SA URC Team of the Week – Round 10

The men from Pretoria rallied to beat the Lions 35-22 in the Jukskei derby at Ellis Park, while the Sharks picked up a brilliant win in Wales, walloping Cardiff 42-22. The Stormers, meanwhile, failed in their bid to end Leinster’s unbeaten streak as the log leaders triumphed 36-12 in Dublin.

Making up our South African Team of the Week are seven Sharks, four Bulls, two Stormers and two Lions.

15: Quan Horn (Lions)

A complete performance by the rising star. Strong and elusive with ball in hand, beating five defenders, and his kicking out of hand was outstanding.

14: Yaw Pence (Sharks)

A forgettable weekend what the right-wingers were concerned. Pence had limited opportunities but maximised one of them to dot down and looked for work.

🥵 STOP IT!

Sixth beauty of the night for the South Africans 👏 |

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

13: David Kriel (Bulls)

Edged his excellent head-to-head battle against Henco van Wyk. Stood up in a big way, from scoring the Bulls’ opening try to firing as a backup goal-kicker, slotting a penalty goal and two conversions for a 12-point haul.

12: Ethan Hooker (Sharks)

A colossal figure in the midfield. Did the donkey work that allowed centre partner Jurenzo Julius to thrive. Smashed over the advantage line at will and was a brick wall on defence, while his great chase led to a try.

11: Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks)

Showed his class on attack to get onto the scoresheet and wrap up the game with a brilliant break and chip that led to Francois Venter’s try. Led the Sharks in successful carries (5), clean breaks (2), defenders beaten (5) and metres (74).

Lukhanyo Am x Makazole Mapimpi 🦈🔥

The Hollywoodbets Sharks finish Cardiff off with an excellent team move 👇

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby)

10: Willie le Roux (Bulls) – Player of the Week

Made a huge difference when he replaced Boeta Chamberlain at flyhalf in the 51st minute. A game-changer who re-energised and transformed the Bulls’ attack, consistently producing key touches.

9: Morne van den Berg (Lions)

Ultra-lively and nuggety. Kept asking questions around the fringes, fed his team fast and accurate ball, popped up everywhere on defence, making a match-high 18 tackles, and was clinical with the boot.

8: Evan Roos (Stormers)

The shining light in a losing cause. Gave it everything he got as he scored a try and made team-high successful carries (5) and tackles (17).

DHL Stormers claw on back through Roos ⚡️ | |

— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga)

7: Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers)

A hard-grafting performance. Won a turnover after a dominant hit on RG Snyman and made 13 tackles in all, the third-most by a Stormers player. 

6: Marcell Coetzee (Bulls)

Ball hawk JC Pretorius initially had the spotlight but the Bulls veteran wrestled it away in a roaring performance in which he grew stronger as the game progressed. Made seven successful carries, a team-high 15 tackles, won a turnover and scored a try to emerge as the Man of the Match.

5: Jason Jenkins (Sharks)

A massive shift from the man mountain. Excellent tackle/jackal combination earned the Sharks their first try-scoring opportunity, which they eventually cashed in, and swam through a driving maul superbly to earn another turnover.  

4: Vincent Tshituka (Sharks)

A stellar captain’s innings that showed the regular loose forward can function well in the second row. Set the standard on both sides of the ball, made a match-high 17 tackles, won a breakdown penalty in the 25th minute and produced a lineout steal in the last minute to leave the Arms Park as Man of the Match.

3: Trevor Nyakane (Sharks)

The veteran showed he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Won a big scrum penalty on the half-hour mark and earned two more in the second half.

2: Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks)

Pure class. Showed his patience and experience to score the Sharks’ opening try from a driving maul and showed power and determination to score a second.

1: Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls)

Won the only scrum penalty of the Jukskei derby to earn the Bulls the first three points, snatched the turnover that led to the opening try and made a big hit on Juan Schoeman.

Steenekamp ➡️ Chamberlain ➡️ Petersen ➡️ Kriel = Are you kidding me? 🤯🐃 |

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