Blitzboks playmaker Rosko Specman is one of three players up for 2017 World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year honors.
Specman is joined by United States speedster Perry Baker and Fiji’s Jerry Tuwai.
The awards, in association with HSBC, will be presented at the World Rugby Awards in Monte Carlo on 26 November.
The shortlist was selected by participating team managers, match officials and commentators on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2016-17.
Specman played in 48 matches in the 2016/17 series and scored 20 tries and two conversions for the Blitzboks. He earned five tournament titles, being part of the winning squads in Dubai, Wellington, Sydney, Las Vegas and Paris. He was also named Player of the Tournament at the HSBC Las Vegas Sevens.
SA Rugby President, Mr Mark Alexander, congratulated Specman on his nomination.
‘Rosko had a great season and this is just reward for his efforts, which no doubt helped the Springbok Sevens team to conquer the world and win the overall 2016/17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series,’ said Alexander.
‘He brought that “Specmagic” to many rugby fields across the world and we are indeed privileged to have a player of his calibre in our midst. Credit must also go to the team and team structures which allows him to perform at that level and well done on the management and coaching staff for making sure that the team and players can perform at the best of their ability.
‘The fact that we had the previous two winners in Werner Kok (2015) and Seabelo Senatla (2016) proves that Blitzboks coach Neil Powell and his team are doing something right.’
For his part, Powell said it’s gratifying to see their system producing players of the highest calibre: ‘Its always a team effort and knowing how much Rosko contributes in that system, his nomination is just reward.
‘He had an unbelievable season and always delivered when we needed him to. It’s no co-incidence that he was part of all five tournament wins last season, something in itself a magnificent performance.’
Powell also congratulated Baker and Tuwai: ‘The World Series highlights the amazing athletic abilities of these guys and Perry and Jerry are certainly two of the most exciting players on the circuit, with both excelling and they are worthwhile contenders.”
Specman himself was humbled by the nomination: ‘Credit must go to the team. We all work together to make it tick and the individual performances are only possible because of the foundations laid by the team as a whole first.
‘It’s a big honour to be nominated and I’m humbled by this. Thank you to all involved and I’d also like to congratulate Perry and Jerry, they both played incredibly well during the season,’ the flyer said.
Picture of Specman on his way to scoring against Japan at the Rio Olympics last year courtesy of David Rogers/Getty Images
Previous World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year Award winners from South Africa are:
2016 – Seabelo Senatla
2015 – Werner Kok
2011 – Cecil Afrika