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Tendai Mtawarira was among the three Springboks named to the World Rugby Team of the Decade as part of the Special Edition Awards held Monday night.
The Special Edition of the World Rugby Awards celebrated the members of the rugby family who provided outstanding service during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the players and teams who have starred in a virtual spectacle over the past decade.
In lieu of the traditional awards celebrating on-court performances in 2020, fans were given the opportunity to vote for their six favorite Players and Tries of the Decade awards, with the star-studded panel of the World Rugby Awards featuring the difficult task of selecting two teams of the decade.
The Men’s Team of the Decade boasts a strong front-row South African presence in Mtawarira, who retired from Test rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and the experienced Bismarck du Plessis.
Bryan Habana, the Springboks’ most prolific try scorer during his 12-year international career, is the third South African named to the team.
Du Plessis and Habana were teammates when South Africa won the World Cup in 2007, while all three players were members of the Springboks 2-1 series over the British & Irish Lions in 2009.
All the action from the male stars included in the World Rugby Men’s 15s Team of the Decade in association with @MasterCard#WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/lmhiRvSzz4
– World Rugby (@WorldRugby) December 7, 2020
There was also special recognition for Siya Kolisi and her Springbok colleagues for their fundraising efforts through the #StrongerTogether for R32-12 campaign, which raised more than R1 million to alleviate hunger during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“On behalf of the entire South African rugby fraternity, I would like to congratulate all of our Springboks who participated in the World Rugby Awards tonight,” said SA Rugby President Mark Alexander.
Beast, Bismarck, and Bryan always gave everything they had for the Springbok jersey and were great ambassadors for our wonderful country. His inclusion in the Team of the Decade is a great reward for his consistently high level of performance in green and gold.
‘To Siya and the 2019 Boks, congratulations on a great effort to help raise funds for the less fortunate who were hit hard by the pandemic earlier this year; We are all very proud of their efforts.
“Congratulations to our other nominees, too, from the Blitzboks and Springboks, for always doing their best in representing South Africa on rugby fields around the world.”
That is a team.
Your World Rugby Men’s 15s Team of the Decade in association with @MasterCard#WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/Dw656tyRHO
– World Rugby (@WorldRugby) December 7, 2020
Photo: Getty Images
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