Rugby
SA URC Team of the Week – Quarter-finals
Evergreen Willie le Roux and rising star Ethan Hooker shone as the Bulls and Sharks booked their places in the United Rugby Championship semi-finals on Saturday, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
The Bulls came back from being 21-8 down to triumph 42-33 over Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld, while the Sharks won in the most dramatic of fashions in Durban, pipping Munster 6-4 in a penalty shootout after the teams were tied at 24-all after extra time.
Prior to Saturday’s drama, the Stormers were knocked out by the Glasgow Warriors for the second successive season in Scotland, where the defending champions prevailed 36-18 on Friday night.
Le Roux is one of 10 Bulls in our Team of the Week. Hooker headlines a group of four Sharks who earned selection, while one Stormers star made the cut.
15: Willie le Roux (Bulls) – Player of the Week
A master at work. Brilliant line to split the defence and a good pass to put David Kriel in, produced another try assist for Canan Moodie and was instrumental in Harold Vorster’s try as well. Also played a key role with his left boot to claim the Man of the Match award.
14: Ethan Hooker (Sharks)
Single-handedly tried to inject energy into the Sharks. Good break out of his 22 in the 23rd minute, strong carry started the Durbanites’ best attacking opportunity of the first half and provided the requisite spark with an excellent try early in the second half. Committed kick-chasing and superior aerial abilities formed part of his Man of the Match performance.
13: David Kriel (Bulls)
Scored his side’s second try, brilliant long pass to put Moodie in space, should’ve had a try assist, made two clean breaks, ran for a team-high 70 metres and never stopped working, winning a breakdown penalty with a minute to go.
12: Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)
A gargantuan gift that kept on giving for the Sharks, the hard-charging Esterhuizen trucked the ball up for the full 100 minutes. He made an unrivalled 10 successful carries, one of which provided the momentum for Fez Mbatha to score from the following phase.
11: Seabelo Senatla (Stormers)
More than made up for his early yellow card by scoring a brace of tries and making some wonderful defensive plays, including a ridiculous tackle/turnover on Tom Jordan and a try-saving tackle on Kyle Steyn.
10: Keegan Johannes (Bulls)
Did a superb job given his inexperience at No. 10. Showed his mental fortitude to recover from two missed kicks at goal to finish with 5/7 off the tee and scored a stunning solo try in which he showed his vision, speed and fancy footwork to finish with a 17-point haul.
9: Embrose Papier (Bulls)
Missed a scoring opportunity but still the best of the local scrumhalves on show. Nice try assist for Cameron Hanekom, using a delayed pass, and kicked a fantastic 50:22 in the 50th minute.
8: Cameron Hanekom (Bulls)
Bled for the cause and produced an all-action performance. Made commanding carries, scored the Bulls’ opening try, broke tackles, made outstanding offloads and was big on defence, making a dominant hit on Magnus Bradbury and showing his speed to reel in Matt Currie.
7: Ruan Nortje (Bulls)
Worked his socks off. Good in the lineout, put pressure on Ali Price at the ruck, covered a lot of ground on defence, burrowed over for a try and saved one by diving onto a dangerous grubber in goal.
6: Marcell Coetzee (Bulls)
One of the no-nonsense sledgehammers of the Bulls, he punched dents in Edinburgh’s defence with his straight, hard running. Ultra-physical and industrious.
5: JF van Heerden (Bulls)
The young gun continued his fine campaign with a commanding showing in the lineout, while he was a busy bruiser in general play.
4: Eben Etzebeth (Sharks)
A warrior through and through, Etzebeth was in the thick of things. Carried and tackled tirelessly, thumped Jack Crowley, chased kicks, won a contestable in the 33rd minute and was immense on maul defence. Looked like Rocky Balboa by the end.
3: Wilco Louw (Bulls)
The favourite to be crowned South African Player of the Season trucked along well. Didn’t get as much reward for his scrummaging prowess as he probably should’ve but still earned two penalties.
2: Akker van der Merwe (Bulls)
While Johan Grobbelaar was solid, the Bulls clicked into another gear when Van der Merwe came on. Great in the set pieces, won a crucial maul turnover in his 22 with five minutes left and nearly scored.
1: Ox Nche (Sharks)
A complete performance by the powerhouse prop. Super strong carries, won three scrum penalties and smashed back Tom Farrell.