Top SA stars to fight it out at BrightRock Players Choice Awards

Johannesburg - The second annual BrightRock Players Choice Awards, brought to you by BrightRock and MyPlayers, will be held in Sandton on Tuesday, December 11.

The awards - held by the players, for the players - are the only of their kind in South Africa and sees professional rugby players from SA's 14 unions vote for their top players across six awards categories.

The seventh is a Fans' Choice category where SA rugby fans vote.

This year's flagship award will again be the coveted Players' Player of the Year award, won last year by Bok captain Siya Kolisi who is in the running for it again this year - along with Aphiwe Dyantyi, Kwagga Smith and Malcolm Marx.

Other categories include Defender of the Year, Forward of the year, Backline player of the Year, Best off the bench and the #LoveChange Award for the most improved player - see nomination list below for a full breakdown.

Fans also get in on the action by voting for their favourite player among Werner Kok, Damian Willemse, Hacjivah Dayimani and Warrick Gelant.

The fans' favourite will receive R50 000 for their chosen charity. Fans can also buy tickets online through Ticketpro to attend the event and mingle with the players.

The BrightRock Players Choice Awards will be livestreamed on Sport24.co.za from 19:00 on December 11.

More details are available on the Facebook.

The BrightRock Players Choice Awards nomination list:

Defender of the year

1. Franco Mostert
2. Pieter-Steph du Toit
3. Siya Kolisi
4. Werner Kok

Forward Player of the year

1. Kwagga Smith
2. Malcolm Marx
3. Pieter-Steph du Toit
4. Siya Kolisi

Backline Player of the year

1. Aphiwe Dyantyi
2. Damian Willemse
3. Lukhanyo Am
4. Zenay Jordaan (Women's 7s)

Best off the bench

1. Akker van der Merwe
2. Marnus Schoeman
3. Steven Kitshoff
4. Zain Davids

The #LoveChange Award (For the most-improved player over the past year - a true change agent on his way up)

1. Aphiwe Dyantyi
2. Damian Willemse
3. Lukhanyo Am
4. Selvyn Davids

The Fans' Choice Award (as voted by the fans)

1. Werner Kok
2. Damian Willemse
3. Hacjivah Dayimani
4. Warrick Gelant

The Players' Player of the Year (the flagship award of the evening for the player selected as the best player of the year, as chosen by his peers)

1. Aphiwe Dyantyi
2. Kwagga Smith
3. Malcolm Marx
4. Siya Kolisi

All nominations were compiled by the MyPlayers Board, their Trustees and player representatives.