SA players in line for IRB Awards
29 September 2005
A record six South African players in various international rugby categories are in line to win prestigious awards when the International Rugby Board (IRB) announces the winners at its annual awards ceremony in Paris in November.
Two Springboks - Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield - have been nominated for the coveted Player of the Year title. The SA under-19 and SA under-21 world champions each havee two nominees out of three in their respective categories.
SA under-19 captain Alistair Hargreaves and Mahlatse "Chilliboy" Ralepelle have been nominated for under-19 Player of the Year award, while Derick Kuun and Thabang Molefe have been named by the IRB in the under-21 Player of the Year category.
The announcement of winners will be made at Pavillon d'Armenonville in Paris's Allée de Longchamps on Sunday, 27 November.
Honours present and past
The gala event rewards the highest achievements for the
current international season, and also honours outstanding past contributions to rugby.
For his part, Habana has been in prolific try-scoring mode this season, crossing the line 10 times in the nine Springboks Tests played. His overall record is 13 tries in 12 Tests in his relatively short international career.
Matfield has also had an outstanding international season. His lock partnership with Bakkies Botha is widely recognised as the best in world rugby. With 42 caps to his name, he is the second-most capped Springbok lock of all time, behind Mark Andrews (77).
The players have been shortlisted by an independent panel including South African legend Francois Pienaar. Convened by John Eales, the panel includes Michael Jones, Fabien Galthie, Keith Wood, Gavin Hastings, Jonathan Davies, Dan Lyle and Federico Mendez.
Hat-trick
At the awards ceremony last year, South Africa scored a hat-trick when Jake White was named Coach of the
Year, the Springboks were named Team of the Year and Schalk Burger was chosen as Player of the Year.
Commenting on this year's nominations, SA Rugby Union President Brian Van Rooyen said he was thrilled by the respect the world of rugby was showing to South Africa.
"It has been a great season on the international front, with the Springboks ending up second on the IRB rankings, and the SA under-21s and SA under-19s winning world crowns. And now we get a record number of nominations. It's great for rugby in our country. All South Africans should be proud."
Springbok coach Jake White was equally impressed. "I think we are getting closer and closer to our objective of having South African players consistently featuring in the best 15 in the world," he said.
"I am happy for the players and wish each of them the best of luck at the awards."
Source: SA Rugby
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