Cape Town – Who will be the ‘big dog’ of South African rugby for 2022?
That will be one of the big debates over the festive season after SA Rugby announced on Wednesday that Lukhanyo Am, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Frans Malherbe were the five nominees for the Player of the Year award.
The winner will only be made known early in 2023, but all five Springboks have a strong case to be picked as the best rugby player in South Africa.
Am is the man who made the Bok attack tick earlier in the season by almost always being in the right place at the right time, with his little chips ahead, offloads in the tackle and crucial defensive work resulting in him being a nominee for the World Rugby Player of the Year.
That was despite sustaining a knee injury against the Wallabies in Adelaide, which meant that he missed the last few games of the Rugby Championship and the entire November tour to Europe.
Arendse made a stunning Test debut by scoring a try against the All Blacks in Mbombela, but then also received a four-week suspension for a dangerous tackle in the same game.
The 26-year-old continued his hot-stepping form on the end-of-year tour and the Bulls, and is pushing hard for a permanent starting berth ahead of Makazole Mapimpi.
Then, the three rocks of the Bok pack have been the mainstays in a pack of forwards that generally won the physical battle upfront.
Etzebeth has again been a colossus, with his usual enforcer role in the tight exchanges complemented by his work-rate as a ball-carrier and defender, while he often chased and won up-and-unders too.
Captain Kolisi – who won the award for the 2021 campaign – has enjoyed arguably his finest international season, as he has been more visible as a ball-carrier in the wide channels, while he has made some crucial interventions in defence and has been brave at times with his decision-making as well.
Malherbe has ground down most of his direct opponents in the scrum, and had a superb November tour, where it was evident that he got much more involved in general play.
The Young Player of the Year gong will also be hotly contested, with Bok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse perhaps the favourite – although No 8 Evan Roos and Junior Springbok captain Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are real contenders too.
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It will be interesting to see who gets the Coach of the Year award between Bok mentor Jacques Nienaber – a surprise choice considering the national team’s record of eight wins and five defeats in 2022 – Stormers boss John Dobson and Pumas’ Currie Cup-winning stalwart Jimmy Stonehouse.
The SA United Rugby Championship Player of the Tournament will be named at the end of that competition next year.
SA Rugby Awards Nominees
Player of the Year: Lukhanyo Am, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe
Springbok Women’s Player of the Year: Lusanda Dumke, Aseza Hele, Zintle Mpupha, Aphiwe Ngwevu, Nadine Roos
Young Player of the Year: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Junior Springboks, South Africa A, Stormers), Jaden Hendrikse (Springboks, Sharks), Canan Moodie (Springboks, Bulls), Evan Roos (Springboks, Stormers), Henco van Wyk (South Africa A, Lions)
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year: Selvyn Davids, Zain Davids, JC Pretorius
Junior Springbok Player of the Year: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Ruan Venter
Team of the Year: Pumas, Stormers, Springboks
Coach of the Year: John Dobson (Stormers), Jacques Nienaber (Springboks), Jimmy Stonehouse (Pumas)
Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year: Sebastiaan de Klerk (Pumas), Willie Engelbrecht (Pumas), Devon Williams (Pumas)
Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year: Jaiden Baron (Boland Kavaliers), Jaywinn Juries (Griffons), Duan Pretorius (Griffons).
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