‘Where character is shown': Van Heerden honoured with URC's Tackle Machine title
With the first United Rugby Championship (URC) awards coming in, and a Stormers man receiving a top prize, we can expect to see more South Africans receiving recognition for their role played in the scintillating season we have had so far.
Lock Ruben van Heerden, 27, was the first local player to receive a nod, winning the Tackle Machine award. He made 171 tackles at an incredible 98% success rate in the regular season.
The URC explained that they considered all players who had attempted more than 150 tackles for this award.
The 27-year-old edged Glasgow Warriors forward Rory Darge who made 160 tackles with an accuracy of 97%, as well as Hollywoodbets Sharks star Phepsi Buthelezi in third place, with 157 tackles, and a tackle accuracy of 96.82%, the organisation explained.
'I never want to be known as a guy who is inconsistent,' Van Heerden said in a video shared by the Stormers. 'There is a good quote that goes 'consistency is the only currency that matters'. So that is something I definitely take to heart… It's easy for players to go and hide in defence but I think that is where character is shown. So for me it is just a great honour.'
SA players miss out
Buthelezi can be proud of his tally, having played 154 minutes fewer than Van Heerden. But he may appear in the semi-finals and final, while the latter will not.
Van Heerden's Stormers teammate Leolin Zas almost took the prize for top try-scorer, equaling the winner's tally of nine tries. However, Cardiff's Harri Millard played fewer minutes and so took the trophy home.
Stormers fullback Warrick Gelant (118 points) and Lions star Quan Horn (111 points) also played second fiddle to Munster's Tom Farrell, who earned the Playmaker of the Season Award for creating chances leading to 158 points.
Sharks flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse (108) missed out on the Golden Boot award to Ioan Lloyd of Scarlets (124 points).
Who could still win URC honours?
Jordan Hendrikse, Deon Fourie and Henco van Wyk are all up for the Try of the Season Award.
Lions centre Van Wyk has his name in a second hat. The 24-year-old rising star is joined by teammate Quan Horn, Bulls stars Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Cameron Hanekom, and Stormers players Suleiman Hartzenberg and Andre-Hugo Venter for the Next-Gen Player of the Season Award.
While Bulls boss Jake White said he hopes Wilco Louw wins the South African Player of the Season Award, Louw is joined by teammate Cameron Hanekom and Stormers mercurial back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the running.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
2 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Disappointment for SA swimmers on opening day of Singapore world champs
Gallagher wasn't too pleased with her swim, but happy with the speed shown in her opening 50 metres. 'I didn't realise that I had turned third, that's really cool, so I'm very happy with my front-end speed,' she said after the race. 'I think it's the fastest I've been out in the 100 before and it felt very comfortable and very chilled, so I think that's a very good sign for the 50, which is still in a couple of days. 'I just have to switch off from the race. Even though it didn't go the way I wanted it to, there are some good things to take away and look forward to the rest of the racing which is the 100 free and the 50 fly. 'There's still a long way to go. It's day one of the competition so I'm looking forward to the rest of my races and we'll see what we can produce. Hopefully the 50 fly will be a better outcome than this one.' Other South Africans in action in the heats earlier in the day were Aimee Canny, who finished 19th overall in the 200m individual medley heats after swimming a time of 2:12.70 and Chris Smith, who finished 25th overall in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:00.85. Hannah Robertson was 27th in the 400m freestyle heats in 4:22.69, while in the men's event, Matthew Caldwell was 39th in 4:01.45. The South African women's 4x100m freestyle relay team of twin sisters, Georgia and Olivia Nel, Cailtin de Lange and Hannah Robertson finished sixth in their heat in 3:45.33 and did not progress to the final. The World Aquatics Championships in Singapore continue on Monday, with Pieter Coetzé kicking off his campaign in the 100m backstroke while Meder will be back in action in the 100m breaststroke, Matt Sates in the 200m freestyle, and Catherine van Rensburg in the 1500m freestyle.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
'You gave me a chance, I ran with it' – teen Olympian pays it forward
I nearly didn't make it, says star teenage sprinter Bayanda Walaza " I truly felt afraid of losing my future." Bayanda Walaza, the world's fastest teenager, remembers the moment when he overheard a conversation about what it would take to attend a top school that could nurture his sprinting talent. "It hit me that no matter how hard I worked, without support I might not make it," says the 19-year-old. "I was in a place where I knew I had big dreams, but I didn't quite know how to reach them. Mentally, I was determined, but sometimes it felt like the odds were stacked against me." Everything changed when the Ruta Sechaba Foundation awarded Walaza a scholarship to attend Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria. Now, he's paying it forward by leading the Foundation's Nelson Mandela Day "I Funded A Future" campaign, rallying South Africans to help raise 67 donations and unlock a bonus scholarship for a learner in need. After only weeks under coach Thabo Matebedi, Walaza was shaving tenths of a second off his 100m and 200m personal bests and winning gold in both events at the South Africa Under-20 Championships. By August, the schoolboy had an Olympic silver medal around his neck as a member of South Africa's 4x100m relay team in Paris, and in May this year he ran the 100m in a personal best of 9.94 sec, just twelve-hundredths of a second outside Akani Simbine's national record. Reflecting on his journey from a backyard shack in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, to the pinnacle of youth athletics, Walaza remains a powerful voice in South African sport, inspiring the next generation as he champions access to education and opportunity. "I was in a place where I knew I had big dreams, but I didn't quite know how to reach them," he says. "Emotionally, I was hopeful but also anxious. Academically, I tried hard but it was tough without access to the right resources." Walaza says the idea of a "world-class education" felt like something other children had – "something I would only see on TV or read about. It felt out of reach, like it belonged to a different world." Wave of gratitude Being awarded the scholarship changed that. "I'll never forget that day. I was in total shock. For a second, I thought it might be a mistake. But then it sank in and I just felt this wave of gratitude." The first person Walaza told was his mother, Tholiwe. "We hugged for a long time," he says. "I could see in her eyes that she knew life would be different now." Walaza is one of more than 3 000 young people awarded Ruta Sechaba (Sesotho for "educating the nation") scholarships to Curro schools since 2016. Recipients are selected for their academic and sporting excellence, leadership potential and commitment to making a difference in their communities. "The scholarship gave me confidence," says Walaza. "It showed me that people believed in my potential, even when I didn't fully believe in it myself. It opened the door to a better future. I went from surviving to dreaming big. "I started to believe that I could compete internationally – not just in sport but in life. It also made me realise that success is not just for certain people, it's for anyone who is given a chance." Walaza says it became clear that his personal good fortune represented something bigger when he visited his old primary school in Katlehong. "A young boy told me, 'I want to run like you one day.' That moment hit me hard. I realised I'm not just running for me – I'm running for everyone who's ever been told their dreams are too big." Someone's potential shouldn't be limited by where they were born, he says. "Talent lives everywhere – in every street, every school, every family. All it needs is a chance. "That donation could be the reason a future doctor, engineer or Olympian gets their start. It's not about knowing us, it's about believing in what's possible." After passing matric (with a distinction in isiZulu), Walaza now combines athletics with supply chain management studies at Tshwane University of Technology. What would he say to someone who thinks their contribution to a Ruta Sechaba scholarship won't make a difference? "I'd say, 'I am the difference your contribution made.' Even the smallest act of giving can change the entire direction of a young person's life. "I nearly didn't make it, but I was given a chance and I ran with it – literally and figuratively." • Donate to the Ruta Sechaba Foundation at .
TimesLIVE
4 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Untidy handover costs Bayanda Walaza golden treble in student games finale
Double sprint champion Bayanda Walaza had to settle for the 4x100m silver on Sunday afternoon as South Africa wrapped up their World Student Games campaign by claiming three last medals at the weekend. In the morning rowers Kat Williams and Courtney Westley secured silver in the women's pair, winning the country's only medal outside swimming and athletics. And javelin-thrower Jana van Schalkwyk took bronze in the women's event on Saturday night with a distance of 56.73m. The nation ended seventh on the medals table with six gold, five silver and eight bronze, though they finished fourth on the athletics medals table and fifth in the swimming standings. An untidy final handover from Mthi Mthimkulu to Walaza cost the Mzansi flyers as they ended second behind Korea in the final athletics event of the showpiece. Walaza, the 100m and 200m champion at the Universiade, went into the relay expected to make it three sprint golds, but just when it seemed they were going to make it, the South Africans came unstuck. Kyle Zinn, fifth in the 100m, got off to a good start, with Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Mthimkulu advancing the baton at the front of the race.
