Bok fans rage as star misses awards cut, but World Rugby clarify why

World Rugby have announced their nominations for their end-of-year awards, and, inevitably, there are some huge names that have missed out and left fans confused.

Boiling down the global population of rugby players into a list of four players will mean universal consensus is an impossibility, but there are some names that have justifiably been bandied about by fans online.

Fans have questioned why All Blacks talisman and 2023 World Rugby player of the year winner Ardie Savea has not made the shortlist this year among the South African trio of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Though the Springboks are well-represented at these awards, many fans have questioned why fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was not named as one of the four breakthrough players of the year.

England’s Henry Pollock, New Zealand’s Fabian Holland, Australia’s Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Bok Ethan Hooker all made the list, but a cursory look on social media will show many people highlighting the Bok fly-half’s absence.

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World Rugby have a simple explanation for that, as they outlined the criteria for the award on their website: “This award is open to all men’s 15s players who have played no more than one year of international rugby. Voting is assessed on international test match performances. Club rugby is not recognised.”

In a broader sense, 2025 was undoubtedly a breakthrough year for the 23-year-old Feinberg-Mngomezulu, where he not only established himself as the Springboks’ preferred No.10, but arguably the best fly-half in the world.

However, having made his debut against Wales in June 2024, the Stormers star does not qualify for the award, while Pollock, who also made his debut against Wales in March this year, and Holland, who debuted for the All Blacks against France in July, do. This does raise some questions about Suaalii’s place on the list, though, as the Wallaby actually made his debut just over a year ago against England in November 2024. But he only made his debut a week before the shortlists were announced last year.

Of course, there is a legitimate case that Feinberg-Mngomezulu could well have made the cut for the player of the year award, as this was, after all, a year where he not only won the Rugby Championship with his country, but one where he broke Percy Montgomery’s record for most points in a match for a South African with his 37 points against Argentina – arguably the standout performance for an individual in 2025.

Then again, the four nominees deservedly belong on the shortlist.