logo
Stormers star, Bulls duo nominated for SA URC Player of the Season award

Stormers star, Bulls duo nominated for SA URC Player of the Season award

News247 days ago

Stormers star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Bulls stalwarts, Cameron Hanekom and Wilco Louw, have grabbed the three nominations for South Africa's United Rugby Championship Player of the Season accolade.
Voting for the nominations closed last Friday, with coaching members of the Springboks and the four SA URC teams, as well as members of the media allowed to vote.
READ | 'A man of faith, courage, integrity': Cornal Hendricks laid to rest after emotional farewell
In total, 17 players from the four SA franchises received votes but the above-mentioned trio were the most popular.
Flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been a shining light for the Stormers this season and currently sits joint-fifth on the most points scored in the URC.
Louw has been destroyer-in-chief in a dominant Bulls scrum, with many pundits rating him as the best tighthead prop in the world at present.
No 8 Hanekom has been impressive with ball in hand and on defence - he's beaten more defenders, won more turnovers and made more tackles than any of his team-mates. He is also fifth on the overall URC list for offloads.
The winner will be announced on Thursday, 5 June, as part of the annual URC Awards.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The luckless cup final run Sam Powell is desperate to end
The luckless cup final run Sam Powell is desperate to end

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

The luckless cup final run Sam Powell is desperate to end

Sam Powell is preparing to play in his third Challenge Cup Final although he has been part of extended squads for two others (Image: Allan McKenzie/ IF he was forced to retire tomorrow, Sam Powell could be pretty happy with his lot. A 13-year career at the top level of the game has seen him win pretty much everything there is to win – but there is one box left to tick. Advertisement For all he has achieved in the game, the Challenge Cup Final has not been kind to the 32-year-old as he has never been on the field for a victory in it. As his latest chance to change that arrives, the drive to do so is pretty clear – and not just for rugby reasons. 'I'd certainly enjoy it,' he said. 'I've not actually played in a Challenge Cup Final and won it yet for one reason or another, whether it's being injured, banned, not picked or just being on the losing side. 'I've lost in a couple of them so it's one I really want to get my hands on. 'The opportunity for me to take my girls down there and see me win at Wembley is one I really want.' Advertisement As he alludes to, Lady Luck has thrown all sorts of things at the experienced hooker when it comes to this time of year. In his 12 years with hometown club Wigan Warriors, he was part of two Challenge Cup-winning squads in 2013 and 2022 but for the former final, he was not selected as he still worked his way towards being a first-team regular but for the latter, he was serving the final game of a six-match suspension. Sam Powell was suspended for Wigan's 2022 Challenge Cup Final victory (Image: Allan McKenzie/ He was on the Wembley field in 2017 as his Wigan side lost to Hull FC and upon joining Warrington Wolves last year, he was again part of a defeat as he endured the pain of watching his former teammates lift the trophy. That came after a Wire performance that was uncharacteristically poor compared to what they had been producing throughout the year, and that remains the low point of Powell's first year in primrose and blue. Advertisement However, the man who has assumed more responsibility of late due to regular starting nine Danny Walker's ankle injury says the team – still largely unchanged from last year – will be better for what they went through. On Saturday when they step onto the hallowed turf alongside Hull KR, their chance at redemption arrives. 'Our biggest disappointment last season was getting to Wembley and not performing like we had done all season,' he said. 'We looked like a team that was inexperienced and we played like one but that can only stand us in good stead. 'We haven't had a massive turnover of players so hopefully it holds us in a good place for the bigger games like this one. 'As a player, you think 'I've been here before, I've just got to do my job.' Powell in action during last year's Challenge Cup Final (Image: Allan McKenzie/

Khamzat In Danger Of UFC 319 ‘Fraud Check'
Khamzat In Danger Of UFC 319 ‘Fraud Check'

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Khamzat In Danger Of UFC 319 ‘Fraud Check'

Khamzat Chimaev is currently ranked No. 3 at 185 pounds and widely-expected to earn the next crack at defending middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, assuming 'Borz' can make it to fight night without another mysterious medical malady. Don't worry, matchmakers have a backup plan. Advertisement Chimaev's 'special' rise to the top, which included a pit stop at 170 pounds, came with a considerable amount of hype, to the point where fight fans were calling for a potential title shot after just two fights under the UFC banner. Former UFC lightweight, Josh Thomson, wants to pump the brakes. 'How bad is he ... or is he good? We're gonna find out when he fights DDP,' Thomson said on We Want Picks. 'I've said this for the longest time, the sample size is not big enough for me with Chimaev. It's just not big enough. Are we giving him too much credit? Everyone's like, 'Oh, he's muslim, he's got the beard, he can wrestle.' Are we giving him the Khabib credit? No one is like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], nobody is like Islam [Makhachev]. We associate the two things, they are not the same. Khabib didn't get tired. Is [Chimaev] as good as we think? Or we getting a fraud check here with DDP?' Thomson argues the 31 year-old Chimaev (14-0) has been able to capitalize on favorable circumstances, like a washed-up Gilbert Burns, hot-and-cold Kevin Holland, short-notice Kamaru Usman, and even the grill-challenged Robert Whittaker, who already had existing teeth issues. Advertisement 'He's fantastic when he's fresh, but we've seen him wilt in rounds two and rounds three,' Thomson continued. 'He got dropped by Gilbert Burns [at UFC 273] and look at Gilbert since they fought, he can't seem to buy a win right now. So is he as bad or is he as good as people wanna make him? I don't think he's as good as people want him to be. He's fantastic when he's the hammer, I'm not denying that, but what is he like when 'boom' all of the sudden he gets cracked? Is Chimaev that guy, does he fold? Does he break? I'm leaning more towards he does.' We'll find out at UFC 319 this summer in Chicago. More from

Sundowns come short in CAF Champions League final
Sundowns come short in CAF Champions League final

News24

time12 hours ago

  • News24

Sundowns come short in CAF Champions League final

Sundowns' defence failed to deal with easy balls in the box Rayners' goal was not enough for Sundowns. Coach Cardoso loses the second successive CAF final. It was a case of so near yet so far for Mamelodi Sundowns, as they failed at the last hurdle of the CAF Champions League. The South African champions lost a game they should have won easily had they defended well at the end and taken their chances in front of goal. They missed the opportunity of being awarded the trophy by their former chairperson, Patrice Motsepe, who is now the CAF president. Despite launching a late onslaught, Sundowns still went 2-1 down to Pyramids of Egypt in the second leg of the final on Sunday. They lost the two-legged final 3-2 on aggregate after the two teams played to a 1-all draw at Loftus a week ago. In the process, the Egyptians lifted their maiden Champions League trophy, denying the Brazilians a second star. Needing a victory or a high-scoring draw to lift the trophy, Sundowns started on the bright side, putting the hosts on the back foot from the start of the game. However, they were undone by poor defending at the back when Grant Kekana's weak clearance fell on the path of Fiston Mayele, who beat Ronwen Williams with a low shot. Sundowns should have gone to the break level, but Tashreeq Matthews squandered a golden opportunity when he failed to find the back of the net on the stroke of halftime. The hosts increased their lead in the 56th minute when Ahmed Sawy's low header beat Williams from a free kick. Iqraam Rayners pulled one back for Sundowns with about 20 minutes left on the clock, which made for an interesting end of the game. Knowing that a draw would be enough to lift the trophy, Sundowns threw everything at Pyramids and twice came close to levelling matters. However, Pyramids hung on until the final whistle.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store