As the United Rugby Championship regular season reaches its climax, the 2025/26 URC Awards are fast approaching, with winners set to be announced between 02–05 June.
While some honours are decided by a voting panel following Round 18, five awards are determined purely by on-field statistics: the OFX Top Try Scorer, Gilbert Golden Boot, IPVanish Tackle Machine, Ironman and Playmaker Award.
With margins so tight across several categories, we take one final look at the state of play before the winners are decided.
OFX Top Try Scorer
Awarded to the player who has scored the most tries during the regular season.
2024/25 winner: Harri Millard – 9 Tries (13 appearances / 796 minutes)
The race for this award has been fiercely competitive all season, but for the first time a clear leader has emerged. Evan Roos (DHL Stormers) crossed in both Rounds 15 and 16 to take his tally to 11 tries, moving ahead of Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls), Joshua Kenny (Leinster) and Sean Jansen (Connacht), who are all tied on nine.
No other player has more than seven, so with just two rounds remaining, the winner is likely to come from this leading group. Should Roos or Jansen prevail, they would become the third forward to claim the award in the last four seasons.
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Gilbert Golden Boot
The Gilbert Golden Boot is awarded in recognition of the player who kicks the most points in the regular season.
2024/25 winner: Ioan Lloyd – 124 points
This award is all but decided. After Round 14, it already looked unlikely that anyone would catch Chris Smith (Fidelity SecureDrive Lions), and he has only strengthened his position since.
Buoyed by the Lions’ outstanding form, the fly-half has surged to 140 points — nearly 50 clear of Jacob Umaga (Benetton) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), who are both on 91.
IPVanish Tackle Machine
Players who have made 150 or more completed tackles during the regular season will be eligible for the award, with the individual who boasts the highest accuracy taking the prize.
2024/25 winner: Ruben van Heerden – 171 Tackles / 97.7% accuracy
This award recognises the perfect blend of tackle volume (minimum 150 tackles) and accuracy, rewarding not just work rate but technical excellence. It’s no surprise, then, that it is typically dominated by second-row and back-row forwards — the players often responsible for the unseen graft — and this season is no different.
Cardiff’s Alun Lawrence leads the way for total tackles made with 243, but his 94.2% success rate places him seventh among players who have reached the 150-tackle threshold. In contrast, Dragons RFC’s Ben Carter boasts an outstanding 97.2% success rate, missing just five of his 180 attempts, and has led in accuracy for most of this season.
However, he is closely followed by teammate Harry Beddall (97.1%) and Munster’s Gavin Coombes (96.5%). With margins so fine, this is an award that looks set to go right down to the final whistle of Round 18.
Ironman
The Ironman award is given to the player who has racked up the most minutes in the regular season.
2024/25 winner: Cam Winnett – 18 Appearances / 1427 minutes
Another award that celebrates commitment, consistency and a willingness to put the body on the line. Last season’s winner, Cam Winnett, missed just 13 minutes across the entire campaign — a benchmark that only two players are on course to better this season.
Quan Horn, who won the award in 2022/23, is in contention once again, having remarkably not missed a single minute for the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions so far this season, and he is followed closely by Leolin Zas (DHL Stormers) just 10 minutes behind.
Barring injury, it is likely to go to one of these two, with Hollywoodbets Sharks captain Vincent Tshituka the only other player within 80-minutes of the two leaders.
Playmaker
The total of three key metrics used to decide the winner: try assists for his team, defenders beaten on the pitch, and successfully completed offloads.
2024/25 winner: Tom Farrell – 5 try assists / 41 completed offloads / 61 defenders beaten
Creativity, adaptability and composure under pressure define a true playmaker. Introduced last season, the Playmaker Award recognises the player who creates the most chances and tries for his team.
There has been a change at the top, with injury preventing long-time leader Sebastian de Klerk (Vodacom Bulls) from adding to his tally. Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) now leads the way, holding a narrow two-point advantage over Ospreys’ Jack Walsh.
Fidelity SecureDrive Lions duo Quan and Francke Horn, along with Ignacio Mendy (Benetton), are among the closest challengers. Given the nature of this award, standings can shift quickly, leaving it all to play for over the final two rounds.
