England number eight Ben Earl has been nominated for the Six Nations Player of the Championship award [909b2545]. Earl, 26, was named player of the match in England's home wins over Wales and Ireland for his powerful try-scoring displays with ball in hand. He is joined by Ireland centre Bundee Aki, Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe, and Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello on the shortlist. Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson praised Earl as 'the standout player for England pretty much every week'. Earl was also named the best player of the tournament by former Scotland captain John Barclay and former Wales captain Sam Warburton, who covered the tournament as pundits for the BBC [909b2545].
In other rugby news, Sanele Nohamba, a utility back for the Emirates Lions, has been named the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) Player of the Season [acc7a46d]. Nohamba, 25, played scrumhalf and flyhalf for the team and started 17 of their 18 games in the 2023/24 season. He scored two tries and contributed 119 points overall. Nohamba follows in the footsteps of Evan Roos and Manie Libbok, who won the award in the first two seasons of URC. The other nominees for the 2024 award were Cameron Hanekom and Kurt-Lee Arendse from the Vodacom Bulls. The winner was selected through a nomination process involving Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus, the four South African franchises, and local media. Nohamba's exceptional season also earned him an invitation to the Springbok alignment camps. Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, praised Nohamba's skill, heart, and temperament, and said the award is a testament to his remarkable attitude. Sitho Mdlalose, CEO of Vodacom South Africa, commended Nohamba's inspiring play and his embodiment of the ethos of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship [acc7a46d] [909b2545].
The USA will play their first match of the World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament in Edinburgh on Tuesday [c38e3479]. The squad of 28 players, led by Head Coach Neethling Gericke, includes twice-capped senior Eagles center Dom Besag and hooker Cade Crist as co-captains. The team will face the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Kenya in the pool stage. The matches will be streamed live on RugbyPass.
Scotland's men's U20s side continued their dominant run in the World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament with a resounding 101-0 victory over Hong Kong [0384d30d]. This marked the second successive game in which Scotland scored over 100 points. Finlay Doyle scored a first-half hat-trick, while Freddy Douglas scored a double. Liam McConnell, Jonny Morris, Hector Patterson, Johnny Ventisei, Jack Hocking, Fergus Watson, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Ludo Kolade, and Ryan Burke also contributed to the scoresheet. Scotland's next match will be against Japan on Friday, July 12th.
In other sports news, England Lions allrounder Ollie Price has extended his contract at Gloucestershire [194e7181]. The younger brother of teammate Tom, Price had a breakthrough year, hitting five hundreds and five fifties last summer across formats. He was nominated for the PCA's young player award and earned a spot on the England Lions tour of India. Price is known for his slip-fielding skills and was tipped as one of the most exciting young players in the country. Gloucestershire's head coach, Mark Alleyne, praised Price's commitment and multi-skilled abilities. Price expressed his excitement to continue his journey with Gloucestershire and contribute to the team's success in the upcoming season.
Wales captain Dewi Lake has spoken out after Wales fell to an eighth consecutive defeat, urging the team to quickly learn how to win [8b056ccc]. The team suffered a 25-16 loss to Australia in Sydney in the first Test. Lake emphasized the importance of the experience of veteran player Liam Williams, describing it as 'invaluable' for the young side. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt commented on the decision to disallow James Botham's try, stating that it was 'really clear' [8b056ccc].
England coach Steve Borthwick has expressed his support for fly-half Marcus Smith after his missed kicks cost the team in their narrow defeat to the All Blacks. Ireland coach Andy Farrell admitted that South Africa was the better side in their match, which ended with a 27-20 victory for South Africa at Loftus Versfeld [8b056ccc].
Benoni Northerns Storm defeated East Rand United (ERU) 57-12 in a Valke Merlin league match on July 6 [0c6aaf85]. In the first half, ERU scored a try and three penalties, while Benoni kicked over a penalty, making the score 9-7 in favor of ERU at halftime. In the second half, Benoni scored eight more tries, with Keiryn Hill touching down twice. ERU only managed to kick over another penalty. Benoni's fly-half Bradin Anderson converted six of the tries. ERU's fly-half Cameron Rooi scored nine points for his team. This victory follows Benoni's previous win against ERU with a score of 21-7. ERU faced challenges due to injuries and a death in the family, while Benoni's fresh legs from the bench proved to be too much for United.