Springbok stars Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am and Eben Etzebeth have been nominated for the SA Rugby Player of the Year Award for the second year running.
On Wednesday, SA Rugby announced the 2022 nominees for the nine awards up for grabs.
Springbok trio nominated again.
Kolisi, Am and Etzebeth have been nominated for a second year running, with rookie outside back Kurt-Lee Arendse and prop Frans Malherbe in the running for the Springbok Player of the Year Award.
Captain Kolisi won the prize last year and faces stiff competition despite his form in 2022. Etzebeth became the seventh player to earn 100 Test caps for South Africa this year and was named in the World Rugby Team of the Year alongside Am, who was in fantastic form until suffering a season-ending injury.
Former sevens star, Arendse enjoyed a stellar breakthrough year for the Springboks scoring seven tries in seven Test matches, while Malherbe has been a cornerstone of the Bok scrum in 2022 and also celebrated his 50 cap milestone this year.
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Hele and Roos headline nominees
Following the Springbok Women’s performances in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Aseza Hele and Nadine Roos look to be the front runners for the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year Award.
However, they face stiff competition from 2019 winner Lusanda Dumke and fellow World Cup squad members Zintle Mpupha, Aphiwe Ngwevu.
Rising stars
The 2022 Young Player of the Year Nominees, which only takes U23s players into consideration, includes serial award winner Evan Roos who earned his Test debut this year after picking up several United Rugby Championship end-of-season awards.
Roos has been nominated alongside Jaden Hendrikse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Canan Moodie, and Henco van Wyk.
Moodie also made his test debut for the Springboks this year, while Hendrikse started several Tests for the South Africans. Van Wyk featured for the South Africa ‘A’ team after impressing with the Lions in the URC.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has also been nominated for the Junior Springbok Player of the Year after captaining the side to an unbeaten run in the Six Nations U20 Summer Series in Italy.
He is nominated alongside Stormers youngster Suleiman Hartzenberg and Lions’ back- rower Ruan Venter.
Coaches and Sevens
Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has been nominated for the South African Coach of the Year after winning eight out of 13 Tests this year.
The Boks boss is nominated alongside United Rugby Championship-winning Stormers’ coach John Dobson and Currie Cup-winning Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse.
The three Blitzboks who were nominated for the Springbok Sevens Player of the Year Award are Selvyn Davids, Zain Davids and JC Pretorius.
After winning their first-ever Currie Cup, the Pumas have claimed all three Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year nominations in Sebastiaan de Klerk, Willie Engelbrecht and Devon Williams.
The nominees are:
SA Rugby 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
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Junior Springboks / South Africa ‘A’ / DHL Stormers)
Jaden Hendrikse (Springboks / Cell C Sharks)
Canan Moodie (Springboks / Vodacom Bulls)
Evan Roos (Springboks / DHL Stormers)
Henco van Wyk (South Africa ‘A’ / Emirates 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
Airlink Pumas
DHL Stormers
Springboks
Coach of the Year
John Dobson (DHL Stormers)
Jacques Nienaber (Springboks)
Jimmy Stonehouse (Airlink Pumas)
Carling Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year
Sebastiaan de Klerk (Airlink Pumas)
Willie Engelbrecht (Airlink Pumas)
Devon Williams (Airlink Pumas)
Carling Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year
Jaiden Baron (Boland Kavaliers)
Jaywinn Juries (Down Touch Griffons)
Duan Pretorius (Down Touch Griffons)