South Africans sweep three URC end-of-season awards as Roos leads try scorers

South Africa dominated the BKT United Rugby Championship’s end-of-season honours, with Stormers No.8 Evan Roos, Lions fly-half Chris Smith and Lions winger Quan Horn claiming three of the five individual awards at the conclusion of the regular season.

Roos finished as the competition’s leading try scorer with 12 touchdowns — one clear of Ulster winger Zac Ward and two ahead of Ward’s team-mate Werner Kok and Connacht No.8 Sean Jansen — earning him the OFX Top Try Scorer award. The Springbok back-row follows Cardiff’s Harri Millard, who won the prize in 2025, and hookers Tom Stewart and Johnny Matthews in the previous two seasons.

Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson was effusive in his praise of the 24-year-old. “He’s very fast and he also runs good support lines,” Dobson said. “He’s like an old school rugby player. I think if rugby was an amateur sport, he’d still be playing exactly the same. He’s got humour, he giggles, he contributes — he’s fantastic. I love him.”

Smith claimed the Gilbert Golden Boot for the second year running, having previously won it in 2024 while at the Bulls. The Lions fly-half accumulated 149 points during the regular season — comprising 17 penalties and 49 conversions — to finish well clear of Stormers star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who kicked 113 points.

Horn took home the Ironman award for the second time, having also won it in 2022/23. The Lions back played every single minute of the regular campaign — all 1,440 — surpassing his previous best of 1,428 minutes set when he first claimed the prize.

Dragons lock Ben Carter, the Wales international, won the IPVanish Tackle Machine award after posting a 97.6 per cent tackle accuracy from 150-plus attempts during the season — a campaign the 25-year-old will look back on with considerable satisfaction.

The fifth award went to Ospreys utility back Jack Walsh, who claimed the Playmaker Award — decided on try assists, defenders beaten and completed offloads — in his final appearance in the competition. The USA-born, Australia-raised back-line player is departing after four years with the Welsh region to join French club Montauban.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones paid tribute to Walsh’s professionalism. “His appetite to get better and his thirst to improve as an individual was pretty evident from day one,” Jones said. “His preparation is top drawer, while his work ethic, both on and off the field, to make sure he was maximising his time has been exceptional.”