The World Rugby Awards released a list of nominees on Monday and one of the three Springboks shortlisted for the major award, the men’s 15s Player of the Year, will likely walk away with the prestigious individual accolade at a glitzy soiree in Monaco tonight.
The Springboks dominate the shortlist for the top award, and one of them is expected to walk away with it. The Bok’s most-capped player Eben Etzebeth, winger Cheslin Kolbe and experienced utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit were all nominated in the Men’s 15s Player of the Year category, alongside Ireland skipper Caelan Doris.
Exciting prospect Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu leads the charge in the highly contested Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year category. Feinberg-Mngomezulu is pitted against England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ireland’s Jamie Osborne and Wallace Sititi of New Zealand.
Despite the Springboks proving time and time again to be a dominant force in world rugby, they have surprisingly been overlooked for the top awards.
The last and only two other South Africans to have walked away with top honours were Schalk Burger in 2004 and -Bryan Habana in 2009.
Sunday World predicts the Boks player that will most likely walk away with the top award on a scale out of one to 10:
Cheslin Kolbe (9)
Kolbe is the outright favourite to clinch the top award following what has been a phenomenal 2024 rugby season for him. The speedy winger has been a menace and a marvel to watch in Bok colours. Let alone his flair and flamboyance, Kolbe showed a different side to his game – from the crazy line-out saves to taking line out, scrums and even going toe to toe with the giants of the game.
Having been on the shortlist in 2019, Kolbe stands a much better chance to win it in 2024.
Pieter-Steph du Toit (8)
If consistency was a person, then Pieter-Steph du Toit is the man as he has also been impressive throughout the season and in recent years.
In every match Du Toit has been involved in, he has made a massive impact and game-changing moments for the Springboks. Like Kolbe, Du Toit was also on the top award shortlist in 2019 and stands a good chance to win the award.
Eben Etzebeth (7)
Another consistent and impact player this season is none other than Eben Etzebeth, who went as far as breaking the record of fellow lock Victor Matfield of 127 Test matches in September.
Elizabedi, as Etzebeth is now fondly known, was nominated in 2013 and last year but stands a lesser chance of finally winning the award as he faces even stiffer competition in this season’s finalists.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (6)
In his respective category, Feinberg-Mngomezulu may just miss out on the award after picking up a knee injury that unfortunately cut his season short.
The 22-year-old broke into the international scene this year and what a way to announce himself as he made a strong statement in his first foray into the Boks setup.
He is one of the 50 players that were used by coach Rassie Erasmus in their Test matches so far this season.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu follows in the footsteps of fellow Boks who were previously nominated in the category like Willie le Roux and Duane Vermeulen (both in 2014), Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx (both in 2018), and Lukhanyo Am in 2022.
Rassie Erasmus, who has been the mastermind behind what has been a successful rugby calendar for the Boks, congratulated all his players for the hard work that they have put in this year.
“Congratulations to the players for being nominated and making their mark on the biggest stage in rugby this season,” Erasmus said.
The November internationals finally concluded yesterday, and the Boks closed off what has been a successful year of rugby in a match against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
