RugbyPass SVNS MVP tracker: Blitzboks boom, Aussies on the charge

RugbyPass SVNS Series writers will review each tournament this season with their MVP votes. Finn Morton, Ben Smith, Joe Harvey and Lachlan Grey weigh in with 3-2-1 votes towards the RugbyPass Men’s and Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard.

There are new co-leaders on the RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard after last weekend’s event in Cape Town. Shilton van Wyk and Luciano Gonzalez are the Player of the Year frontrunners, while Jorja Miller did enough to retain top spot in the women’s rankings.

Van Wyk received Player of the Final honours after another phenomenal performance at DHL Stadium, with South Africa leaving it late in a thrilling 21-19 win over Gonzalez’s Argentina. Van Wyk set up the match-defining try with less than one minute remaining.

Gonzalez opened the scoring for Los Pumas Sevens in the second minute, only for Donovan Don to hit back for the Blitzboks soon after. Argentina piled on 12 unanswered points from there as they took control, with Marcos Moneta scoring two tries.

Thousands at the Western Cape venue sat on the edge of their seats, hoping to see the Blitzboks complete an incredible comeback when it mattered most. Individual brilliance from debutant Sonwabo Sokoyi gave the Boks hope, before van Wyk magic all but won the match.

Van Wyk delivered the final pass to try-scorer Chrisite Grobbelaar, who raced down the right sideline to level the scores at 19-all. Ricardo Duarttee nailed the conversion from in front to give South Africa the lead, and the playmaker secured the win with a pilfer penalty in the final play.

While it wasn’t a complete surprise to see van Wyk rewarded with Player of the Final honours, that accolade could’ve gone to a few players. Don was impactful, and Ryan Oosthuizen provided physicality on both sides of the ball – both players earning votes from a RugbyPass writer.

But it was a fitting end to van Wyk’s sensational campaign, which began with a hat-trick of tries in a thriller against Fiji. South Africa won four of their five matches with tries in the last minute, and van Wyk was involved in those heroic efforts more often than not.

Gonzalez scored eight tries across the two-day event, and was rewarded with nine votes by RugbyPass writers. Those two sit in equal first on the standings after not polling any points at the season-opening stop in Dubai last month.

Akuila Rokolisoa and Brady Rush are next on the leaderboard with eight and six votes respectively. Australia’s Dietrich Roache and Wallace Charlie, South Africa’s Don, and Fiji’s Viwa Naduvalo have also been rewarded for impressive starts to the season.

In the women’s competition, Australia made a statement with a commanding 26-12 triumph over arch-rivals New Zealand. Australia led 26-0 before the New Zealanders got on the board, with Kelsey Teneti and Stacey Waaka crossing for second-half tries.

Australia co-captain Isabella Nasser scored a try in the decider and was crowned Player of the Final as her teammates continued to celebrate. Nasser finished day one as the top tackler in the women’s draw, having scored some tries and won some pilfer penalties as well.

Maddison Levi polled well after scoring an impressive number of tries in Cape Town, including a key five-pointer in the Cup Final. Levi is level on MVP ranking votes with Nasser, although the co-skipper didn’t poll any votes in Dubai.

Jorja Miller scored a hat-trick of tries against Fiji in pool play, and later set Waaka up with a try assist in the semi-final 18-7 win over France. The reigning SVNS Series Player of the Year made multiple try-saving tackles across the weekend too, and holds onto top spot.

There’s a decent gap between the top three players and the rest, with Miller on 14 votes, and Nasser and Maddison Levi equal on 11. Kelsey Teneti sits in fourth with five points, while Teagan Levi is slightly further back with three.

Next up, SVNS Singapore at the National Stadium on January 31 to February 1.

RugbyPass SVNS Series MVP 3-2-1 votes – Cape Town

Finn Morton

Men: Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina), Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji)

Women: Isabella Nasser (Australia), Jorja Miller (New Zealand), Maddison Levi (Australia)

Joe Harvey

Men: Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina), Ryan Oosthuizen

Women: Isabella Nasser (Australia), Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand), Teagan Levi (Australia)

Ben Smith

Men: Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina), Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Marcos Moneta (Argentina)

Women: Isabella Nasser (Australia), Madison Levi (Australia), Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand)

Lachlan Grey

Men: Donovan Don (South Africa), Luciano Gonzalez, Shilton van Wyk (South Africa)

Women: Maddison Levi (Australia), Isabella Nasser (Australia), Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand)

RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina) – 9 votes

Akuila Rokolisoa (New Zealand) – 8 votes

Brady Rush (New Zealand) – 6 votes

Dietrich Roache (Australia) – 4 votes

Donovan Don (South Africa), Wallace Charlie (Australia), Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji) – 3 votes

Pilipo Bukayaro (Fiji), Ryan Oosthuizen (South Africa), Marcos Moneta (Argentina) – 1 vote

RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Jorja Miller (New Zealand) – 14 votes

Isabella Nasser (Australia), Maddison Levi (Australia) – 11 votes

Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand) – 5 votes

Teagan Levi (Australia) – 3 votes

Mahina Paul (New Zealand) – 2 votes

Hanako Utsumi (Japan), Reapi Ulunisau (Fiji) – 1 vote