Five Springboks have been nominated for the SA Rugby Player of the Year for 2021.
Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi will go up against each other for the coveted award after earning the most votes in the annual nomination process.
SA Rugby announced the nominees in eight categories on Friday, with all the winners scheduled to be named in 2022.
Kolisi, the only player to start in all 13 Tests this year, played a typical captain’s innings, while Etzebeth, the most experienced member of the current Springbok squad, was one of the most consistent players this season, often leading the charge of the pack.
Am and De Allende, who have now started together as Bok centre partners in 22 Tests, formed a lethal midfield combination, often opening up space on the outside for Mapimpi to score, with the Bok speedster scoring six tries this year.
After a good year in which they won the Lions series, beat the All Blacks and won two of their three Tests in November, the Springboks and their head coach, Jacques Nienaber, are also up for awards and will square off against the Blitzboks and Neil Powell, as well as the Currie Cup-winning Vodacom Bulls and Jake White for the Team and Coach of the Year awards.
The Hendrikse brothers, Jaden and Jordan, are two of the five nominees in the category for Young Player of the Year, where they will face stiff opposition from Aphelele Fassi, and two of the best young loose forwards in the country in Elrigh Louw and Evan Roos.
Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) and Fassi (fullback) earned their first Springbok caps this year (both scoring tries on debut), while Jordan Hendrikse was nominated in a second category, the Junior Springbok Player of the Year, along with Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Henco van Wyk.
The Blitzboks – winners of four tournaments in 2021 – finished the year on a very high note and the competition for Springbok Sevens Player of the Year will be tightly contested between one of their bright new stars in Ronald Brown, as well as the experienced duo of Selvyn Davids and Siviwe Soyizwapi, captain of the national sevens side.
Capping off a fine season, Louw (Bulls) and Roos (WP) also feature in two categories and will be up against each other for the Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year, against Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen.
This year there are two new awards recognising women’s rugby, the Springbok Women’s and Provincial Women’s Players of the Year, as well as the annual Referee of the Year.
In the final category, Dylan Maart (Boland Kavaliers), Anrich Richter (Valke) and Danrich Visagie (Leopards) are up against each other for the Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year.
An exciting new category was added to the roster this year, namely the Castle Lager Test Try of the Year, where supporters will have the final say in who walks away with this accolade.
Included on the list of nominees are tries by De Allende, Mapimpi, Fassi, and Cheslin Kolbe, as well as Springbok Women’s players Zintle Mpupha and Libbie Janse van Rensburg.
An award for the Player of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will be made at the conclusion of the competition next year.
SA Rugby Awards nominees:
SA Rugby Player of the Year
Lukhanyo Am
Damian de Allende
Eben Etzebeth
Siya Kolisi
Makazole Mapimpi
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year
Aphelele Fassi (Springboks/Sharks)
Jaden Hendrikse (Springboks/Sharks)
Jordan Hendrikse (Junior Springboks/Lions)
Elrigh Louw (Bulls)
Evan Roos (Stormers/Western Province)
Team of the Year
Vodacom Bulls
Springboks
Springbok Sevens
Coach of the Year
Jacques Nienaber (Springboks)
Neil Powell (Springbok Sevens)
Jake White (Bulls)
Junior Springbok Player of the Year
Jordan Hendrikse
Henco van Wyk
Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year
Ronald Brown
Selvyn Davids
Siviwe Soyizwapi
Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year
Johan Goosen (Bulls)
Elrigh Louw (Bulls)
Evan Roos (Western Province)
Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year
Dylan Maart (Boland Kavaliers)
Anrich Richter (Valke)
Danrich Visagie (Leopards)
Test Try of the Year
Cobus Reinach – Springboks vs Georgia
Makazole Mapimpi – Springboks vs British & Irish Lions
Cheslin Kolbe – Springboks vs British & Irish Lions
Sizophila Solontsi – Springbok Women vs Kenya
Aphelele Fassi – Springboks vs Argentina
Damian de Allende – Springboks vs New Zealand
Malcolm Marx – Springboks vs Wales
Makazole Mapimpi – Springboks vs Scotland
Zintle Mpupha – Springbok Women vs Wales
Libbie Janse van Rensburg – Springbok Women vs Wales
View this post on Instagram
