Eben Etzebeth, three other Springboks up for World Rugby awards

The World Rugby Awards nominations were released on Monday, with three Springboks nominated in the men’s Player of the Year category.

Forwards Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, and winger Cheslin Kolbe, were recognised for their efforts this year, while newcomer Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was nominated for men’s Breakthrough player of the year.

The Awards will be hosted in Monaco on Sunday, 24 November, after the conclusion of the November internationals, where the Boks have won both of their matches thus far, beating Scotland and England in consecutive weekends.

South Africa’s most capped player of all time, Etzebeth – who broke fellow lock Victor Matfield’s record of 127 Test matches in September – leads the trio up against Caelan Doris of Ireland.

Flyhalf Feinberg Mngomezulu, who made a strong statement in his first foray into the Test team before a knee injury cut short his season, was nominated along with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England), Jamie Osborne (Ireland) and Wallace Sititi (New Zealand).

Team director Rassie Erasmus said of the nominated Bok players: “Congratulations to the players for being nominated and making their mark on the biggest stage in rugby this season.

“Making their nominations even more remarkable is that most of them have won two Rugby World Cup titles already and that they have continued to deliver the high standards we expect at the Springboks over several years.

“Over and above that, we have used 50 players in our Tests so far this season, and to see them shine among the best players in the world is fantastic. We are extremely proud of them, and we wish them luck when the winners are revealed.”

Etzebeth was nominated in 2013 and last year, while Kolbe and Du Toit were on the shortlist in 2019, the year Du Toit won the award. Only two other South Africans have walked away with top honours – Schalk Burger in 2004, and Bryan Habana in 2009.

Other South Africans who received nominations for the Men’s 15s Player of the Year Award in the last decade, are Willie le Roux and Duane Vermeulen (both in 2014), Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx (both in 2018), and Lukhanyo Am (2022).

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Source: espn.com