South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit and England’s Emily Scarratt have been named World Rugby Men’s and Women’s 15s Player of the Year 2019 in association with Mastercard respectively at the World Rugby Awards in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.
On a night to remember at The Prince Park Tower, only 24 hours after South Africa had lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time with a 32-12 defeat of England, greats of the game past and present and the rugby family celebrated the outstanding achievers of the year.
Scarratt slipped seamlessly back into 15s in 2019 to claim the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year award, the first English player to do so since her captain Sarah Hunter in 2016.
She received the award ahead of four other nominees in England team-mates Sarah Bern and Katy Daley-Mclean, France scrum-half Pauline Bourdon and New Zealand scrum-half Kendra Cocksedge.
Scarratt said: “We don’t chase after individual accolades and achievements in a team sport and I have been unbelievably lucky to play with and against some fantastic players over the years and it is pretty cool for sure.
“The quality of rugby in England and around the world is going through the roof. It is really exciting, I think the women’s game over the last few years has really pushed on and it is definitely down to us to showcase what we are about, put good quality rugby out there for people to see and hopefully New Zealand 2021 is going to be one hell of a spectacle.”
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “This has been a very special year for rugby, culminating in one of the great Rugby World Cups.
“All of the nominees should be very proud, but Pieter-Steph du Toit and Emily Scarratt have been outstanding this year and thoroughly deserve their accolade.
“They have not just demonstrated their excellence on the field, but they are also superb ambassadors for the game and an inspiration for a new generation of players and fans.”
The award winners were selected by independent panels, who voted on every match from the Six Nations through to the Rugby World Cup 2019 final. The process also involved player input. For more details on the respective awards panels, click here.
World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in association with Mastercard – Emily Scarratt (England)
The centre slipped back into 15s rugby in 2019 as if she had never been away playing sevens since Rugby World Cup 2017, starting four matches in a Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam winning campaign, and scoring a try against Scotland. The 29-year-old always seems to have more time on the ball, gliding through gaps or releasing team-mates into space. She was at her most dangerous in the Women’s Rugby Super Series, scoring four tries in her three starts and 43 points in total.
Nominees: Sarah Bern (England), Pauline Bourdon (France), Kendra Cocksedge (New Zealand), Katy Daley-Mclean (England)
World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year in association with Mastercard – Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)
A linchpin in the South African pack, Du Toit has started nine of the Springboks’ 11 tests in 2019 and been an unused replacement in the RWC 2019 win over Canada. The towering 27-year-old may have flitted between second-row and flanker in the early days of his international career, but he has made the No.7 jersey his own over the last two years and his work-rate and versatility mean he is one of the first names down on Rassie Erasmus’ team sheet.
Nominees: Tom Curry (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa), Ardie Savea (New Zealand), Joe Taufete’e (USA)
The only other award category for a female player was the Sevens Player of the year a category in which not surprisingly New Zealand dominated but the award went to the dynamic Ruby Tui:
World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Ruby Tui (New Zealand)
A powerful runner and tireless worker at the breakdown, Ruby Tui is one of the first names down on coach Allan Bunting’s team sheet and someone who never gives less than 100 per cent for the Black Ferns Sevens’ cause. The 27-year-old, like her fellow nominees, was named in the HSBC Dream Team for the 2019 series, having started every match and scored 15 tries in their title-winning season. A New Zealand team without Tui in it is not as scary a prospect for teams, not only for her physicality but the way she inspires others around her with her performances.
Nominees: Sarah Hirini (New Zealand), Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand)
Full list of World Rugby Awards winners
World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year, in association with Mastercard – Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)
World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year, in association with Mastercard – Emily Scarratt (England)
World Rugby Team of the Year – South Africa
World Rugby Coach of the Year – Rassie Erasmus (South Africa)
World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in association with Tudor – Romain Ntamack (France)
World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Jerry Tuwai (Fiji)
World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Ruby Tui (New Zealand)
World Rugby Referee Award – Wayne Barnes (England)
Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Bernard Lapasset (France)
Award for Character in association with Land Rover – The city of Kamaishi
IRP Special Merit Award – Jamie Heaslip (Ireland)
IRP Try of the Year – TJ Perenara (New Zealand, v Namibia)
For more details on the World Rugby Awards, visit www.world.rugby/awards.
Courtesy of World Rugby
