Warrick Gelant (118 points), and Lions star, Quan Horn (111 points).
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.
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