JOHANNESBURG – The third annual BrightRock Players Choice Awards will be held in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
These Awards, held for the players by the players, celebrates South Africa’s world-class rugby talent. They are the only awards of their kind in South Africa, with professional rugby players from SA's 14 unions voting for their top players across six awards categories.
The seventh is a Fans' Choice category where SA rugby fans were given the chance to vote for their favourite players of 2019.
And what a year 2019 has been for South African rugby. With the Springboks winning the 2019 Rugby Championship in August and more recently, the Rugby World Cup in Japan, it truly has been a magnificent year for national rugby.
The coveted Players’ Player of the Year award was won last year by Malcolm Marx and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in 2017. In the running this year are Springbok favourites Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Brits and Cheslin Kolbe.
Other categories include Defender of the Year, Forward of the year, Backline player of the Year, Best off the bench and the #LoveChange Award for the most improved player - see nomination list below for a full breakdown.
The nomination [nominations were compiled by the MyPlayers Board, their Trustees and player representatives]:
Defender of the year
1 Pieter-Steph du Toit
2 Franco Mostert
3 Lukhanyo Am
4 Damian de Allende
Forward Player of the year
1 Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira
2 Trevor Nyakane
3 RG Snyman
4 Pieter-Steph du Toit
Backline Player of the year
1 George Whitehead
2 Rabz Maxwane
3 Cheslin Kolbe
4 Herschel Jantjies
Best off the bench
1 Steven Kitshoff
2 Herschel Jantjies
3 Bongani Mbonambi
4 Selvyn Davids
The #LoveChange Award
(For the most-improved player over the past year – a true change agent on his way up)
1 Joseph Dweba
2 Tyrone Green
3 Herschel Jantjies
4 Kurt-Lee Arendse
The Players’ Player of the Year
(the flagship award of the evening for the player selected as the best player of the year, as chosen by his peers)
1 Pieter-Steph du Toit
2 Duane Vermeulen
3 Schalk Brits
4 Cheslin Kolbe