Lions' Quan Horn is the 2022/23 Ironman

Emirates Lions fullback Quan Horn and Benetton centre Joaquin Riera have added their names to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Awards list picking up the Ironman and Try of the Season Awards respectively.

The Ironman award recognises the player who has racked up the most minutes over the 18 rounds of the Vodacom URC, and Horn grabbed it with his 1,428 minutes played.

The Vodacom URC Awards announcements continue tomorrow when the Gilbert Golden Boot and Vodacom Fans’ Player of the Season winners are disclosed.

The BKT Coach of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season are then revealed in the build-up to the Grand Final on Saturday 27 May.

Here, we take a closer look at the Top Try Scorer and Ironman award winners and the performances that led to their achievements, which were determined using URC StatMaster data provided by Oval Insights.

The award for having played the most minutes in the Vodacom URC this season goes to Emirates Lions fullback Quan Horn.

The 21-year-old racked up 1,428 minutes on the field of play and was one of only 10 players to feature in all 18 of their team’s matches.

Vodacom Bulls lock Ruan Nortje - the 2021/22 Ironman with 1,394 minutes - had to settle for second place this time after playing two more minutes this season.

Horn’s Emirates Lions team-mate Marius Louw was third with 1,371, followed by Connacht’s John Porch (1,340) and Cardiff’s John Turnbull (1,321).

Ruan Nortje came second in the Ironman Award.

Riera's award-winning try came during Benetton's thrilling 43-33 Round 17 defeat to the Cell C Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Duban on 14 April.

The 29-year-old, capped 11 times by Argentina, got on the end of a chip from Rhyno Smith, who had collected his own Garryowen, to dart over in the corner.

It was Benetton’s third of five tries in the match, which yielded 11 in total, and received the most votes for the award which was powered by URC.tv.

There were 10 tries nominated in total, with the others being:
Stravino Jacobs (Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks, Round 7)
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh v Ospreys, Round 17)
Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers v Dragons RFC, Round 9)
Rio Dyer (Dragons RFC v Munster, Round 2)
Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets v DHL Stormers, Round 8)
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors v Vodacom Bulls, Round 4)
Suleiman Hartzenberg (DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls, Round 10)
Jordan Larmour (Leinster v Connacht, Round 11)
Thaakir Abrahams (Cell C Sharks v Leinster, Round 4)

<< WATCH ALL THE TRIES HERE >>

Vodacom URC Awards 2022-23

OFX Top Try Scorer: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Tackle Machine: John Hodnett (Munster)
Turnover King: Thomas Young (Cardiff)
Next-Gen Player of the Season: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Try of the Season powered by URC.tv: Joaquin Riera (Benetton)
Ironman: Quan Horn (Emirates Lions)

Elite XV: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), 14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Daniel du Plessis (DHL Stormers), 11 Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma), 10 Ross Byrne (Leinster), 9 Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks), 8 Gavin Coombes (Munster), 7 Scott Penny (Leinster), 6 Vaea Fifita (Scarlets), 5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton), 4 Niall Murray (Connacht), 3 Finlay Bealham (Connacht), 2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster), 1 Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers).

Vodacom United Rugby Championship Vodacom URC Awards Quan Horn Emirates Lions Ironman

Leaders grab crucial away wins in fifth round...

Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink Pumas maintained their unbeaten record in the SA Cup when both again scored important awa...

A weekend that intensified the Vodacom URC logjam...

The Emirates Lions made a strong statement but the two teams that won in South Africa were arguably the biggest winners ...

Lions roar in frustrating round for SA teams...

The Emirates Lions registered the only victory for SA’s teams in a frustrating round in the Vodacom United Rugby Champio...

Dames and Daisies remain on winning track...

The Sanlam Boland Dames scored six tries in their 35-15 victory over DHL Western Province to maintain their good start t...

Test of character for SA Cup frontrunners...

The three teams at the top of the SA Cup log – Suzuki Griquas, the Airlink Pumas and Toyota Cheetahs – will have their c...

Close margins in Premier Division, WP win big

There were close margins in Durban and Despatch in Saturday's SA Rugby Women's Premier Division second round matches, but not so in Hawston where DHL Western Province notched up 50 points in their clash with Boland Dames.

Vodacom URC set to embrace meritocracy – Anayi

The Vodacom United Rugby Championship is set to return to a meritocracy in qualifying for the Heineken Champions Cup, while better travel arrangements are on the cards for South African sides as the competition looks to improve from the opening two seasons.

Impressive Stormers to host second Grand Final

The DHL Stormers will have an opportunity to defend their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title after securing their second successive home final following their victory against Connacht in Cape Town and Munster’s surprise win over Leinster in Dublin in the semi-finals this weekend.

Ngcobo: Toulouse result not reflective of effort

The Springbok Sevens team put in a huge effort at the HSBC France Sevens this weekend, but sadly the results did not show that, so from the perspective of Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, it was not all doom and gloom.

The 2023 Currie Cup Bulletin #20

The Cell C Sharks and Fidelity ADT Lions claimed important wins against the Currie Cup Premier Division’s frontrunners, while there were further victories for DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Bulls in the matches staged over the weekend, with all four visiting sides victorious.

Springboks switch to Test mode at Durban camp

The Springboks made the big switch to Test mode on Wednesday as they returned to the training field in Durban at the first of two preparation camps this month to kick into gear for the international season.

Libbok and Goosen pick up Vodacom URC Awards

Springbok flyhalves Manie Libbok of the DHL Stormers and Johan Goosen of the Vodacom Bulls are the latest winners in the 2022/23 Vodacom United Rugby Championship Awards.

Blitzboks focused on big, final shift in London

Their quest for automatic qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games may be out of their hands, but the Springbok Sevens team will leave no stone unturned at the HSBC London Sevens this weekend as they give it one final push to book their tickets to Paris next year.

Smart ball to be trialled at U20 Champs in SA

World Rugby is collaborating with Sportable and Gilbert to undertake the world’s first trial of smart ball technology in a live match officiating capacity at the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa in June.

Blitzboks want to show what they are capable of

As the curtain comes down on the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London this weekend, the Springbok Sevens team will be keen to show what they can do as they still hope to gain automatic qualification for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.