SA Rugby magazine’s awards issue is on sale this week! Here’s what’s in it …
Pieter-Steph du Toit should have been nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award.
While it was great to see Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx on the five-man shortlist, Du Toit was the Boks’ best player in 2018. For the SA Rugby magazine team, it was a no-brainer to name him our SA Player of the Year and you agreed in our Fans’ Choice Awards poll.
In this issue, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus writes exclusively for us about Du Toit’s dominant season and his growth as a player.
Aphiwe Dyantyi is our World Breakthrough Player of the Year after making a blistering start to his Test career, De Klerk’s impressive return to Test rugby makes him our SA Comeback Player of the Year, while Neil Powell is our SA Coach of the Year after guiding the Blitzboks’ to a second successive Sevens Series title.
In 2018, Ireland claimed a Six Nations Grand Slam, a Test series victory Down Under and a first win against the All Blacks at home. They are our World Team of the Year, with the man who called the shots for them, flyhalf Johnny Sexton, our World Player of the Year.
In the new issue:
– In an SA Rugby magazine exclusive, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explains how Pieter-Steph du Toit proved him wrong during a dominant 2018 Test season
– Aphiwe Dyantyi’s unforgettable 2018 season culminated in a World Rugby award
– Faf de Klerk established himself as one of the Boks’ most influential players in 2018
– Neil Powell on coaching the Blitzboks, dealing with the pressure, and three youngsters who could set the Sevens Series alight this season
– Johnny Sexton was deservedly crowned the world’s best after an outstanding year
– Ireland will go into the 2019 World Cup as serious title contenders after enjoying unprecedented success in 2018
– Fans’ Choice Awards: How you voted across 20 categories in our SARugbymag.co.za poll
– Bok report card: We rate Rassie Erasmus’ team in terms of results, player development, game plan execution and transformation
– Former Springbok wing Cornal Hendricks will make his return to professional rugby in 2019 with the Bulls after a serious heart condition had threatened to end his career
– While the black player pool has swelled significantly since 2014, SA Rugby’s 50% transformation target remains optimistic
– Former Test referee Jonathan Kaplan on recent controversial calls, the role of the TMO, the benefits of a two-referee system and having only two South African referees on World Rugby’s panel
– Kamaishi will be a 2019 World Cup host city eight years after being devastated by a tsunami
– PLUS: Marius Hurter‘s Perfect XV | Who knows Werner Kok better: his fiancée or Kwagga Smith? | Q&A with Bok Women’s captain Nolusindiso Booi | What happened to JP du Plessis? | World Cup history
