Following last year’s inaugural Rugby Black List Awards, the annual celebration will return again in 2024 at the home of England Rugby, Twickenham Stadium.

2023’s Awards, held at the Palace of Westminster, was hosted with the aim of inspiring the next generation of leaders in sport and saw nominees and winners including the likes of England stars Ellis Genge and Shaunagh Brown, Beno Obano and a host of community leaders across the game.

This year’s awards evening will again look at celebrating the contribution of the Black rugby community to rugby union and recognising their achievements across the game in England.

Rugby Black List is positioned to help shine a light on Black professionals and volunteers working, playing and participating in rugby union. The group includes decision makers from the community game, leaders within talent pathways, volunteers and elite game representatives.

Many members of the community game will be recognised across categories including Community Coach and Community Leader as well as, for the first time, this year public voting will be available across two categories for men’s and women’s Performance Player of the Year. All other winners will be announced on the night.

The nominees for the public vote are:

Men’s Performance Player

Andy Christie, Saracens
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Exeter Chiefs
Ollie Lawrence, Bath
Women’s Performance Player

Babalwa Latsha, Harlequins
Deborah Wills, Bristol Bears
Rownita Marston-Mulhearn, Bristol Bears
Voting opens from 19 March – 9 April and the winners announced on 30th April at the Awards event. Voting can be done via the form here.

Rugby Black List founder, Sagan Daniels, commented: “Between the 2023 event and what we hope to be an epic event this year, it was important for Rugby Black List to consolidate and capitalise on a successful inauguration. There was such a groundswell of interest and gratitude for what we achieved, the team felt it essential that all bases were covered and all of the foundational elements to our collective were embedded. We have welcomed some new faces to the core team, some outstanding individuals who have made significant impact to our events, shaping our message and planning the future. I’m so proud and grateful that some of those people have joined us.

“It is undeniable there is still a lack of representation of the Black community within rugby union – in all echelons. However, it is important to celebrate the progress that has been made by recognising the achievements of black role models, in order to redress this imbalance.”

Garnet Mackinder, one of the Rugby Black List Directors said: “We’re very excited for the second year of the Rugby Black List awards. Although we’re looking to grow and recognise a wider group of Black people within rugby, the beauty of last year was the less formal and fun nature of the event which we’re looking to keep. It’s also a great opportunity to network and get to know people with similar experiences in rugby. I’m looking forward to meeting and celebrating some new faces.”

The 2024 celebration at Twickenham Stadium will be supported by a host of new and returning organisations, from across inclusion, charity and the sports business community. Key partners, including England Rugby and Premiership Rugby, will be in attendance on the night, along with representatives from KORI Youth Charity, Sporting Equals and Refresh Sports and further new partners to be announced in the coming weeks.

The full list of Award categories is:

Community Leader
Future Leader
Community Coach
Performance Coach
Performance Player (Male)
Performance Player (Female)
Life in Sport (Hall of Fame Induction)
Rising Star
To find out more, visit www.rugbyblacklist.com