According to reports, former head coach of the Springboks, Nick Mallett has resigned in disgust from the World Rugby Awards panel after South Africa was not even nominated in the coach category.
The 68-year-old who took the Boks to a then-world record 17 consecutive Test victories in 1997, was in the panel since 2015.
Rapport states that Mallett was not too thrilled that Jacques Nienaber did not get a nomination in 2023 for World Rugby Coach of the Year after having led the Springboks to the Rugby World Cup.
Farrell over Nienaber
The award, too, went instead to the Irish Andy Farrell, but Mallett thought that it ought to be a customary award for the boss of the World Cup-winning team.
The ex-Boks head honcho also supposedly detracted in 2015, when the Australians’ Michael Cheika got the trophy over New Zealand legend Steve Hansen, despite the All Blacks winning the Webb Ellis Cup.
The panel for this year comprised Milton Haig, Mario Ledesma, Melodie Robinson, and Danielle Waterman; Mallett, however, did not return as a judge in 2024.
They controversially chose France sevens boss Jérôme Daret as the World Rugby Coach of the Year with the Springboks once again snubbed.
He, Rassie Erasmus, who won the same award in 2019, also missed despite marching South Africa to win its first Rugby Championship title in five years.
They had 11 victories and two defeats, thereby reigning as the top team at year’s end according to the World Rugby rankings, beyond All Blacks and Ireland.
John Smit Resigns
Well, Mallett was not the only ex-Springbok to exit from the panel, as the legendary captain John Smit also announced his retirement from that position.
Like Mallett, Smit too was reportedly unhappy with the nominations for the 2023 award, and he was one of the few who helped choose the World Rugby Player of the Year.
While South Africa had the World Cup, only Eben Etzebeth was nominated, with Antoine Dupont, Bundee Aki, and Ardie Savea, the last to win it, in the mix.
However, the decision of the 46-year-old is said, according to Rapport, not to have been triggered because of his unhappiness with the last year’s appointments, but a source told the outlet he resigned “because he has done four years on the panel already”.
A spokesperson from World Rugby said: “It is natural to have debate and differences. It is not an easy task.”
He was succeeded by fellow South African legend Victor Matfield, who thus joined Jacques Burger, Fiona Coghlan, Thierry Dusautoir, Drew Mitchell, Ugo Monye, Kieran Read, Robinson and Blaine Scully on the panel.
South Africa had an impressive showing this year as Pieter-Steph du Toit was voted the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year while team-mates Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe were also nominated.
