Springboks: Cheslin Kolbe overlooked as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu primed for double SA Rugby Award swoop
Springboks Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The Nominees for the 2025 SA Rugby Awards have been announced, with Springboks flyer Cheslin Kolbe missing out on the top gong.
Kolbe became the first backline player since Jean de Villiers in 2013 to be crowned SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year for his performances in 2024.
However, he will not defend his crown after failing to be nominated for the top award, as voted for by members of the media and national teams’ coaching staff.
SA Rugby Award Nominees
Instead, the award will go to one of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ox Nche or Jasper Wiese who have cracked the shortlist.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is in the running for two awards, with the fly-half also featuring on the list for the SA Rugby Young Player of the Year gong.
He is nominated along with fellow Springboks Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Zachary Porthen, as well as Junior Springbok scrum-half Haashim Pead, who played a key role for the SA U20s in their World Rugby U20 Championship triumph.
2025 World Rugby Player of the Year Marx could win the SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year Award for the second time, having done so back in 2017, while Du Toit could break Bryan Habana’s record as a three-time winner, having taken the honour in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Nche, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Wiese could all become first-time winners.
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Meanwhile, four previous winners of the SA Rugby Women’s Player of the Year have been nominated again, including last year’s winner Nadine Roos, who is joined by Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, and Babalwa Latsha on the shortlist for the second year running. The quartet, along with the fifth nominee, Byrhandré Dolf, all played key roles helping South Africa reach the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in a watershed season for the Springbok Women.
Young Player of the Year nominee Pead has also been nominated in the category for Junior Springbok Player of the Year, along with SA U20 captain Riley Norton, and Cheswill Jooste, while the three nominees for the Springbok Sevens Men’s Player of the Year Award are Selvyn Davids, Shilton van Wyk and Impi Visser, all of whom were part of the Blitzbok squad that won the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles in May.
The provincial and URC sides have been overlooked with the Coach and Team of the Year Awards dominated by the national teams with Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks, Philip Snyman and the Blitzboks, and Kevin Foote and the Junior Boks nominated along with Women Boks boss Swys de Bruin also made the shortlist for the coach award after guiding the Bok Women to their best finish yet at a Rugby World Cup.
Springboks: Every SA Rugby Player of the Year Award winner as Cheslin Kolbe breaks 11-year drought
The 2025 SA Rugby Nominees (in alphabetical order):
SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Malcolm Marx
Ox Nche
Jasper Wiese
SA Rugby Women’s Player of the Year
Byrhandré Dolf
Aseza Hele
Libbie Janse van Rensburg
Babalwa Latsha
Nadine Roos
SA Rugby Young Player of the Year
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Springboks / DHL Stormers)
Ethan Hooker (Springboks / Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Canan Moodie (Springboks / Vodacom Bulls)
Haashim Pead (Junior Springboks / Lions)
Zachary Porthen (Springboks / DHL Stormers)
Springbok Sevens Men’s Player of the Year
Selvyn Davids
Shilton van Wyk
Impi Visser
Junior Springbok Player of the Year
Cheswill Jooste
Riley Norton
Haashim Pead
Team of the Year
Junior Springboks
Springboks
Springbok Sevens
Coach of the Year
Swys de Bruin (Springbok Women)
Rassie Erasmus (Springboks)
Kevin Foote (Junior Springboks)
Philip Snyman (Springbok Sevens)
Carling Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year
Donavan Don (Sanlam Boland Kavaliers)
Gurshwin Wehr (Suzuki Griquas)
George Whitehead (Suzuki Griquas)
Carling Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year
Keagan Fortune (Valke)
Andrew Kota (NovaVit Griffons)
Willem van den Hever (NovaVit Griffons)
FNB Fans’ Moments of the Year!
The Springboks’ defence of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title
The Springbok Women’s best-ever performance at a Rugby World Cup
The Springboks’ unbeaten run on the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November
The Junior Springboks winning the World Rugby U20 Championship
The Springboks’ record victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand
The Springbok Sevens winning the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angel
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