SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Tournament

The Pretoria side stampeded into their second successive Grand Final and third overall, and while last Saturday’s decider in Dublin ended in disappointment, with Leinster triumphing 32-7, the Herd can look back on a positive campaign in which veterans and young guns alike delivered in spades.

A total of six Bulls stars have been included in our Team of the Tournament, one of whom earned the distinction of being named Player of the Tournament. South African Shield winners and first-time semi-finalists the Sharks have four representatives, quarter-finalists the Stormers have three and the Lions, who finished 11th, have two.

15: Quan Horn (Lions)

A standout in a struggling Lions side, Horn had a great individual campaign in which he delivered week-in and week-out with his attacking prowess and booming left boot. He finished the regular season third in defenders beaten (59) and fifth in metres gained (836) and wound up sixth on the URC Top 100 list.

14: Ethan Hooker (Sharks)

Big, strong, athletic and versatile, the Sharks blue-chipper put himself on the map as a future Springbok with sterling showings on the wing and at centre. A powerhouse with plenty of pace, he had a knack for producing big plays at key times, like the try he scored to spark the Durbanites to life in their dramatic quarter-final clash against Munster.

13: David Kriel (Bulls)

A top performer and a player who’s only getting better, Kriel was a key figure for the Bulls this season. The 26-year-old was dynamic and dependable and came in clutch when he slotted match-winning kicks against Benetton and Leinster during the league phase. He finished as the Bulls’ top points-scorer with 90 and joint-second on the top try-scorer list with eight.

12: Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)

The 1.93m, 113kg brute was monstrous in the midfield, smashing over the gain line at will to put the Sharks on the front foot and scoring five tries. The veteran beat more defenders than any other player (63), while he finished second in successful carries (96) and eighth on the URC Top 100 list.

11: Lionel Zas (Stormers)

A potent predator, Zas was a strike runner extraordinaire and finished as the joint-top try scorer with Cardiff’s Harri Millard, Glasgow’s George Horne, Munster’s Tom Farrell, the Scarlets’ Blair Murray and the Bulls’ Canan Moodie with nine touchdowns. The 29-year-old was like a hot knife through butter and signed off with the fourth-most clean breaks (22). 

10: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers)

The Stormers prodigy proved he’s not only the future but the present with one purring performance after the other to earn the South African Player of the Season award. The generational talent mesmerised with his playmaking magic and is remarkably poised and polished for a 23-year-old. While he was consistently outstanding, his best showing came in Round 15 when he scored a hat-trick against Connacht.

9: Morne van der Berg (Lions)

Van der Berg was the heart and soul of the Lions, driving the Johannesburg side with distinction. “Krappie” is known for his sniping ability but he was the total package this season, marrying mature decision-making and top-tier tactical kicking with his attacking strengths.

8: Cameron Hanekom (Bulls)

The breakout star of the previous URC campaign sidestepped second-season syndrome in dynamic fashion. A flash in the pan he is not. Rather, Hanekom showed he’s the real deal by delivering on all fronts, from barn-storming carries and slick offloads to tireless tackling and seizing turnovers on the deck en route to clinching the Next-Gen Player of the Season award.

7: Vincent Tshituka (Sharks)

A highly gifted athlete, the former Lions star took his game to new heights at the Sharks this season and received his first Springbok call-up as a result. In addition to the yeoman work he did across the park, the 26-year-old was the leading lineout poacher of the season with 11 steals. 

6: Marcell Coetzee (Bulls)

Showing class is permanent, Coetzee proved he’s still one of the best back-rowers in the country. A key member of the Bulls’ leadership group, the veteran set a fine example and was particularly prolific on the carry, where his power, dynamism and determination stood out.

5: JF van Heerden (Bulls)

A puppy with big paws, the 21-year-old didn’t take a backward step to anyone in the coalface and got stuck into even the most decorated and grizzled of campaigners. The former Junior Springbok captain showed maturity well beyond his years and marshalled the Bulls lineout with distinction, so much so that Jake White shifted Ruan Nortje to No. 7.

4: Salmaan Moerat (Stormers)

The Stormers skipper shone as a player and a leader. It was a season in which Moerat showed a lot of growth, particularly in upping his physicality. For as intelligent, athletic and hard-working as he is, the 27-year-old exhibited real mongrel, which should lead to more game time in the Green and Gold.  

3: Wilco Louw (Bulls) – Player of the Tournament

The ultimate Bull-dozer, Louw annihilated all comers at scrum time and left a heap of bodies in his wake. The 138kg powerhouse was a walking weapon whose utter dominance in the set piece was unlike any other player’s mastery of their core responsibilities. A monster among men, he’s without a shadow of a doubt the world’s best tighthead.

2: Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls)

Very little separated Grobbelaar from Akker van der Merwe, with whom he shared the hooker duties so smoothly at the Bulls. “Grobbies” was the preferred starter, featuring in the run-on side on 13 occasions, and brought a high tackle rate and poaching ability to the table on top of stellar set-piece play.

1: Ox Nche (Sharks)

No salads, no water, just meat. The Sharks steamroller enjoyed another stellar campaign in which he crushed the opposition with his explosive scrummaging and impressed with his mobility in general play. Firing on all cylinders, the popular prop finished at No. 1 on the URC Top 100 list.