Cronje South Africa's best
FNB Shimlas flyhalf Lionel Cronjé was on Monday evening named as South Africa’s Under-20 Player of the Year.
Cronjé played for Shimlas in the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International – impressing with his booming boot and physicality on both attack and defence.
He was also a key man for the SA Under-20 team at the IRB Junior World Championships in Japan in June, scoring two tries in his country’s 32-5 third/fourth-place play-off victory over Australia.
The 20-year-old will not be available for the Kovsies in 2010, having signed a deal with the Stormers and Western Province, and he could well feature in the Super 14 for the Cape-based side.
Of course, Cronjé was not the only Varsity Cup player eligible for some of the awards on Monday night, with Maties stars Juan de Jongh and Joe Pietersen both missing out to some high-profile players in the final analysis.
De Jongh – who is set to become the first-ever Varsity Cup Springbok later this week – had been nominated as one of the five Young Players of the Year and also in the Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year category.
Pietersen was also nominated in the Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year category, whilst his superb performance against the touring British & Irish Lions earlier in the year saw him earn a nomination for the brand new Lions Series Provincial Player of the Year Award.
In the end, the undoubted find of the 2009 international season, Springbok flanker Heinrich Brüssow, walked off with the Lions Series Provincial Player of the Year Award and WP’s Luke Watson was voted the Curie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year.
Brüssow also won the coveted Young Player of the Year Award, following in the footsteps of the likes of Robert Ebersohn (another ex-Shimlas Varsity Cup representative, 2008), Bok utility back Frans Steyn (2007), Springbok No.8 Pierre Spies (2006) and Bok wingers Jongi Nokwe (2005), Bryan Habana (2004) and Ashwin Willemse (2003).
Meanwhile, Springbok scrumhalf Fourie du Preez was named as the SA Rugby Player of the Year for the second time in his stellar career. The Vodacom Blue Bulls scrumhalf captured the crown at the end of a fabulous domestic season during which teams he represented won every available prize.
Du Preez – who won the award for the first time in 2006 – claimed the Vodacom Super 14 and Currie Cup titles with his province as well as helping the Springboks to the No.1 world ranking in conjunction with the Vodacom Tri-Nations title and victory in the Castle South Africa 2009 Lions Series.
Du Preez’s sublime performances saw him claim the award ahead of some outstanding competition.
Also nominated were newcomers Morné Steyn – who kicked a succession of title-winning goals – and Brüssow, Springbok captain John Smit and lock Victor Matfield – who lined up with Du Preez in every title-winning team.
“They were any number of outstanding Springbok performers who could have been among the nominations,” said Mark Alexander, Saru’s deputy President.
“It’s a tribute to the sustained excellence of Fourie’s play that he was chosen by the media for this prestigious award. There are very few players in world rugby who can claim to be as influential as he is.”
Brüssow was named as Young Player of the Year; the Springboks were Team of the Year and Peter de Villiers was chosen as Coach of the Year among the other main awards, which are voted for by rugby journalists. Morné Steyn was selected by his peers as Players’ Player of the Year.
Steyn collected three awards in total as the Bulls flyhalf was also named as Test Player of the Series against the British & Irish Lions, while his record-breaking performances for the Bulls’ in their march to the Super 14 title earned him the Player of the Competition Award.
Brüssow also claimed a second award as Provincial Player of the Castle South Africa 2009 Lions Series, following his performance for the Vodacom Free State Cheetahs that helped propel him into the Springbok team.
The full list of award winners:
SA Rugby Player of the Year – Fourie du Preez (Blue Bulls)
Players’ Player of the Year – Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls)
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year – Heinrich Brüssow (Free State Cheetahs)
Test player of the Castle South Africa 2009 Lions Series – Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls)
Provincial player of the Castle South Africa 2009 Lions Series – Heinrich Brüssow (Cheetahs)
SA Rugby Team of the Year – The Springboks
Coach of the Year – Peter de Villiers
Vodacom Super 14 Player of the Year – Morné Steyn (Bulls)
Curie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year – Luke Watson (Western Province)
Curie Cup First Division Player of the Year – Allistair Kettledas (Pumas)
SuperSport Try of the Year – Jaque Fourie, second Test v B&I Lions (Loftus Versfeld)
Sasol Sevens Player of the Year – Frankie Horne
SA Under-20 Player of the Year – Lionel Cronjé (Cheetahs, Shimlas)
Vodacom Cup Player of the Year – Jonathan Mokuena (Griquas)
SAA Club Champs Player of the Year – Dustin Jinka (Hamilton)
SA Rugby Women’s Rugby Achiever of the Year – Saloma Booysen (Eastern Province)
Marriott Refereeing Achievement of the Year – Jonathan Kaplan
Coca-Cola Craven Week Player of the Tournament – Andile Jho (Border)
