BARRING some dodgy voting by the World Rugby awards panel, a Springbok will be crowned World Player of the Year in Monaco on Sunday night and my money is on Eben Etzebeth.
Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Cheslin Kolbe have been nominated for the award alongside Ireland’s loose forward Caelan Doris. If the latter were to squeeze past the Bok trio, it would be akin to the two late drop goals that snuck Ireland the spoils in Durban a few months back.
So this just happened 🤩
Four #Springboks were nominated for @WorldRugby Awards ✅#ForeverGreenForeverGold #WorldRugbyAwards— Springboks (@Springboks) November 18, 2024
Also, young flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been nominated in the Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year category.
For the top gong, it should be a shoot-out between the South Africans. While Kolbe has been stealing headlines lately with his hot-stepping, for sheer, unmitigated, bone-crunching consistency, it must be between Du Toit (the 2019 winner) and Eben the Angry.
The latter has been nominated a host of times but has never won the award, but my gut feeling is that this is Etzebeth’s year.
Etzebeth turned 33 on October 29 while Du Toit’s 32nd birthday was in August.
The two elder statesmen of South African rugby turn up at every game, rev their engines at the start line, and hit overdrive until the Boks get the chequered flag. They lead from the front and inevitably steer the Boks home.
They have been unremitting in their commanding performances and have been sharing the Player of the Match award between them for most of the season although Kolbe has been gate-crashing their party of late.
There was a moment in the England game at the weekend that neatly summed up the stratosphere these giants inhabit.
Etzebeth charged down hapless scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet and when another England defender tried to clear the ball, Du Toit charged him down, gathered, and scored. It was a wonderful double cameo from the pair.
The way a host of senior Boks have played this year is a reflection on Rassie Erasmus and his promise to the thirty-somethings in the squad that he will keep picking them as long as they keep delivering.
The coach said: “Congratulations to the players for being nominated and making their mark on the biggest stage in rugby this season. Making their nominations even more remarkable is that most of them have already won two World Cup titles and that they have continued to meet the high standards we have expected at the Springboks over several years.
“Over and above that, we have used 50 players in our Tests so far this season, and to see them shine among the best players in the world is fantastic. We are extremely proud of them, and we wish them luck when the winners are revealed,” Erasmus added.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu will duel England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ireland centre Jamie Osborne and New Zealand loose forward Wallace Sititi for the young gun award.
“Having Springboks players feature in two categories is a testament to their hard work and dedication to the team and South Africa, and we are very proud of them,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said.
“Each one of the Springbok players has shone out this season, and given the quality of the squad Rassie has been building, I’m sure many more players could have been nominated.
“They all deserve this recognition, and we wish them luck for the awards ceremony in Monaco.”
Other Springboks who received nominations for the Men’s 15s Player of the Year Award in the last decade include Willie le Roux and Duane Vermeulen (both in 2014), Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx (both in 2018), and Lukhanyo Am (2022).
