Sport | Pieter-Steph one of five Boks nominated for SA Rugby’s Player of the Year award

Pieter-Steph du Toit (left) and Eben Etzebeth (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

• Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and Ox Nche have been nominated for SA Rugby’s Men’s Player of the Year accolade.
• Rising stars Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cameron Hanekom, Jaden Hendrikse, Quan Horn and Henco van Wyk are nominated for the Young Player of the Year Award.
• Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is nominated for Coach of the Year along with Philip Snyman (Blitzboks) and Jake White (Bulls).
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World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit is one of five Springboks nominated for SA Rugby’s Men’s Player of the Year.

The others are Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and Ox Nche.

Etzebeth, who has won the award for the past two seasons, and Kolbe were also in line for this year’s World Rugby award, while De Allende and Nche – both members of World Rugby’s 2024 Dream Team – also had a stellar 2024 season.

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The nominees were voted for by members of the media and coaching staff from the governing body, with the winners to be announced early next year.

Elsewhere, the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cameron Hanekom, Jordan Hendrikse and Quan Horn – who all made their Test debuts in 2024 – were nominated for the Young Player of the Year Award along with Lions centre Henco van Wyk.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has been nominated alongside Springbok Sevens mentor Philip Snyman and Bulls director of rugby Jake White for the Coach of the Year Award, while the world champion Boks, Blitzboks and Sharks will vie for the Team of the Year.

READ | Springbok stalwart Pieter-Steph du Toit named World Rugby Player of the Year

“While the past year was not without its challenges, we saw again over most weekends how deeply ingrained rugby is in the South African psyche, and these nominations celebrate the best of the best in our teams in Green and Gold and on the domestic front,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said in a statement.

“Rugby is a team sport and every player that has represented the Boks has played his part in our successes, but the five players who are nominated this year have been at the core of the side that have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups and two Rugby Championship titles, while they have finished the year as the top-ranked team in the world for a second consecutive year.

“We had a great year with the Boks doing us proud yet again, but so too our other national teams, with the Springbok Women lifting their game and the Blitzboks bringing home an Olympic medal yet again, finishing off a tough season on a high note.

“I would like to congratulate all the players who made the shortlists for their nominations after a wonderful year of rugby, and I would like to thank all our players, coaches, administrators, referees and sponsors – from international down to grassroots levels – as well as everyone else who works hard at promoting and organising our game for their roles in a very successful 2023 season.”