21 November 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

Currie Cup Player of the Year Candidates

Looking back at what proved to be a blockbuster season, Quintin van Jaarsveld names his candidates for the Currie Cup Player of the Year award.

The 2019 Currie Cup was the most enthralling and competitive edition in recent history. Once the crown jewel of South African rugby, the Currie Cup has been left behind with the rise of Super Rugby and dissolved into a development competition in recent years. It was, therefore, great to see the competition return to form this year.

Even more than last year, this season proved that, in the Currie Cup’s case, less is more. The single-round format meant that every match mattered, which kept fans intrigued and led to entertaining action. This year also saw the return to prominence of the Free State Cheetahs. With the competition not overlapping with the PRO14 because of the World Cup, the men from Bloemfontein could field their strongest side and subsequently skyrocketed from winless wooden spoonists in 2018 to champions in 2019.

The five players who impressed the most in the truncated tournament, in my opinion, all played in the final at Toyota Stadium, where the hosts raced into a 31-7 half-time lead and managed to hold off a spirited comeback from the visitors to claim a 31-28 win.

The colossal Cheetahs hooker has to be the favourite to walk away with the award. Dweba used the Currie Cup to announce himself to those who hadn’t followed the Cheetahs’ PRO14 exploits and he couldn’t have made a better impression. Built like a tank with the engine and mileage of a Dakar-conquering Toyota Hilux, he was an unstoppable force and scored a joint tournament-high seven tries.

Nothing highlighted his freak of nature status better than the try he scored in the semi-final against the Sharks in Bloemfontein. Just over an hour in and despite having put in a ton of work, the 24-year-old looked as fresh as he did in the opening minute as he ran onto a pass from Clayton Blommetjies and stormed over with scary speed.

He was strong at scrum time, accurate with his lineout throwing, outstanding in open play and capped an excellent season with a Man of the Match performance in the final.

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The blue-chipper picked up where he left off in his remarkable debut Super Rugby season. No-one had a more consistently stellar body of work at franchise and provincial level in 2019 than the Lions livewire. Green was lethal in the No.15 jersey, scoring and creating tries in thrilling fashion.

What’s more, the former Junior Springbok proved that he’s not all flash and no substance. While his attacking flair and moments of magic are what most rugby lovers remember, the 21-year-old also showed sound fundamentals. His positional play, kick-chase workrate, aerial skills and defence were all top-class, and he made precious few mistakes.

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Bloemfontein is renowned for being South African rugby’s premier prop factory. Few if any of the behemoths bred in the Free State in recent years had the unlimited potential Nche displayed during the Cheetahs’ triumphant campaign, potential that saw him being snapped up by the Sharks as the heir apparent to the great Tendai Mtawarira, who rode into the sunset after the Springboks’ World Cup triumph.

In terms of impact and output, he might be at the top of the food chain. Nche was tireless, explosive, a bulldozing ball-carrier and a strong scrummager throughout the competition and showed promising signs of his swing-prop potential when he moved to tighthead during the second half of the final.

He earned his only Test cap to date against Wales in Washington DC last year and at just 24, he looks to have a big Springbok future ahead of him.

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Pienaar made a strong late push for Player of the Year honours as the MVP of the play-offs. Initially used off the bench, his promotion to the No.9 jersey – with captain Tian Meyer moving out to the wing – in Round Seven saw the Cheetahs fire on all cylinders.

His Springbok class and vast experience shone through during the knockout stages and he expertly steered the ship as he mixed fast distribution with excellent tactical kicking at key moments. The Springbok veteran was terrific off the tee as well, punishing sides from all angles.

The 35-year-old’s Man of the Match performance in the semi-final showdown against the Sharks was as impressive and polished as it gets. A masterclass in game management and goal-kicking, he scored a try and slotted five conversions for a personal tally of 15 points. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus certainly noticed Pienaar’s heroics and placed him on standby in case one of the three scrumhalves in the World Cup squad sustained an injury.

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The 2018 Junior Springbok Player of the Year was untameable with his potent mix of pace, footwork and creativity. Dynamic and deadly, the Lions centre made some outstanding plays – including brilliant basketball-like offloads – and was at his absolute best when he cut Griquas to shreds in the semi-final at Ellis Park.

The 21-year-old, who got his first taste of Super Rugby this year as well, brought X-factor to the Lions midfield and played without fear of failure. Similar in many ways to Springbok No.13 Lukhanyo Am, Simelane can sum up situations at the drop of a hat and knows how to manipulate space in close quarters, rugby IQ and abilities he demonstrated throughout the Currie Cup.

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Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.