Embrose Papier's resurgence has been rewarded with the Vodacom United Rugby Championship's South African Player of the Season award, capping a remarkable campaign in which the Bulls scrum-half finished as the competition's second-highest try scorer.
Papier crossed for 11 tries across the season — nine in the regular rounds and two more in the quarterfinal against Munster — while also contributing five assists, 25 defenders beaten and 15 clean breaks. The 29-year-old's selection was determined by votes from the Springbok coaching staff, the four franchise coaches and selected South African broadcast commentators.
The recognition arrives months after Papier was omitted from Rassie Erasmus's first alignment camp of the year, though he has since been invited to a subsequent gathering. Papier, who earned seven caps in 2018, has not featured for the Springboks in eight years but is now eyeing a recall.
"I just kept working," Papier said. "I knew I could still do it. It was just little things I had to work on. I have become a lot calmer over the years and started making better decisions on the field. In the past, I used to just pass a lot and see what happens. But now I analyse teams."
Papier joins Evan Roos, Manie Libbok, Sanele Nohamba and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as recent winners of the award. He will be central to the Bulls' semifinal challenge against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday as the Pretoria side chase their first URC title.