International
Boks lead SA Rugby Awards nominations for 2022
Three experienced Springboks – Lukhanyo Am, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi – were nominated for the coveted SA Rugby Player of the Year Award for 2022 for a second year running and will be up against Kurt-Lee Arendse and Frans Malherbe after the quintet of Boks earned the most votes in the nomination process.
SA Rugby announced the nominees in nine categories on Wednesday and the winners will be named in 2023, along with the annual OUTsurance Referee of the Year and the Provincial Women’s Player of the Year.
Springbok captain Kolisi won the award for a stellar 2021 season and along with Etzebeth, who became the seventh player to earn his 100th Springbok Test cap this year, and Am, whose influence was crucial before he picked up a season-ending injury in August, the trio were central to the Boks’ efforts in 2022.
Former Blitzbok star Arendse was sublime in his debut season for the Boks and scored seven tries in as many Tests, while the ever-reliant Malherbe, who played in his 50th Test this year, was a rock in the pack and he quietly went about his job of putting the Boks on the front-foot from first phase.
For the first time, media and SA Rugby stakeholders also voted for the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year, and the five nominees all played in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October – last year’s winner Lusanda Dumke, 2019 winner Aseza Hele, as well as Zintle Mpupha, Aphiwe Ngwevu and Nadine Roos.
The next generation of national players were nominated in the category for Young Player of the Year, which only takes into consideration Under-23s. They are Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jaden Hendrikse, Canan Moodie, Evan Roos and Henco van Wyk.
Aphiwe Ngwevu, Nadine Roos, Lusanda Dumke, Zintle Mpupha and Aseza Hele.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was also nominated in the category for Junior Springbok Player of the Year after he led the SA Under-20s to an unbeaten run in the Six Nations U20 Summer Series in Italy, while Suleiman Hartzenberg and Ruan Venter were also nominated for this award.
And the three Blitzboks who were nominated for the Springbok Sevens Player of the Year Award are Selvyn Davids, Zain Davids and JC Pretorius.
After a good season in which they won eight Test out of 13 and had close defeats to the top two teams in the world, the Springboks were nominated as one of the three Teams of the Year, with the DHL Stormers, winners of the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and the Carling Currie Cup champions, the Airlink Pumas, the two other nominated sides.
These three teams’ coaches, John Dobson (DHL Stormers), Jacques Nienaber (Springboks) and Jimmy Stonehouse (Airlink Pumas) also got the most votes in the category for Coach of the Year.
The Airlink Pumas’ domestic triumph was reflected in the nominations for Carling Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year, with three men from Mpumalanga up against each other for the award – Sebastiaan de Klerk, Willie Engelbrecht and Devon Williams.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jaden Hendrikse, Canan Moodie, Evan Roos and Henco van Wyk.
And in the final category, Jaywinn Juries and Duan Pretorius of eventual champions, the Down Touch Griffons, are up against Jaiden Baron of the Boland Kavaliers for the Carling Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year award.
Mr Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, congratulated all the nominees on their performances and achievements in 2022.
“As we returned to normal after a few tough years due to the pandemic, it was really heart-warming to see rugby played on weekends all over the country and abroad, by schools, clubs, provincial unions, our franchises and national teams,” said Mr Alexander.
“This list of nominees honour those players who performed brilliantly week in and week out and I would like to congratulate all of them on their achievements in 2022.
“All of our national teams enjoyed some form of success and again underlined our status as one of the top rugby nations in the world. With that comes big responsibility though and our men and women in green and gold did us proud this year.
“On the local front, we saw excellent rugby played across the board. The DHL Stormers were deserved champions of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship after winning an all-South African final against the Vodacom Bulls, and the two Carling Currie Cup competitions delivered some of the best action seen in recent years, with especially the Airlink Pumas and Windhoek Draught Griquas underlining the fact that there is no such thing anymore as ‘minnow teams’ in South Africa.
Selvyn Davids, JC Pretorius and Zain Davids.
“Our most sincere gratitude also goes out to every player, coach, administrator, referee, sponsor and all other significant role players for playing their part in making the 2022 season one for the ages.
“Next year the Boks will be defending the Webb Ellis Cup at the Rugby World Cup in France, our other national teams will again have full schedules and our franchises will be continuing their participation in the Northern Hemisphere in the Vodacom URC, Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, while the local season will also be jam-packed yet again.”
Like last season, when Evan Roos of the DHL Stormers walked away with the honours, the award for the Player of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will be made at the conclusion of the competition next year.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
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)
Content & Images from – South Africa Rugby
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Despite their short preparation time together, and the fact that their opponents were coming off a 10-game Currie Cup season, Emerging Ireland tallied up six tries to secure a 36-24 win at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Ireland Sevens Olympian Zac Ward burst past three defenders for the 14th-minute opener, and a closing penalty try was preceded by scores from Darragh Murray, Cormac Izuchukwu, Stephen Smyth, and replacement Gus McCarthy.
“The Pumas had a Currie Cup campaign to prepare for this game and we’ve had six or seven days but I think, to a man, our guys stepped up to the challenge,” said Easterby afterwards.
“I think these tours are always going to be challenging, they’re always going to put us under pressure for the time, but we certainly wouldn’t look for any excuses in terms of our preparation.
“I thought, on the whole, we were outstanding and everyone showed up really well. We got good minutes out of those guys that started, and we got a really good hit out of the guys who came off the bench and they added as well.”
All 23 players got time on the pitch, with only Ulster forward Izuchukwu and Leinster’s James Culhane, who stood out at number 8, having previously played for Emerging Ireland. They were both part of the 2022 tour to South Africa.
Six members of last season’s Ireland Under-20 squad made their Emerging Ireland debuts, including Smyth, Ben O’Connor, and Hugh Gavin as starters. They are all hoping this can be a launchpad towards playing Test rugby.
Of the Bloemfontein bunch from two years ago, six players have since graduated to win Ireland senior caps. The most notable are Jack Crowley, Joe McCarthy, and Calvin Nash, who have been regular starters this year for the back-to-back Guinness Men’s Six Nations champions.
Naas man Jamie Osborne shone during Ireland’s drawn summer series with South Africa, winning his first two caps at full-back, while Ciarán Frawley, who missed out on playing for Emerging Ireland in 2022 due to a shoulder injury, was the late drop goal hero in the second Test against the Springboks.
Speaking about how beneficial an Emerging Ireland tour is from both a playing and coaching perspective, Easterby noted: “Recent history shows that players who have been on this tour have kicked on. That’s part of the plan for this tour, to get guys to understand how we do things.
“There’s lots of great connectivity between the provinces and what they do and what we do. For us as coaches, to get to work with these players individually and as a group, but also they’re seeing the last two years, those guys who have gone on and got capped.
“I guess the challenge for the players on this tour is to make it as hard for us not to pick them over the next six to 12 months, going through to another World Cup cycle.
“So, I think there is that feel that there is genuine opportunity, and the reality is six guys have been capped and 48 caps have been gained by those six guys. The reality is there is a genuine pathway towards playing senior international rugby.”
Easterby and his fellow senior national coaches, Paul O’Connell, Andrew Goodman, and John Fogarty, brought a 33-strong squad with them to South Africa, and the ten players watching on from the stands today will be itching to line out against Western Force on Sunday afternoon.
With the Toyota Challenge clash with the Toyota Cheetahs next Wednesday completing the short three-match series, the tight turnarounds will certainly keep all involved, including the medical and S&C staff, on their toes.
Asked about any injuries coming out of the tour opener, the former Ireland and British & Irish Lions flanker replied: “I think Mark Donnelly, at the moment, has ice on his ankle. They’re just keeping him off feet. We’ll have a scan on that and we’ll know more about that tomorrow.
“Apart from that, there’s a few bruised and tired bodies, but I think most of them came through pretty well. Fingers crossed that Mark comes through and everyone else does tomorrow when we assess the players off the back of the game.
“Rob Russell as well, Rob came off with a hand injury. Again we’re not sure what that was. He was just struggling to get a grip and was replaced, probably as a matter of caution more than anything.
“That was one that again we’ll assess in the morning, and we’ll make sure that we get ahead of that tomorrow morning when we know a little bit more.”
Meanwhile, giving his reaction afterwards, Emerging Ireland captain Alex Kendellen spoke about how the players have gelled together quickly, and how this first performance, while far from perfect, augurs well for the rest of the tour.
“It was a good game. We talked about building connections on and off the pitch, and I think we showed glimpses of that today,” admitted the 23-year-old skipper.
“It’s good to get the win. I think we saw a few good performances out there and I really enjoyed it. There’s always going to be work-ons.
“We came together last week and we just talked about making connections on and off the pitch. We showed some good things out there. We’ll review that and we’ll get back to it for the Western Force game.
“I think there is a good group there. We’re building nicely. You look at the likes of Sam Prendergast, who is leading us around the park. It’s great to play with players like that and players from other provinces.”
Centre Harry Potter, the former Leicester Tigers back, scored two first-half tries as Western Force beat the Cheetahs 38-24 in today’s other encounter in Bloemfontein. You can watch all of Emerging Ireland’s matches on irishrugby+.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
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