Curwin Bosch left the biggest impression on a weekend in which South African sides’ inaugural European Champions Cup challenge fizzled out, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
The quarter-finals proved to be the end of the road for both the Sharks and the Stormers.
The Sharks were valiant for 65 minutes but were ultimately blown away 54-20 by Toulouse in South-West France while the Stormers struggled to get out of the starting blocks against the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park, trailing 21-0 at halftime, with the English club going on to claim a 42-17 win.
Our South African European Champions Cup Team of the Week has an eight-seven split in favour of the Sharks.
15: Boeta Chamberlain (Sharks)
Damian Willemse worked his socks off but mixed the good with the bad, with two of his bloopers leading to tries for the hosts. Chamberlain was a class act who was more clinical, made good decisions and dotted down.
14: Suleiman Hartzenburg (Stormers)
Great break at the start of the second half and a good show of pace to run in from 55 metres out after collecting a clever kick by Herschel Jantjies.
13: Dan du Plessis (Stormers)
With neither Lukhanyo Am nor Ruhan Nel impressing, we opted to shift Du Plessis to outside centre, where he played the final 20 minutes of a highly industrious evening.
12: Rohan Janse van Rensbug (Sharks)
A powerhouse performance, not only in terms of barging over the advantage line but also at ruck time, where he seized two turnovers in his half, the second a potential try-saver. A shame to see him stretchered off.
11: Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks)
Made a try-saving tackle on Matthis Lebel and set up a try with some fancy footwork that was controversially disallowed.
10: Curwin Bosch (Sharks) – Player Of The Week
Stepped into the spotlight with one of his best performances. Controlled his team, was exceptional on the counter-attack to spark a sensational try and carve out two other line breaks, and kicked 10 points.
9: Grant Williams (Sharks)
A dynamo who seized the day. Showed his unrivalled speed for a scrumhalf to score a screamer, was quick and precise with his distribution and his box kicks were contestable.
8: Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Sharks)
The muscle and bustle of the Sharks. A battering ram who never relented and was denied a deserved try by a baffling obstruction call.
7: Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers)
Started a solid evening’s work with an early lineout steal in his 22. A prominent ball carrier and busy on the defensive end as well, winning a turnover that led to a disallowed try.
6: Siya Kolisi (Sharks)
Covered oceans of space on defence, trucked up the ball well, and created a try-scoring opportunity with a brilliant out-the-back offload.
5: Gerbrandt Grobler (Sharks)
Marvin Orie played his heart out, making an unrivalled 18 tackles and scoring a charge-down try. However, two of his four missed tackles cost the Stormers tries. Grobler was more dependable and produced a vital lineout steal early in the second half.
4: Ernst van Rhyn (Stormers)
In the thick of things. The Stormers’ best ball-carrying forward, made a good break from a lineout and was a busy defender (10 tackles). A nuisance in the lineout, where he applied excellent pressure on Exeter’s throw-in.
3: Frans Malherbe (Stormers)
The big man got through a mountain of work, stacking 14 tackles on top of a scrum penalty he won.
2: Joseph Dweba (Stormers)
His explosiveness off the line was as important as his ability to get up and make another hit, which saw him sack ball carriers well behind the gain line. Added a breakdown penalty near his 22 just before halftime to his 11 tackles.
1: Steven Kitshoff (Stormers)
Like his prop partner in crime, the Stormers skipper contributed across the park. Made 13 tackles at a 100% clip and was the main ball poacher in Deon Fourie’s absence, extracting two turnovers.
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