Jean de Villiers named SA's Player of the Year
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers on Wednesday, 12 February 2014, became only the sixth player to be named South African Rugby Player of the Year more than once, while Eben Etzebeth was named the Young Player of the Year for 2013 for the second successive season at a ceremony at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg.
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De Villiers led the Springboks to 10 wins in 12 Tests in 2013 and scored five tries in the process, following a Vodacom Super Rugby campaign for the DHL Stormers. His first-class record now stands at 254 matches with 91 tries scored.
The Springbok captain also walked away with the spoils in 2008. He becomes only the sixth player to win the title more than once, following in the footsteps of Naas Botha (who won it four times), Bryan Habana (won three times), Uli Schmidt, Fourie du Preez and Schalk Burger (who all won it twice).
De Villiers, who also received the award for Supersport Try of the Year after rounding off a team effort for the Springboks against Wales in Cardiff, beat off strong competition for the top award in South African rugby from fellow nominees Bismarck du Plessis, Etzebeth, Willie le Roux and Duane Vermeulen.
Eben Etzebeth became the first player to walk away with back-to-back awards for the Young Player of the Year, which confirmed his status as one of the best up-and-coming players in world rugby after yet another season at lock for the Springboks and the DHL Stormers.
The awards to De Villiers and Etzebeth were two of the highlights of a star-studded evening during which accolades in 14 other categories were awarded to the stars of the 2013 rugby season.
Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union, congratulated the winners and applauded their achievements in 2013.
"The Springboks showed massive improvement last year and are now chasing New Zealand hard for the position of top-ranked team in the world, while our Junior Boks and Springbok Sevens teams also performed very well," said Hoskins.
"As we prepare for what promises to be a massive year ahead, I would like to congratulate every winner on their awards, but would also like to thank every player, coach, administrator, referee, sponsor and all other role players for making 2013 a season to remember."
The winners and finalists in all the categories for 2013 are:
SARU Rugby Player of the Year: Jean de Villiers
Absa Young Player of the Year: Eben Etzebeth
SARPA Players' Player of the Year: Willie le Roux (Springboks, Toyota Cheetahs, GWK Griquas)
Springbok Sevens Player of the Year: Cornal Hendricks
SA Under-20 Player of the Year: Cheslin Kolbe
Absa Team of the Year: Steval Pumas
Absa Coach of the Year: Jimmy Stonehouse (Steval Pumas, SA President's XV)
Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year: Adriaan Strauss (Toyota Cheetahs)
Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year: Scarra Ntubeni (DHL Western Province)
Absa Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year: Rosko Specman (Steval Pumas)
Vodacom Cup Player of the Year: Fred Zeilinga (Sharks XV)
Supersport Try of the Year: Jean de Villiers (Springboks v Wales in Cardiff)
Marriott Referee Award: Jonathan Kaplan
Women's Achiever of the Year: Zenay Jordaan (Eastern Province)
Cell C Community Cup Player of the Tournament: Giovano Fourie (GAP Management Despatch)
Coca-Cola Craven Week Player of the Tournament: Grant Hermanus (Western Province)
