BrightRock Players of the Year Awards

Once a year the Players themselves votes for Awards in various categories for players and th Awards are made at a glittering ceremony.   So here are the list of Awards decided upon by the Players themselves:-

BrightRock Player Awards winners:

The Players’ Player of the Year (the flagship award of the evening for the player selected as the best player of the year, as chosen by his peers)

Pieter-Steph du Toit 

Nominees: Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Brits, Cheslin Kolbe

Defender of the Year

Pieter-Steph du Toit 

Nominees: Franco Mostert,  Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende

Forward Player of the Year

Pieter-Steph du Toit

Nominees: Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, RG Snyman 

Backline Player of the Year

Cheslin Kolbe

Nominees: George Whitehead, Rabz Maxwane, Herschel Jantjies

Best off the Bench

Herschel Jantjies 

Nominees: Steven Kitshoff, Bongani Mbonambi, Selvyn Davids

The #LoveChange Award (For the most-improved player over the past year – a true change agent on his way up)

Herschel Jantjies

Nominees: Joseph Dweba, Tyrone Green, Kurt-Lee Arendse

BrightRock Fan's Choice Award 

Rosko Specman (nominated charity - Be The Difference Foundation)

Nominees: Scarra Ntubeni (Newborns Trust), Chris Dry (Zanokhanyo Children’s Safety House), Rabz Maxwane (King William’s Town Youth Care Centre)

This won't go down well with AO - the Plastics at work again.  The difference seems to be this time the Plastics are the professional rugby players themselves.

Congratulations to P-S du Toit, Cheslyn Kolbe and Hershel Jantjies from the Springboks and all the other winners and nominees as well.

The insurance company chose well. Having said that there's business wisdom in these choices apart from player merit...this being "that man in the street" target market would be pleased too as these are popular choices with this sector of the market. Ofcourse it's a spinoff.

Yes indeed a faux pas...did not realise the awards were chosen by the players for the players...what a presumptu ous blunder...sorry. Yes Rooinek indeed.

Hilarious.........the DimRock awards were totally predictable.....just as the World Player of the Year was. We are dealing in symbols here.

Stephanie the best rugby player in the world.... fake news invades rugby. Imagine how destructive Itoje would have been in our system......faster, more athletic, better vision. The clothes maketh the man.

Mozart

What a farce again.   Sorry - but do you know more about rugby than the professional players know about the sport.

Itoje - are you talking about the player that flopped badly in the final - no more Vunipola and Slade as world champion players that would destroy the opposing Springbok players - now it is Itoje?   

Very funny - but to be expected from you.    As far as I can remember the two English nominees were both loosies -  Itoje was not a nominee for the Player of the Year award - so when did you discover your new Player  of the Year candidate and how did he do  against the Springboks in the final?   LMAO   

You are stuck in  the formula Muck. We all know what the politically correct formula produced.  I'm asking who the best rugby player on the planet really is. Hard to say, but if I was selecting a lock/flank.....I would select Itoje and Mostert ahead of Dud Toit.

Let's face it Stephanie was moved from number 5 lock.....not because he had credentials as a flank....but because he can't run the lineouts. He wasn't a success as a test lock.

Then by way of some kind of latter day miracle Eraser found the perfect role for him.....no designated responsibilities and the freedom to do whatever he wanted. In the great Bok defensive system that allowed Dud to be the exclamation point for our defence. Whereas players like Mostert were really doing the hard work.

A pure creation......fake news. If the Stephanie and Itoje swapped jerseys in the RWC final, Itoje would have had a huge day.

Mama Mia - this is total BS dreamt up by Mozart.    Not a single truth in the whole story.   

He would select Itoje and Mostert - based on what?   Based on the same merit selection he assigned to Vulipola and Slade over the last year?   But than Mozart has been defending physically deficient locks for many years and this is nothing new.   Why was Mostert dropped from starting in the Springbok team after the AB round robin test?   Because he failed in that test and you are too stupid to have realized that - so Mostert is the great player - blaas my siel?

Du Toit moving from lock to 7 - a total lie again.  He was moved to no 7 and so was Mostert - because Erasmus thought that he had no problem at lock with Etzebeth, De Jager and Snyman available - so he asked the coaches of the Stormers and Lions respectively to use Du Toit and Mostert at 7  - it had zero to do with Du Toit or Mostert  playing at lock at all.   Mostert failed the test - he could not defend properly and make open-field tackles and he was moved back to lock by the Lions asap .   Du Toit was kept as a loosie - he played equally well in both positions.   Shortly after his appointment Erasmus referred to the lock position as  the least problematic positions in the Springbok team and mentioned his first choice locks as Etzebeth and De Jager.  Unfortunately De Jager had injury problems and that gave the physically weak Mostert a chance to play at lock.

The story of Mostert doing the hard work is a myth as well.   So enjoy your dreams and show some rugby insight for a change!!!   LMAO 

Mozart

I am waiting for the normal response from you as the leading world expert on player performances and the real deal when it comes to prejudiced determinations.   Why not tell us how you can prove that Itoje and  Mostert were better nominees as Player of the Year and how good Farrell and Slade was when they moved Farrell to flyhalf and Slade from the bench to 13.

You should like challenges to your normal BS - as it allows you to spread further BS - a real special on your part.    

Dr Moz please don't go on about Itoje!

He is slower than DuToit by far and pap though not as pap as wee matfiled the pappest of them all. 

Great again to see Steph wining all these awards. 

Definitely best 7 in world rugby and it's obvious everyone but a few misguided folk here agree. 

Stick with Beeno, Mike, Mallet and the rugby world on this. LMAO!

How stupid can you get - Shifty Schiff-Strzok?   You have no idea what the situation really is and make strings or total deceptive comments.  The deception in your case is limitless,   No proof o f any of the statements you made above again.        .  

Itoye plays @ 4.

Proof - Mozart make statements totally without fact and specializes in shit spreading. 

Itoje plays blindside flanker too (for Sarries), but the last 2 matches against the Boks he played @ 4.

Effectively England and Sarries play wit 2 x 5  locks...Kruis is a midget too...same length and weight as Itoje according to Wiki.

Barrett or Itoje,  both of whom have Dud by 15 metres over the 100 could play #0 very effectively. The role in the WC final was mostly rushing up on Ford. But it needs compensation at the breakdowns, something Hansen forgot and the Boks provide with Bongi and Marx.

The  mad charges on Ford should have been easily countered at the half,  but the canny Nienaber saved it for the second half....giving no opportunity to adjust. And giving Dud the first half to save his energy...a standard Bok tactic.

The effectiveness of the #0 role will be severely tested in the coming year....should be interesting.

This is crazy - he did not do his homework again and then come up with unproven statements that only he could dream up and cannot prove.   What a petty liar we have here.  LMAO

The fact is that by halftime Du Toit made most of his tackles - the man cannot prove anything and he just keep on lying all the time.,  LMAO  

"And giving Dud the first half to save his energy...a standard Bok tactic."

Still calling the WR POTY a dud?...I get some of your points regarding some of his weaker points, but calling him a dud just isn't funny....and no, I don't think he is the best player in the world..or the best 7 in the world, but he is probably the player with the biggest  heart in the world and probably the most inspiring player in our team for the past 2 season...lifting his fellow teammates to the next level...or maybe not, but definitely no dud.

Draad 

Just ignore the BS - lunacy needs no response.

Well, that's subjective opinion by both of us, neither point can be proven, but you are one of a very small minority who doesn't rate him...and IMO your judgment is severely clouded by your feud with Maaik.

"..best public bawler"?...nice, focus on the negatives...hope you don't become as negative and bitter as Rooi did after the 2007 victory...12 years and he hasn't recovered yet...you can spin it however you want, but this was a very good RWC victory, and on the day, a walk in the park...I'll take it and enjoy it...they don't come often. I don't understand why you want to trivialize the achievement. 

Nope....if my judgement is influenced , it's because I have never had much time for the  South African penchant for favourites. Mike's opinions are just a source of amusement.

But you  obviously don't understand my position .  Firstly I was delighted by the Boks win against England.....very disappointed by the game against a weak Wales team.

As for the players, reporters and  commentators feed off the same sound bites....most notably with Trump, but also endemic in rugby. Empty comment. But all that influences fans. So pretty soon it's accepted fact. Dud is our best defender....except Mostert makes more tackles per minute made at a higher success rate.

As far as winning the WC, my subjective opinion is the 5 players who made a real difference were Kolbe, Pollard, Faf, Beast and Vermeulen. Most of the others did their part, but as in the case of Bongi being replaced by Marx.....they were fungible to a greater or lesser extent.

But just so you know, I would have had Am, Marx, Etzebeth and Stephanie in my next four.

As for the names, sticks and stones....why don't you attack Mike for his vitriolic attacks on Fransie.

Read  what I wrote and you may understand how this prejudiced member's  mind works - unbelievably childish.   Draad it is better I believe to ignore the BS,   and just look for s ensible things from members to respond to. and those are very rare in the case of Mozart.    

Read  what I wrote and you may understand how this prejudiced member's  mind works - unbelievably childish.   Draad it is better I believe to ignore the BS,   and just look for s ensible things from members to respond to. and those are very rare in the case of Mozart.    

"As for the names, sticks and stones....why don't you attack Mike for his vitriolic attacks on Fransie."

It serves no purpose arguing with Mike. My opinion of Fransie and Morne has been stated a few times...Alberts too. Mike just ignores what he don't like.

"my subjective opinion is the 5 players who made a real difference were Kolbe, Pollard, Faf, Beast and Vermeulen."

"Am, Marx, Etzebeth and Stephanie in my next four."

I agree, in fact, I agree with most of your rugby calls, and I know Mike hounds you to bits, but these spats gives the impression that you somehow think the Boks were either lucky to win or didn't deserve it or, whatever. I know you try to dig deeper than the obvious and you don't ignore the bad when things are good, I get that.

I think they won because they were extremely well prepared. This is a team where the team is greater than the sum of the parts...what team sport is actually about...and it's rare these days of instant gratification. 

We did not just beat England, we actually blew them away. "Glorious brutality" as one pundit called it. One of the best Bok performances in a very long time. (Like you said after the match).

We differ about small things...Devil in the detais.

Yes agreed we blew England away on the day.....and as in 2007 we won the WC without any asterisks. The match against England was our best in years. 

But the match against Wales.... a weaker team than England made weaker by the loss of Williams and their starting tighthead...could have gone the other way.

New Zealand a tougher opponent  for us, could have beaten England.

Ireland could have beaten Japan and that would have made for a much tougher 3 match sequence.

The last minute kick regathered by Jantjies could have bounced the other way in the RC

It's been a remarkable year, where we rediscovered Springbok rugby. A year where new stars like Kolbe, Am and Jantjies appeared. And old stars like Vermeulen, the Beast, Willie and Louw confirmed their status. But it was also a year where almost everything that could go right, did. 

I say we were due for a bit of good luck for a change, we got so used to the ball bouncing the wrong way, it's a refreshing change.

PS, I think we had our "jitters" against Wales and much calmer in the finals than the Poms...we almost choked against Wales.

Draad

How many balls potentially bouncing the wrong way, but in fact not so  could be used to discredit players?  The same story was used to nullify the value of the kick made by Du Toit in the case of the De Jager try in the Aussie game.   

The ball bouncing has in some case had a impact on game outcomes - but to use that argument is in reality BS,   I would refer to two cases in the RWC final - one bounced the right way and one the wrong way - one was involving the try of Mapimpi - the other a cross kick by  Pollard which if collected by Mapimpi would have resulted in another Mapimpi try,  

How many balls bounced favouably and how many not so is sometimes a discussion topic - but is really no means to evaluate player performances.   What actuall y is worthy as the only real player performance assessment topic is what in fact happened in the end.           

Draad

How many balls potentially bouncing the wrong way, but in fact not so  could be used to discredit players?  The same story was used to nullify the value of the kick made by Du Toit in the case of the De Jager try in the Aussie game.   

The ball bouncing has in some case had a impact on game outcomes - but to use that argument is in reality BS,   I would refer to two cases in the RWC final - one bounced the right way and one the wrong way - one was involving the try of Mapimpi - the other a cross kick by  Pollard which if collected by Mapimpi would have resulted in another Mapimpi try,  

How many balls bounced favouably and how many not so is sometimes a discussion topic - but is really no means to evaluate player performances.   What actuall y is worthy as the only real player performance assessment topic is what in fact happened in the end.