12 November 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

SA Rugby Player of the Year Candidates

After a golden season of Springbok rugby, Quintin van Jaarsveld lists his candidates for the South African Player of the Year award.

What a year it’s been. This time last year, even the most optimistic of South African supporters would’ve found it hard to believe that the Springboks would end 2019 as Rugby Championship winners and world champions. Go back two years, when the Springboks were at their lowest ebb after a record 57-0 loss to New Zealand, and the thought of the men in Green and Gold ruling the rugby landscape once again would’ve been downright ludicrous.

Yet here we are. The Springboks are, indeed, on top of the world. Rugby Championship winners for the first time (10 years after their last Tri-Nations triumph), World Cup winners for the third time, emulating the heroics of the legendary teams of 1995 and 2007, back at the summit of the World Rugby rankings for the first time in a decade and having cleaned up at the World Rugby Awards, where they were acknowledged as the Team of the Year, Pieter-Steph du Toit as the Player of the Year and Rassie Erasmus – the renaissance man – as the Coach of the Year.

It took an almighty collective effort from all involved over the past two years to rebuild and re-establish the Springboks as a global force. The sensational 32-12 win over favoured England in the World Cup final in Yokohama perfectly illustrated the cohesion that has seen Springbok rugby rise from the ashes, with one to 23 playing out of their skins to capture the most coveted prize in the game.

There were, however, a handful of players who stood out throughout the dream season, who played starring roles in South Africa’s success, each in their unique, invaluable way. Here’s my shortlist of candidates for South African rugby’s most sought-after accolade:

The obvious pick and favourite to walk away with the prize for the third time, having won it in 2016 and 2018, Du Toit ascended to rugby royalty this season, capturing the coveted World Rugby Player of the Year award. Arguably the best pure athlete in the talent-rich South African rugby pool, he’s strong, smart, disciplined, double tough and agile.

Despite possessing these attributes, the 2m tall, 115kg freak of nature doesn’t rest on his laurels. THAT’S what makes him the superstar he is – his unmatched work ethic. Always the hardest worker in the room, literally no-one out-grafted the Terminator-like loose forward in 2019.

As a result, very few can keep up with the otherworldly pace and intensity the supremely fit 27-year-old sustains for the full 80 minutes. Moreover, that the lock-cum-flank’s able to do so week in and week out, without the slightest hint of slowing down, is truly remarkable. So, too, is his accuracy – he’s seemingly immune to making mistakes. On top of that, he’s a man for the big occasion – the bigger the stage, the brighter he shines.

Humble and hard-working, Du Toit embodies the ethos of Springbok rugby. He’s the prototype every schoolboy rugby player should model themselves after – the perfect example that hard work pays off.

After a surprise Springbok call-up and promising performances in 2018, this year saw Kolbe break out as a global superstar. The concerns over his small stature now seem silly after the diminutive dynamo tore it up and stood head and shoulders above his much-larger opponents in the Southern Hemisphere and global showpiece tournaments.

The definition of an x-factor player, Kolbe has amazing awareness, blistering pace, magic feet and scintillating ball skills. He boasts an uncanny ability to create something out of nothing, to somehow bamboozle defenders in the tightest of spaces, and is a finisher extraordinaire.

Like Du Toit, it’s not just his God-given abilities that saw the tiny Toulouse tornado emerge as the biggest little man in the game today. Kolbe’s brilliance stems from his heart – the heart to man up, to bullishly punch above his weight with brave, textbook tackling and to soar above towering opposition and regain possession in the air through sheer determination.

It’s that heart of a lion that no amount of training can ever develop that makes Kolbe a human highlight reel and this year saw him make the No.14 Springbok jersey his own and emerge as the best pound-for-pound player in the world. The 26-year-old also earned a nomination for the World Rugby Player of the Year award, is up for the French Top 14 Player of the Season award as well as for the French-based Player of the World Cup gong.

The 2019 season saw De Allende come of age. Since making his Springbok debut at the age of 22 in the 13-6 win over Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in August 2014, De Allende has been a mainstay in the South African midfield. Now 27 and with 47 Tests to his name, he’s the third-most capped centre in Springbok history behind Jaque Fourie (55) and record holder Jean de Villiers (92).

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The midfield monster this season truly grew into his senior role and took his career to new heights as a result. One of the backline leaders, he was as instrumental as a calm, collective figure as he was as the iron-fisted battering ram who smashed over the gainline time and time again.

He’s not the flashiest player, nor does he claim to be, but at 1.89m and 101kg, he’s tailor-made for the beautiful brutality that is Springbok rugby and adds considerable steak to the sizzle out wide. Crucially, his maturity in 2019 also saw him discover the consistency he’d previously lacked – consistently that cemented him as one of the stars of the World Cup.

The grizzled veteran made his long-awaited return to South Africa to bulk up the Bulls this year and ended up exceeding the lofty expectations of his marquee move. A tank-like talisman, Vermeulen played a pivotal role in propelling the Pretoria franchise back into the Super Rugby play-offs for the first time since 2013 – as South African Conference winners to boot – and stepped up another gear on the Test arena.

The 33-year-old’s experience and leadership came to the fore in the Rugby Championship, in which he captained his country in two of the three crunch clashes. His dynamic displays in the No.8 jersey inspired those around him; he championed the relentless physical charge with and without the ball and was in constant communication with the referee, exercising brains and brawn in equal measure.

He was immense at the World Cup as well. As a core member and the only specialist eighthman in the squad, management and teammates alike looked to Vermeulen to deliver and he did so in spades. A big-match player like fellow back-rower Du Toit, Vermeulen peaked in the play-offs and cemented his place among the all-time Springbok greats with his magnificent Man of the Match performance against England in the final.

There were a couple of contenders for the fifth and final spot on the shortlist. Siya Kolisi made a spectacular comeback after missing the Rugby Championship through injury and led the Springboks to victory in Japan, taking his place in the annals of rugby history by becoming the first black captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

Scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, not only South Africa’s tactical general but a busy, brave and brilliant defender as well, speedster Makazole Mapimpi, who was outstanding for both the Sharks and the Springboks, running in six tries at the World Cup, second only to Wales wing Josh Adams (7), loosehead Tendai Mtawarira for his beastly heroics in his final season, capped off by a legendary performance in the World Cup final, and flyhalf Handré Pollard with his vital place-kicking prowess.

ALSO READ: BONGI MBONAMBI: THE FIGHTER WHO ROSE TO THE TOP

Mbonambi, however, reached the peak of his powers in 2019, emerging out of the shadow of Malcolm Marx, who’d previously been the clear-cut first-choice hooker. With the World Cup on the horizon, Mbonambi went the extra mile to hone his craft in pre-season training and evolved into one of the best in the business.

Gone is the player who’d gifted the Wallabies a try with an overthrow in the 23-18 Rugby Championship loss in Brisbane in 2018. In his place emerged a world-class hooker with laser-like accuracy at lineout time and exceptional workrate across the park.

In the form of his life, the 28-year-old mostly started in the No.2 jersey where he consistently made double-digit tackles and his vastly-improved lineout throwing only saw South Africa lose their first lineout of the World Cup in the semi-final against Wales.

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