SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 2

Quan Horn headlines our South African Team of the Week after the local sides started their United Rugby Championship campaigns with mixed results on Saturday, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

There were home wins for the Lions and the Bulls, while the Sharks and Stormers came up short abroad.

The Lions claimed a 35-22 bonus point victory over Ulster at Ellis Park, their first-ever win over the men from Belfast, before the Bulls banked a scrappy 16-12 win over Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld.

The Sharks let a 20-point lead slip as they succumbed 36-30 to Connacht in Galway and the Stormers led 16-13 at halftime only to lose 37-24 to the Ospreys in Bridgend.

Horn is one of seven Lions in our team, while four Stormers, three Sharks and one Bulls player made the cut.

15: Quan Horn (Lions) – Player of the Week

Showed the all-round game that saw him make his Springbok debut earlier this year. Deadly on attack, sparking a stunning bonus-point try, and punisher with his educated left boot, including executing a massive 50:22 and dangerous grubbers. Won a turnover on his tryline and made a try-saving tackle on Mike Lowry to cap an excellent Man of the Match performance.

⚡️ on the Prowl! 🦁

An electrifying counter-attack started by Quan Horn seals the bonus point try 🎬 |

— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA)

14: Rabz Maxwane (Lions)

Hit the ground running. Beat the most defenders (8) and made the most clean breaks (5) and metres (127). Scored the Lions’ opening try, showed good footwork, looked for work, which saw him pop up everywhere, and won two aerial contests.

When forwards & backs collide… 🥹❤️

PJ Botha ➡️ Francke Horn ➡️ Rabz Maxwane = Try Time 🔥 |

— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA)

13: Jurenzo Julius (Sharks)

“The Boogeyman” had a URC debut to be proud of. After his good rookie Currie Cup campaign, he made the step up to URC level rather comfortably and was good on both sides of the ball, beating five defenders and winning a turnover.

12: Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)

The big Bok centre was colossal in Galway, powering over for two tries while making the most successful carries (9) and clean breaks (2) of the game. Far from one-dimensional, he also showed off his offloading ability.

11: Canan Moodie (Bulls)

Spread his wings in a good all-court effort. Covered oceans of space, which allowed him to attack from everywhere. Played important part in Jannes Kirsten’s try and scored one himself. Also made telling chopping tackles and chased hard to walk away with the Man of the Match award.

We'll be watching this on 🔂 the whole week! 🤩 | | | | Vodacom

— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga)

Canan Moodie benefits from the High IQ Vodacom Bulls play! 🧠 👏 |

— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA)

10: Jurie Matthee (Stormers)

His pinpoint crosskick to Ruhan Nel created the opening try for Leolin Zas and he slotted all his kicks at goal, including a long-range effort, for a personal tally of 11 points. Kade Wolhuter scored a good individual try but made too many errors and was too suspect on defence to earn selection.

New season, same DHL Stormers 🌩🏉

📺 Stream on DStv:

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby)

9: Paul de Wet (Stormers)

None of the South African scrumhalves impressed and no one really stood out. De Wet got the nod in the end as he produced a good early counter-attack, made a vital tackle on Keiran Williams and kept mistakes to a minimum.

8: Francke Horn (Lions)

Influential captain’s outing. Struck a perfect balance between grafting hard and being a link between forwards and backs, a role that saw him put Maxwane away for a try and scored his team’s second try. Fully committed throughout and made a try-saving tackle on Aidan Morgan.

7: Ruan Venter (Lions)

Ever-present. Made a joint-match-high nine successful carries, great tackle fight for extra metres, RG Snyman-like offloads, dominant tackle on Werner Kok, crucial hit on Stuart McCloskey and slowed down the ball at the breakdown.

6: James Venter (Sharks)

A player who always gives 110% and that was certainly the case against Connacht. His speed into contact was unlike any of the other Sharks forwards, he worked his socks off in defence and was a pest at the breakdown.

5: Ruben van Heerden (Stormers)

Known for his defensive output, which was on display as he made a team-high 11 tackles, but was prominent on attack as well. Had a key hand in the opening try and a slick pass inside to his second-row partner JD Schickerling was one of his four offloads on the night.

4: JD Schickerling (Stormers)

Returning from Japan, he had a great first game back for the Stormers. High work rate, made a match-high eight successful carries including powering over for a 70th-minute try to get the Capetonians back in the game and applied pressure on the Ospreys’ lineout.

3: Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions)

A big 66-minute shift from the 153kg behemoth. Won an early scrum penalty, made a memorable break, showed soft hands to put Venter into a half gap and worked hard in defence.

2: PJ Botha (Lions)

Had a blinder. Good break off a driving maul and chicken wing offload that set up Maxwane’s try, crucial turnover on his 22 and another turnover and good offload to Ntlabakanye on top of strong set piece play.

1: Morgan Naude (Lions)

Good in general play and in the scrums, where he won a penalty. A mobile prop, he got around the park impressively and steamrolled John Andrew with one of his strong carries.