Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi and the 2022 SA Rugby Player of the Year, Eben Etzebeth, are among the contenders for one of European rugby’s most prestigious individual accolades.
Following impressive performances for the Sharks during the 2022-23 Champions Cup pool stage, Kolisi and Etzebeth, with fellow World Cup winner Makazole Mapimpi and rising star Jaden Hendrikse were voted for by a panel of judges – including Bok icon Bryan Habana – to challenge the current EPCR Player of the Year, Josh van der Flier.
Van der Flier is again on a list of 15 nominees for the 2023 award, and also one of four representatives from Leinster, the others being Garry Ringrose, Caelan Doris and Jamie Osborne.
In addition, Antoine Dupont, winner in 2021, and Julien Marchand of Toulouse, have made the elite list along with Gregory Alldritt of La Rochelle, Saracens’ Elliot Daly and one of the world’s most gifted loose forwards, Justin Tipuric of the Ospreys.
MORE: Etzebeth named SA Rugby’s best of 2022
The winner of the award, which is now in its 13th year, will receive the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy in memory of the former Munster head coach and captain.
Voting is now open HERE and fans will be in the running to win two VIP tickets with one night’s accommodation for the 2024 Champions Cup final in May 2024.
At the conclusion of the semi-final matches in April, the list will be reduced to five players by a combination of the public vote and the verdict of the judges, and players who have not been included in the initial list but who make a significant impact during the knockout stages of the Champions and Challenge cups, may be considered for the shortlist.
The voting will then re-open and the winner of the 2023 award will be announced following the Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, 20 May.
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Roll of Honour – 2022: Josh van der Flier (Leinster); 2021: Antoine Dupont (Toulouse); 2020: Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs); 2019: Alex Goode (Saracens); 2018: Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92); 2017: Owen Farrell (Saracens); 2016: Maro Itoje (Saracens); 2015: Nick Abendanon (Clermont Auvergne); 2014: Steffon Armitage (Toulon); 2013: Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon); 2012: Rob Kearney (Leinster); 2011: Sean O’Brien (Leinster); 2010: Ronan O’Gara (Munster – best player of first 15 years of European professional club competitions)
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images