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Springboks fans are irate at the lack of South African representation in World Rugby’s end-of-year awards shortlists.
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Not one South African has been selected for either the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year or the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.
Two Australians, an Englishman and a Frenchman have been nominated for the Men’s World Player of the Year, but there was no room for Siya Kolisi – or any other Springbok for that matter. Antoine Dupont, Michael Hooper, Maro Itoje and Samu Kerevi were all shortlisted for the prestigious award, as revealed this morning.
New Zealand’s Will Jordan, Australia’s Andrew Kellaway, Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit and England’s Marcus Smith were nominated for Breakthrough Player of the Year.
There is also no South African representation for coach of the year. Allan Bunting/Cory Sweeney (New Zealand Women’s Sevens), Ian Foster (New Zealand Men), Simon Middleton (England Women) and Dave Rennie (Australia Men) were all nominated in that category.
Springboks fans have taken to social media to vent at the omissions, some taking it as a subtle dig by World Rugby at the World Champions.
“If ever World Rugby sent out a big [single finger emoji] to the Springboks, it’s this year’s World Rugby awards! I’m sorry, but Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth not even being nominated is a travesty. A shocking call!,” wrote one furious fan.
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If ever World Rugby sent out a big "??" to the @Springboks, it's this year's @WorldRugby awards! I'm sorry, but Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth not even being nominated is a travesty. A shocking call!
— Wim Pretorius (@Wimster101) November 15, 2021
Another wrote: “Worthy players but shocked that Siya Kolisi isn’t even nominated… Was expecting a showdown between him and Hooper with a side of Dupont.”
Worthy players but shocked that Siya Kolisi isn't even nominated…
Was expecting a showdown between him and Hooper with a side of Dupont https://t.co/fVFQwIYand
— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) November 15, 2021
“Lol Face with tears of joy and no Springboks in sight. Think maybe Siya Kolisi is playing NFL this season. What a joke but anyway will probably spur the Boks even more on this weekend at Twickenham,” wrote another exasperated fan.
Lol ? and no Springboks in sight. Think maybe Siya Kolisi is playing NFL this season. What a joke but anyway will probably spur the Boks even more on this weekend at Twickenham.
— Masu’d Dasoo (@MasudDasoo) November 15, 2021
With current Springboks Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus currently embroiled in a disciplinary procedure with World Rugby, the timing the of the selection seems – to some minds – to be somewhat less than mere coincidence.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “The World Rugby Awards are the ultimate accolade for rugby, and we are delighted to honour the outstanding players and individuals who have made an impact on our game on and off the field in 2021.
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“The pandemic and its consequences have restricted several unions from playing international games this year and we recognise that not all rugby stars have had a chance to shine. Nevertheless, the World Rugby Awards Panel has done an amazing job in selecting suitable candidates in each category and I would like to congratulate all nominees who, deservingly, have been shortlisted for this year’s awards.”
Everyone complaining is a south african fan....common relax...we new zealand didnt get one either....move on ...why does south africa think that after winning RWC, suddenly the world owes SA????...I read mark keohane's column too, it seems Kolisi needs to win POY because of his upbringjng and his book and because he won WC...grow up..90 % of matches in 2021 kolisi was anonymous ..and I think if you get a card in any corresponding year, you should be out of the running
I can see why we didnt get any nominations - but Eben has surely outplayed Maro week in and week out. Hooper has played well yes, Kerevi had a few good games, but not world player of the year good. I guess the two top teams not having a player there speaks volumes of how the entire team is performing at a high level, and not relying on 1 man to get them home.
Well, given how poorly the Boks have been playing, who is there to nominate? The RC saw the Boks log inferior production to the abridged 2015 campaign. They have been battered in the collisions all year, with anaemic production in the forwards aside from Wiese and Kwagga; the midfield has been dominated in all but one game all season; the outside backs have not been very good, where they have been more than kick chasers and tacklers (defence has been an issue). It's all been down to inaccurate shallow high balls milking penalties from knock-ons, kick to corner and maul. The Boks have been quite awful, lead by who? Little-Boy-Lost Kolisi? Even with biased reffing - this year's Boks are the 2010 All Blacks - they still can't deliver the goods. Their best result against a Scottish side who defended woefully, being swarmed on the outside, yet persistently defending with a compressed line, and without any pressure, just passively being run at. No. The Boks have been poor, and our best players are regressing fast. That includes Pollard, Mapimpi and Willie! We need a real coach, not this ridiculous sham setup instilling mediocre Stompies rugby from some years ago, bolstered and installed by a timid subordinate in Nienaber, and decorated with off-the-field gimmicks to circumvent the poor coaching. Using Kolisi's skin colour to instill fear in refs was a particular low point. We don't need Rassie for the Boks, nor in the game period.
exactly!
no all blacks either