SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 2

The Stormers triumphed 26-10 over the Ospreys in Cape Town, while the Bulls held off a much-improved young Leinster side to secure a 39-31 victory in a repeat of last season’s final at Loftus Versfeld.

Meanwhile, the Sharks and Lions missed golden opportunities to pick up wins abroad. The Durbanites drew 17-all with the Dragons in torrential rain in Newport, and the Lions conceded a converted try at the death to go down 22-20 to Zebre in Parma.

Simelane is one of seven Stormers in our South African Team of the Week and Gumede one of a half-dozen Bulls, while a pair of Sharks also earned selection. 

15: Wandisile Simelane (Stormers) – Player of the Week

The danger man of the Stormers backline. Thrilled with his footwork, made two excellent first-half breaks and scored a cracking try in the second half to put some daylight between the teams. A highly entertaining Man of the Match performance.

Wandisile Simelane 🌩️

He finishes the move he started in style 🔥

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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 3, 2025

14: Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls)

Grabbed the Bulls’ opening try and created the second with a brilliant break and long pass to David Kriel. Dominant hit on direct opponent Andrew Osborne to let him know he’s in for a long night and good in the air.

Perfect kick pass, perfect finish 👌

Sebastian de Klerk dives over to score for the Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby 💥

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— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) October 4, 2025

13: David Kriel (Bulls)

Scored a brace of tries, one in each half, with the second being especially vital as it sealed the win. He also kicked a conversion and took over the captaincy at the death.

12: Ruhan Nel (Stormers)

With none of the inside centres making an impression, we decided to shift the Stormers captain to No. 12. Nel isn’t known as a flashy player but he showed some crazy creativity, first with a good chip and chase and then when he produced a bit of magic to put Simelane in for an outrageous try.

11: Stravino Jacobs (Bulls)

Even though he put the Bulls under pressure when he kicked the ball out on the full in the 75th minute, he was still the best of the bunch. Dangerous from the word go and scored in the 69th minute.

Willie le Roux = The Assist King 👑

The Vodacom Bulls lead by one with less than five to play ⏱️

📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/ot73GbH13W

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 4, 2025

10: Willie le Roux (Bulls)

Made an immediate impact off the bench by starting and finishing a try in the 58th minute. Set up a second for Jacobs with a perfectly-weighted crosskick and saved the day when he mopped up a dangerous grubber.

That Willie magic 😍

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— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) October 4, 2025

9: Embrose Papier (Bulls)

It was an underwhelming weekend as far as the scrumhalves were concerned, it must be said. Papier cracked the nod as he was more accurate than his error-strewn competition and showed some guts to shake off a head knock.

8: Vincent Tshituka (Sharks)

“The beating heart of the Sharks”, as one of the commentators called him. Scored to give the Durbanites the halftime lead, spun out of tackles, a gunner on defence (12 tackles) and stole two of the Dragons’ lineouts.

7: Mpilo Gumede (Bulls)

Playing to his full potential, the Bulls powerhouse had a great showing. A mobile beast, he scored a try just before halftime and won two timely turnovers (in minutes 50 and 56) to come away with the Man of the Match award.

6: Paul de Villiers (Stormers)

A super-sub extraordinaire. Didn’t put a foot wrong and helped the Stormers accelerate to leave the Ospreys in their dust, winning two turnovers and scoring a try.

5: JD Schickerling (Stormers)

A top-notch effort in which he showed his athleticism in the lineout and in open play. Ran the lineout like clockwork and made a team-high 12 tackles.

4: Adre Smith (Stormers)

Colossal in his 50th appearance for the Cape outfit. Hard carries up the guts, aggressive defence, one of the Stormers forwards who cleaned effectively, produced a jackal that earned his team three points and worked a vital maul turnover on his 5m line.

3: Ruan Dreyer (Sharks)

The Sharks largely had their dominant scrum to thank for being in the game at Rodney Parade and Dreyer spearheaded that assault.

2: Andre-Hugo Venter (Stormers)

Venter was absolutely flawless with his lineout throwing, which separated him from his competition. He was also part of a powerful scrum and was solid in open play, making 10 carries.

1: Vernon Matongo (Stormers)

A scrummaging machine on the rise. Picked up where he left off last weekend by winning penalties in the first two scrums and won a third in the 36th minute. Won a breakdown penalty as well to cap an excellent effort.