By Chesley Daniels
Garin “Brock” Strydom, the seasoned hooker of Grahamstown Brumbies Rugby Club, scooped the coveted and prestigious Player of the Year award at the club’s annual presentation awards ceremony held at Dakawa Centre on Saturday, 7 December 2024.
The event was well attended by club members, supporters, sponsors and guests and turned out to be a profound success on the night. The event was followed by Dona celebrations as everyone stood behind to enjoy drinks, a braai and eatables.
The club rewarded and acknowledged players and administrators who performed exceptionally well throughout the rugby season.
Guest speaker, Phila Sixaba, delivered a resounding keynote address. The former Brumbies player also represented Cellotape Wildcats in the annual Goldrush Fabian Juries Community Fun Day 10s. He is also currently working for SuperSport as a presenter and anchor.
Sixaba was very excited to be part of the proceedings and motivated the players and management of the club. He congratulated those who received their awards. “I am proud that I am coming from Grahamstown as a homeboy. I had a good spell playing for Brumbies and Cellotape during my time in Grahamstown, before I left to study and work. To the players, remember anything is possible, and that you can achieve, even if you are coming from a small town and community like Grahamstown. You guys must just be patient and keep on working hard, and will get their reward at the end of the day. To the award recipients who will receive their awards later, congratulations and well done,” he said.
When the time came to award the outstanding performers, all eyes were on the most prestigious accolade – Player of the Year. And the award went to Strydom, who had an unbelievable and exceptional season, the only player who played in all 22 games (home and away).
Strydom was a team player, every night he attended training sessions and was part of the leadership team of the 1st XV. He played hooker and was also required to play at flank when the club needed him. Strydom was a breakdown specialist, ensuring numerous turnovers every game, a hardworking player, strong ball carrier with colossus defence, a powerful scrummager who also scored a few tries and created numerous tries in 2024.
The other major award went to the young, talented and powerful speedster, Sinethemba Jezi, who scooped the Best 1st XV Backline Player as well as the Supporters’ Player of the Year award. Jezi, also known as “Mapimpi”, had a brilliant season and was in sublime form, producing consistent performances every time he wore the 1st XV jersey. He scored some exciting and entertaining tries with his blistering pace and power on attack, whilst his he was one of the best defenders in the club.
The Player’s Player of the Year award went to Thubelihle “Madudu” Maseti, the loose forward/lock who also received the High Performance award. This award was monitored by a Rhodes University Masters student who calculated the player’s high hits, kilometres, impacts etc, which “Madudu” won with flying colours.
Another player who had a great season was young Eerin Goliath, the nippy scrumhalf who walked away with the Most Improved Player award on the night. Goliath also scored six tries during the season and also made the final trials of the EP U20.
Currie Park Rebels (CPR) also received their winners’ trophy and gold medals as the Goldrush Fabian Juries Community Fun Day 10s winners.
Full list of awards 2024:
1. Player of the year – Garin Strydom
2. Player’s Player of the Year – Thubelihle Maseti
3. Supporters Player of the Year – Sinethemba Jezi
4. Best Backline Player 1st XV – Sinethemba Jezi
5. Best Foward Player 1st XV – Yakha Mpulani
6. Best Backline Player 1st Res – William Sharneck
7. Best Foward Player 1st Res – Devan Marthinus
8. Most Dedicated Player – Sylvester Spiers
9. Up & Coming Player – Jordan Moodie
10. Most Improved Player – Eerin Goliath
11. President’s Award – Barry September
Loyalty awards:
12. Monray Evans
13. Deon Crous
14. Athenkosi Mafazwe
15. Vincent Mains
16. Denvan Goliath
Provincial reps – EP Police:
17. Diego Isaacs
18. Cullen Williams
19. Seth Barends
20. Yakha Mpulani
21. Athenkosi Mfazwe
22. Breyton Daniels
National rep – SANDF team:
23. Chadwill Jegels
Goldrush Fabian Juries 10s winners:
24. CPR Gold Medals as Champs
Brumbies are already busy with preseason preparation and the club urged all members and new members to attend. A garage with a fully-fledged gym will be open at 24 Albany Road to prepare for next year.
Brumbies will again compete in the highest competition in EPRU Grand Challenge Top 12 in 2025.
