World Rugby Awards: Springboks Star Sacha Feinberg and Mngomezulu Not Nominated
- Three Springboks, including Pieter-Steph du Toit and Malcolm Marx, lead the nominations for the 2025 World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year
- Young talent Ethan Hooker earned a nod for Breakthrough Player of the Year, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed out due to eligibility rules
- Winners will be revealed this Saturday on World Rugby’s official social media channels, marking a historic moment for Ox Nche as the first prop nominated
The nominees for the 2025 World Rugby Awards were announced on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, with three Springboks players heading the list for the Men’s Player of the Year.
Two-time winner Pieter-Steph du Toit and second-time nominee Malcolm Marx were joined by prop Ox Nche, who made history as the first prop ever to feature on the list.
Source: Getty Images
Young South African star Ethan Hooker earned a nomination for the Breakthrough Player of the Year award, a spot many had anticipated would go to Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Despite an outstanding season that included breaking Percy Montgomery’s record for most points in a single match during a game against Argentina in September, Feinberg-Mngomezulu was absent from the nominees’ list.
The reason lies in World Rugby’s eligibility criteria:
“Eligible players are men’s fifteens athletes with no more than one year of international experience, with votes based solely on their Test match performances.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu made his Test debut in June 2024, putting him outside the one-year window required for 2025 nominations.
Source: Getty Images
Breakthrough Award eligibility: Lessons from past winners
Australia’s Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who is nominated for the Breakthrough Player award, also made his international debut last year. Because it occurred in November, he fell within the eligibility period for the award. Comparable scenarios have arisen with three All Blacks in previous years.
Rieko Ioane received the accolade in 2017 despite making his Test debut the previous year against Italy on 12 November. Similarly, Mark Tele’a earned his first cap on the same date five years later, scored twice against Scotland, and went on to claim the award following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Will Jordan, who debuted for the All Blacks in the Tri Nations fixture against Australia in November 2020, later won the Breakthrough Player of the Year title in 2021.
Although many had anticipated Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu would be among the nominees for the Men’s Player of the Year, the selection panel – composed of Jacques Burger, Fiona Coghlan, Victor Matfield, Drew Mitchell, Ugo Monye, Sergio Parisse, Kieran Read, and Blaine Scully – chose instead to nominate Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, and Ox Nche, alongside France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
The winners of the 2025 World Rugby Awards will be revealed this Saturday, 22 November, across World Rugby’s official social media channels.
Makazole Mapimpi linked to alleged affair rumours
Briefly News previously reported that Springbok winger Makazole Mapimpi has recently been named in circulating rumours concerning an alleged relationship with reality TV personality Kanya Mtsaka. The claims have sparked widespread online attention, but as of now, they remain unverified.
Despite the buzz, neither Mapimpi nor Mtsaka has publicly commented on the matter, and the origin of the rumours appears to be online speculation rather than confirmed reports.
Source: Briefly News
