Lions v Sharks: ‘Krappie’ Shows His Bok Class

The Pride feasted on an understrength Sharks side, outscoring the visitors by four tries to three in their rescheduled Round Eight encounter to move into seventh place on the log. 

A victory for the Durbanites would’ve seen them secure the South African Shield for the second successive season. Their lead at the top of the local conference has now been cut to just a single point by the second-place Lions.

Our top three standouts of the Johannesburg clash were:

Morne van den Berg

As the only URC fixture of the weekend, the spotlight shone brightly on the Ellis Park encounter and no one made a bigger statement than the diminutive Van den Berg.

With rumours swirling that the resurgent Jaden Hendrikse is in line for a Springbok recall, Van den Berg could not have asked for a better time to show why he is one of the top three nines in the country – along with Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams – by outplaying Hendrikse in their head-to-head battle on the Highveld.

The man affectionately known as “Krappie” made a name for himself as an attacking livewire, and while he lived up to that reputation, he was much more than that. Yes, he was a ball of energy who gave the Sharks all sorts of problems, from dangerous darts to quick taps and clever chips, but he was also a conductor supreme.

His was a complete performance that oozed class and highlighted why he usurped Hendrikse in the Bok pecking order last year. His kicking game was on point, from the massive clearance straight from the kick-off to the rest of his exits, box kicks and chips, one of the latter seeing him orchestrate and score the Lions’ second try.

Hendrikse started well, winning a jackal that resulted in the opening try and demonstrating tactical proficiency. However, his yellow card for a cynical offence at a ruck in the 28th minute was the turning point of the game, with the Lions banking 14 points during his time in the bin.

Van den Berg was full value for his Man of the Match award and made it clear to Hendrikse that he still has some catching up to do.

Kelly Mpeku does the hard yards and Morné van den Berg finishes it off 🦁💥

📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/Ah29LzEaYj

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 21, 2026

Kelly Mpeku

Mpeku raised his stock in a big way. That phrase is especially fitting given how outstanding he was in the air.

The 22-year-old ruled the skies against Edwill van der Merwe, a proven Bok winger, so he came down from his last leap smelling like roses.

He was perfectly in sync with Van den Berg, not just when it came to contestables but also pouncing on his chips, doing so twice and putting his scrumhalf in for a try with a tremendous offload on the second occasion.

Jurenzo Julius

The best of the positional battles played out at inside centre, where Julius pipped fellow young gun Bronson Mills.

Mills started with a brilliant early 50:22 and created two clear try-scoring opportunities, both of which the Lions squandered. And, while his yellow card just before halftime for a dangerous tackle on Francois Venter wasn’t as costly as Hendrikse’s was for the Sharks, it did take some of the gloss off his performance.

Julius, in turn, was both commanding and clinical. The best of the Sharks by a country mile, the explosive former Junior Bok superstar was pure dynamite.

“The Boogie Man” broke tackles and ate up yards all afternoon, and after having a try ruled out because of obstruction in the build-up, he finally dotted down a well-deserved five-pointer with the final play of the game.