News August 14, 2024
Major League Rugby Player of the Year 2024 – Wayne Van Der Bank
New England Free Jacks centre Wayne Van Der Bank is named Player of the Year for the 2024 Major League Rugby season.
The South African helped the Massachusetts club to back-to-back MLR Championship victories and was in impeccable form throughout the year as his team once again lifted the Shield.
In his third season, the 27-year-old wore blue, red and white. In 2024, he started 16 games and scored ten tries.
One-way traffic in the first 40 minutes, as the @NEFreeJacks went into the break with a 21-0 lead thanks to two tries from Wayne van der Bank and one from Andrew Quattrin.
Check out the highlights from the first half!
📺 @therugbynetwork | #NEvARC | #MLR2024 pic.twitter.com/XsrIsFpkP4
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) June 29, 2024
Van Der Bank only made one start on the bench, but his best season was a series of top-class individual performances, making important connections with the players around him to help the Free Jacks to a magnificent home win.
Van Der Bank began the season at center back while waiting for Le Roux Malan to return from injury, acting as a pivot for New England by playing outside Jayson Potroz and allowing Ben LeSage to run free outside of him.
This increased responsibility brought out the best in the former Golden Lions and Pumas player, who made his professional debut eight years ago.
When Malan returned, the South African was moved to his more usual position as outside centre, where he enjoyed success.
The first game back as outside center was proof enough.
After sitting out his team’s win over the Miami Sharks in Week 6 and having an off week, Van Der Bank was well rested and crossed the try line three times to help his team to a convincing 47-35 win over the Houston SaberCats.
The South African did everything he could to help New England win its second MLR title in a row.
Whether he was beating an incredible 126 defenders, running for 1,353 yards or making 187 tackles on defense, van der Bank could do no wrong.
YOUR MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY CHAMPIONS 2024 @NEFreeJacks pic.twitter.com/zq0NHyKy1c
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) 4 August 2024
Along with a Free Jacks team motivated to become only the second team to defend their MLR title, the squad impressed on their way to Snapdragon Stadium in early August.
Nevertheless, New England had not yet achieved everything its own way.
Last season, the Veterans Memorial Stadium team lost just twice en route to bringing the Shield back to Quincy, Massachusetts.
This time, the Jacks lost five times despite being the team to beat in North America.
The team’s losses to Old Glory DC, Seattle Seawolves, Chicago Hounds, Miami Sharks and NOLA Gold only helped him refocus.
With a record of 11-5, the Eastern Conference club is at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Van Der Bank continued his dominant performance as he entered the MLR playoffs presented by Sportsbreaks.com.
MLR ON #SCTOP10 🚨😮💨
Wayne Van Der Bank comes in third and putts @NEFreeJacks on the board about @AnthemRugby #MLR2024 pic.twitter.com/r4KUcUQxKW
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) July 1, 2024
His evasive running helped Oscar Lennon win the Eastern Conference semifinals against DC, while his impeccable performances against the Hounds and in the championship final against Seattle were instrumental in a title-winning season.
Van Der Bank’s work may have been underestimated in the past, but in 2024 it stood out from the crowd and the South African was deservedly named Player of the Year in the seventh season of the MLR.
