Sharks and Springbok flyhalf Patrick Lambie had a 2010 to remember on the field, but off it, it was also one to treasure, as he can now add the Sport24 Performance of the Year to his Currie Cup winners medal.
His performance in the Currie Cup final for the Sharks against WP not only secured him a spot in the Springbok end-of-year Grand Slam squad, but also the nod from Sport24's readers as they voted him worthy of previous winners of the award, Morne Steyn (2009) and Natalie du Toit (2008).
The young Sharks pivot received 20.43% of the 6 126 votes cast and held off prolific Proteas batsman Hashim Amla, who earned 15.12% and Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, who came in third with 13.19% of the votes for his performance at St Andrew's.
While the competition for Performance of the Year was tight, the Plonker of the Year was a runaway 'success' for Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, who earned his first trophy of the year for his questionable use of the Bok bench and foot-in-mouth comments, but let's hope the Rugby World Cup trophy can replace the Plonker one in his trophy cabinet by the end of 2011!
Div scooped both first and second positions in this category, with 27.53% and 15.25% of the votes respectively, and takes the mantle from Ras Dumisani, whose anthem singing still gives us all nightmares. Former Proteas star Jonty Rhodes's separation from his wife and subsequent move to Cape Town to be with his new girlfriend, garnered him 9.93% of the votes and the bronze medal.
Sport24 Publisher and Editor Andrew "Tank" Lanning had the following to say:
"It's amazing to see that in year that South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup, Louis Oosthuizen won the Open, Lee-Anne Pace headed up the LPGA money list and Ryan Sandes won all four desert races, it was still a young man who took his domestic rugby side to Currie Cup victory that took this prestigious award. It just shows the power of rugby in our country, and of course the passion the Currie Cup still evokes".
In the Picture of the Year category, AFP photographer Mark Ralston took the great snap of centre Jessica Renee training with her Lingerie Football League team called the Los Angeles Temptation.
There's no doubt 2010 was a year to remember and we look forward to many more unbelievable performances from our sportsmen and women in 2011.
But be warned, Sport24 is WATCHING!
The 2010 Sport24 Awards winners were:
Performance of the Year:
Plonker of the Year:
Patrick Lambie - 20.43%
Peter de Villiers - 27.53%
Hashim Amla - 15.12%
Peter de Villiers - 15.25%
Louis Oosthuizen - 13.19%
Jonty Rhodes - 9.93%
Hashim Amla - 12.76%
Benni McCarthy - 7.75%
Mark Boucher - 9.86%
Bakkies Botha - 7.66%
Siphiwe Tshabalala - 8.59%
The Rose Brothers - 6.72%
Lee-Anne Pace - 6.77%
SABC - 6.71%
AB de Villiers - 6.23%
Andries Bekker - 5.23%
Francois Hougaard - 3.01%
Jacques Kallis - 3.89%
Ernst van Dyk - 2.54%
Sharks Crowd - 3.67%
Ernie Els - 0.87%
SAFA - 3.47%
Davy Jacobs - 0.63%
SABC - 2.19%
For more information on the Sport24 awards, email Commercial Manager David Brooke at
For a quote from Sport24 publisher Andrew "Tank" Lanning, email him at
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