Siya Kolisi wins BrightRock Players’ Player of the Year

Posted on 13 Dev, 17 by BrightRock

South Africa’s 2017 Players’ Player of the Year Siya Kolisi and other rugby peers recognised at the inaugural BrightRock Players Choice Awards in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Kolisi was named the 2017 Players’ Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of past rugby legends who received the accolade.

The other winners named on the night were: Malcom Marx as Defender of the Year; Rosko Specman as Backline Player of the Year; Siya Kolisi as Forward of the Year, Steven Kitshoff as Best off the Bench; and Makazone Mapimpi received the LoveChange Award for the player that has made great strides in his rugby career over the past year. These players were voted the winners by rugby players from the fourteen professional rugby unions in South Africa. Each winning player received R10 000 to pledge to the charity of his choice.

Francois Venter walked away with the Fans’ Choice Award, the only award voted for by the public, and R50 000 for his chosen charity. He teamed up with celebrity partner Bouwer Bosch to campaign for the award on the BrightRock PlayerChoice Awards Facebook Page. The R50 000 prize money that Venter won will be donated to Liefde Wen in aid of rugby development in rural Transkei. 

This news report was first published by the Daily Voice on 13 December 2017. Click here to read the original version.