The extent to which the Bulls dominated the strange Covid-influenced 2020 rugby season is clearly reflected in the 2020 SA Rugby Awards, which were announced on Thursday morning.

The Bulls walked away with no less than six of the eight most important awards.

After a special season, in which he not only led his team by example, but also played the type of rugby that made him a SA rugby legend, Duane Vermeulen was honoured with two awards. This included the overall gong for SA Rugby Player of the Year.

Stedman Gans, who made a successful transition from the Blitzboks to star for the Bulls after the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series was cancelled, was named Springbok Sevens Player of the Year, for his role as the Blitzboks’ won two tournaments out of six to finish second overall on the standings.

Wandisile Simelane, a former Junior Springbok star who got his first taste of senior rugby in green and gold in the successful Castle Lager Springbok Showdown before going on to star for the Lions in the local competitions, was named Young Player of the Year.

The 34-year-old Vermeulen, who led the Bulls to two titles last season, including the Carling Currie Cup for the first time since 2009, also won the Super Rugby/Unlocked Player of the Year Award for 2020.

It was also no surprise that the Bulls were named Team of the Year and their Director of Rugby, Jake White, was Coach of the Year.

Cornal Hendricks capped a brilliant season by walking away with the accolade for Carling Currie Cup Player of the Year, and Jaco Peyper was named the OUTsurance Referee of the Year.

“It was a very tough season but Duane was superb – not only on the field, where his performances were on par with the very high standard, we’ve become accustomed to from him, but he also led the Bulls with aplomb as our teams had to navigate numerous new curve balls and challenges,” said Mr Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby.

The winners and finalists for 2020 are:

• SA Rugby Player of the Year: Duane Vermeulen

    Finalists: Curwin Bosch, Cornal Hendricks, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Steyn

• SA Rugby Young Player of the Year: Wandisile Simelane

    Finalists: Curwin Bosch, Stedman Gans, Ruan Nortje, Dylan Richardson

• Springbok Sevens Player of the Year: Stedman Gans

    Finalists: Angelo Davids, Selvyn Davids

• Team of the Year: Vodacom Bulls

    Finalists: Cell C Sharks, Springbok Sevens

• Coach of the Year: Jake White

    Finalists: Sean Everitt, Neil Powell

• Super Rugby and Unlocked Player of Year: Duane Vermeulen

    Finalists: Frans Steyn, Marco van Staden

• Carling Currie Cup Player of the Year: Cornal Hendricks

    Finalists: Marco van Staden, Duane Vermeulen

• Referee of the Year: Jaco Peyper

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