{"id":7581,"date":"2025-05-28T09:53:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T07:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=7581"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:34:45","slug":"sa-urc-player-of-season-nominees-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/sa-urc-player-of-season-nominees-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"SA URC Player of the Season Nominees Revealed: 17 Players from All Franchises in the Running"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The race for the 2024\/25 South African United Rugby Championship (URC) Player of the Season is heating up, with 17 standout players from the country\u2019s four franchises shortlisted following a campaign filled with thrilling performances. The prestigious honour, which recognises the most impactful local player in the competition, will be awarded on Thursday, 5 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-top-trio-leads-the-pack\">Top Trio Leads the Pack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the most talked-about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/rugby\/sa-urc-player-of-the-season-nominees-revealed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nominees<\/a> are three players whose performances have consistently caught the eye \u2014 one from the Stormers and two from the Bulls. Stormers fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been pivotal in orchestrating his side\u2019s attacking game this season, while Bulls teammates Cameron Hanekom and Wilco Louw have both delivered week in and week out in their respective roles in the URC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feinberg-Mngomezulu has played a critical role in the Stormers\u2019 campaign, especially with his accuracy off the tee and ability to unlock defences. He finished the league stage among the top five point scorers \u2014 a testament to his reliability and game management, showcasing his skills in the URC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bulls eighthman Hanekom, meanwhile, has stood out for his hard running, defensive work rate and turnover-winning ability. Statistically, he\u2019s among the best in the league for offloads and leads his team in defenders beaten and tackles made, proving his worth in the URC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tighthead prop Wilco Louw, who made a return to the national squad in 2023 after a two-year absence, has been a cornerstone of the Bulls\u2019 scrum. The Pretoria-based side\u2019s set-piece dominance owes much to his powerful presence in the front row, with the Bulls boasting the best scrum record in the competition, further solidifying their URC status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3257877239\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-recognition-from-all-corners\">Recognition from All Corners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Voting for the award wrapped up on Friday and included input from the Springbok coaching staff, as well as those of the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers, all active participants in the URC. Members of the rugby media also had their say. All four local teams had players receive votes, highlighting the depth and competitiveness within South African rugby at the franchise level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trio of Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Hanekom and Louw received the highest number of votes. Notably, all three recently participated in the Springboks\u2019 alignment camp held in Cape Town \u2014 a strong indication of their growing stature on the national radar, very much part of URC developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-spotlight-on-the-playoffs\">Spotlight on the Playoffs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As excitement builds towards the announcement of the winner, attention also turns to the URC quarter-finals taking place this weekend. South African sides are firmly in the spotlight as the knockout stages begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Stormers travel to Scotland to take on Glasgow Warriors on Friday night at 8:35pm. On Saturday, Loftus Versfeld will host the Bulls versus Edinburgh at 1:30pm, while the Sharks face Munster at Kings Park in Durban at 6:30pm, all unfolding in the URC backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The remaining quarter-final will see Irish giants Leinster clash with Scarlets in Dublin at 4pm on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2238505202\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-will-claim-the-crown\">Who Will Claim the Crown?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With performances that have thrilled fans and turned heads among selectors and coaches alike, the eventual winner of the South African URC Player of the Season will have certainly earned the accolade. As anticipation builds, rugby supporters across the country will be waiting eagerly to see which of these homegrown heroes comes out on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/urc-knockouts-are-bulls-stormers-ready\/\">URC Knockouts: Are the Bulls and Stormers Built for Glory?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The race for the 2024\/25 South African United Rugby Championship (URC) Player of the Season is heating up, with 17 standout players from the country\u2019s four franchises shortlisted following a campaign filled with thrilling performances. The prestigious honour, which recognises the most impactful local player in the competition, will be awarded on Thursday, 5 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"The race for the 2024\/25 South African United Rugby Championship (URC) Player of the Season is heating up, with 17 standout players from the country\u2019s four...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[1341,415,784],"class_list":{"0":"post-7581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-rugby-news","10":"tag-sa-rugby","11":"tag-urc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7583,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7581\/revisions\/7583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}