John Smit. Photo: Francois Guillot/AFP
Smit explains World Rugby award nomination process
John Smit, who featured on the World Rugby nomination panel for the 2021 awards,. has explained how the process worked.
John Smit. Photo: Francois Guillot/AFP
In an announcement last week that has led to a considerable backlash in South African rugby circles, no Bok player was named among the World Rugby nominees for the Men’s 15s Player of the Year.
Despite the fact that the Springboks are currently ranked as the No 1 team in world rugby, while beating the British & Irish Lions and All Blacks earlier this year, none of their players featured in the nominations for the main award of the year.
OPINION: KOLISI THE FRONTRUNNER FOR SA RUGBY PLAYER OF THE YEAR!
Instead, Wallabies duo Michael Hooper and Samu Kerevi have been nominated for 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year. French halfback Antoine Dupont and English forward Maro Itoje are also among the players nominated.
World Rugby winners to be decided by a fan vote
The panel that decided the Men’s 15s nominees includes former Bok captain John Smit, former England head coach Clive Woodward and former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
The nominees were confirmed by last week, and will be decided by a fan vote.
Many have wondered how the nomination process worked, with Smit responding to this question on social media, explaining that each panelist voted for their top three players, which carried a certain points allocation.
READ | SPRINGBOKS FINISH THE YEAR AS THE NO 1-RANKED TEAM
