Rugby
SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 4
Sebastian de Klerk was sensational as he helped the Bulls return to winning ways in what was a good round for three of the four South African teams in the United Rugby Championship at the weekend, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
The men from Pretoria set the tone when they bounced back from their disappointing defeat to Ulster with a 28-27 win over Connacht in Galway on Friday.
Saturday saw the Stormers stay at the top of the log with a 31-13 triumph over Zebre in Parma and the Lions break their duck with a 29-18 victory over the Scarlets at Ellis Park, while the Sharks remain winless after being stunned 34-26 by Ulster at Kings Park.
Making up our South African Team of the Week are five Bulls, four Lions, three Stormers and three Sharks.
15: Willie le Roux (Bulls)
Full of enterprise. Pulled the strings with aplomb for the most part, sparked the Bulls’ opening try by beating two defenders and scored the second.
14: Eduan Keyter (Lions)
Showed what he’s capable of as he caused the Scarlets all sorts of problems with his speed and elusiveness. The pick of his match-high 16 carries was the beautiful break in the 45th minute, while he also retained a box kick to create a try-scoring opportunity.
13: Ruhan Nel (Stormers)
Threatened from the early goings and grabbed an intercept try in the last minute of the game. Generally rock-solid in all departments. It’s also worth mentioning he’s taken to the captaincy very well.
12: Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)
The monstrous midfielder’s power was on full display as he sat down Stuart McCloskey spectacularly and did the same to Rob Herring to score the Sharks’ bonus point try. Also showed his unique versatility by scrumming down at flank while Vincent Koch was in the sin bin.
11: Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls) – Player of the Week
Absolutely lethal. De Klerk was a speed demon who cut up Connacht’s defensive line and produced three top-tier try assists. Deservedly named Man of the Match.
10: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers)
Started a bit loose but eventually found his groove and finished with 16 points. Created something out of nothing to score his first try and broke a tackle to bag his second. Also whipped up a great ball to put Warrick Gelant in for the Capetonians’ bonus point try.
9: Paul de Wet (Bulls)
Good service and box kicking, and ran textbook scrumhalf support lines to score a brace of tries.
8: Evan Roos (Stormers) – Player of the Week
The red-hot Roos made it back-to-back Man of the Match performances as he picked up in Parma where he let off in Llanelli. Super dynamic, he was a barnstormer with ball in hand, made just as many tackles as he did carries (11) and won a top-class breakdown penalty on his 5m line.
7: Ruan Venter (Lions)
A relentless ball carrier, he gave the Lions much-needed go-forward with his 13 hit-ups. Assisted Quan Horn with a try and made some dominant tackles.
6: Jarod Cairns (Lions)
JC Pretorius had a blinder before he limped off in the 28th minute, but Cairns carried on in the same vein, bringing a lot of energy and making big plays at the breakdown, one of which earned his team three points, to earn the Man of the Match award.
5: Reinhardt Ludwig (Bulls)
The young gun took over the Bulls captaincy and led by example. He worked his socks off, particularly on defence, where he made 21 tackles, four of which were dominant.
4: Eben Etzebeth (Sharks)
Etzebeth brought the energy as he chased box kicks like a wing, almost dotted down when he chased down the ball from a restart and sacked Nathan Doak to force a turnover, which ultimately resulted in a try. Also carried well and stole one of Ulster’s lineouts just before halftime.
3: Wilco Louw (Bulls)
Continued doing what he does best, dominating at scrum time. He won two penalties in the set piece to see off Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who was good in general play but not as dominant in the scrums.
2: Morne Brandon (Lions)
A super-sub who scored twice to seal victory for the Lions.
1: Ox Nche (Sharks)
The Sharks’ only weapon was the scrum and Nche spearheaded the dominance, winning four penalties. Also gave Callum Reid a good ‘get off me’ bump during one of his strong carries and had good line speed and hustle on defence.