15 April 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

SUPER RUGBY SA TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 9

The Bulls and Stormers scored valuable victories as this year’s Super Rugby season reached the halfway stage at the weekend.

The Stormers surprised all and sundry with a stunning 41-24 upset win over the Rebels in Melbourne, while the Bulls beat the Reds 32-17 in Pretoria to propel themselves to the top of the South African Conference.

The Lions offered little in their 31-20 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra, but the biggest losers of Round Nine were the Sharks, who endured a 51-17 thrashing by the Jaguares in Durban.

It should come as no surprise then that our Team of the Week is mostly made up of Bulls and Stormers stars.

Warrick Gelant could’ve easily cracked the nod. He was tactically superb and good on attack as well. But we’re going with Bosch, who picked up where he left off last week with another outstanding performance, both at No.15 and when he switched to flyhalf in the 52nd minute. He made 136 metres in 17 carries and created both of the Sharks’ tries.

Very involved, determined and dangerous every time he touched the ball. Made four clean breaks, beat five defenders and ran for 52 metres. Good in the air as well.

The former Blitzbok’s best performance for the Stormers yet. Huge on defence, where his organisation and slicing hits were reminiscent of the great Jaque Fourie. His good D also saw him snatch an intercept to complete a double.

Another big game by the Bulls centre. Topped his team’s attacking stats, running for 98 metres in 15 carries without being predictable, and made a joint backline-high 10 tackles along with his flyhalf.

A strong candidate for Player of the Week, Leyds lit up Melbourne as he ripped the Rebels to shreds. Scored a great solo try, sparked two others and also did exceptionally well to field an attacking grubber and retain possession under pressure.

Ran the show with Gelant. Took on the defence, came away with a try and executed a fantastic crosskick to put Jade Stighling over in the corner.

Continued to impress in his rookie Super Rugby season. Nippy, made some telling tackles and provided good, clean ball to keep the Stormers surging forward.

Took the opportunity to fill in for Duane Vermeulen with both hands. Was on an absolute rampage with a team-high 16 carries (winning 94 metres) and made 10 tackles.

One of the key men in the Stormers’ defensive masterclass, making 18 tackles and winning two turnovers. Stephan Lewies also had a good outing in a losing cause for the Lions.

Top comeback from injury. Went full force and full speed, scoring a try from a lineout in one of 12 carries, made 11 hits and did his job at the breakdown.

Back with a bang! The man mountain was monstrous in all aspects and showcased impressive ball skills with a couple of beautiful one-handed offloads and a quarterback-like ball after a breakaway.

Continued his rich vein of form with a strong defensive effort (11 tackles), hit rucks hard and was the key man in the Lions’ lineout (five takes).

Dominated at scrum time – the only facet the Sharks had the upper hand in – to win two penalties, and put in a big shift on defence, where his seven hits fell one short of the team-high shared by Luke Stringer and Hyron Andrews.

His super showing off the ball (12 tackles and two breakdown penalties) and accuracy in the set pieces see him edge Malcolm Marx, who was a physical force with ball-in-hand.

For a player who’s been consistently stellar all season, this was arguably his best showing of the 2019 campaign. So mobile, tireless and powerful. Went over for a well-deserved try.

READ: Super Rugby Takeways – Round 9

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