The pictures were exhibited in the Auckland City hall during the recent World Cup and more than 6 000 people visited the exhibition called “UNION: The Heart of Rugby.

The picture of a Karoo policeman throwing the ball into a line out during a club game at De Rust near Oudtshoorn was also one of six pictures which appeared in Oosthuizen’s collector’s item book, Portrait of RUGBY which was published earlier this year.

“It is a great honour for me and the picture was published on the back page of the New Zealand Herald this week together with Ross Land’s winning picture of Richie McCaw bleeding after a game against the Springboks,” said Oosthuizen.

Ooosthuizen is an acclaimed sports photographer and has covered numerous major sporting events such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Games and All Africa Games.

The six nominees on the shortlist are: Central Gauteng Squash, Tembisa Hockey Development, JHB Gymnastics Centre, Giants Gymnatiscs, Nemato Gymnastics and the Chaeli Sports and Recreation Club .

Construction and infrastructure development company, Murray & Roberts, in partnership with SASCOC and the Sowetan newspaper manage the Jack Cheetham Memorial Award and the Letsema Award.

Now in its 29th year, the award was initiated by Murray & Roberts in recognition of the special qualities of Jack Cheetham, a former director of Murray and Roberts and the inspirational captain of the SA cricket team in the 1950’s. Cheetham’s mandate was to instil self-belief in young people. The award, which includes a floating trophy as well as prize money, is presented to respective winners on a five-year basis.

The Murray & Roberts Letsema Award was initiated in 2009 following the outstanding performance of athlete Hilton Langenhoven who captured the attention of the world at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. The award recognizes sports development projects for people with disabilities.

Current holders include The Tiger Titans Cricket Club from Eastern Cape, South African Tug-of-War Adopt a School project for 2010 and 2009 respectively.

The inaugural 2009 Letsema Award was presented to Judo for the Blind and Visually Impaired in recognition of its excellent achievement in the sport and development of visually impaired young sports men and women and Boccia for the Severely Physically Disabled won the Letsema Award in 2010.

The awards were made at the Durban City Hall by the Gandhi Development Trust.

A prominent anti-apartheid activist, Ramsamy’s award was to honour the role he played in furthering the cause of the oppressed people of South Africa as well as in upholding the principles of social justice and human rights. This sports enthusiast and former Physical and Health Education lecturer was a member of the Committee responsible for the inaugural of Dr. Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected President of South Africa. Ramsamy has also worked for the United Nations on consultant basis.

The Mahatma Gandhi International Award (s) for Peace and Reconciliation honour Mahatma Gandhi who began his socio-political life in South Africa and struggled ceaselessly for justice and for peace and reconciliation. The award was created in 2003 to mark the centenary of a newspaper, Indian Opinion, and published in South Africa by Mahatma Gandhi.

Other recipients include Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, former Natal Indian Congress President Rabbi Bugwandeen, activists for religious reconciliation Saydoonisa Sayeed and Paddy Meskin, former political activists Ma Getrude Shope and Maniben Sita.