Currie Cup Team of the Week – Round 1

A quartet of Pumas feature in our Currie Cup Team of the Week following their impressive tournament-opening win over the Lions, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld. 

Jimmy Stonehouse’s charges got off to a perfect start in Nelspruit on Friday night, leaving the Lions shell-shocked en route to a dominant 39-10 bonus-point victory. 

Saturday’s matches saw two away wins. The Sharks left Kimberley with a full-house following a 30-16 victory while in Pretoria, Western Province claimed maximum points as they ran out 48-24 winners over a Bulls side missing an unprecedented 44 players due to the Rainbow Cup final and Springbok commitments. 

One of the four Pumas in our team also has the distinction of being our Player of the Week. Province, meanwhile, have the most representatives with six, the Sharks and Griquas contribute a pair apiece while a lone Bulls player cracked the nod.

Springboks Selection – The Biggest Talking Points

15: Richard Kriel (Bulls)

Sergeal Petersen and Manie Libbok were lethal in attack, injecting pace and flair with the former setting up tries and the latter beating an unrivalled six defenders with his fancy footwork. However, Kriel stood up in a big way as one of just two Bulls players with prior Currie Cup experience. Pulled off one of the craziest intercepts you’ll see and offloaded for Kefentse Mahlo to canter in (time-stamped below), mopped up sticky situations and scored one of his team’s four tries.

14: Sihle Njezula (Western Province)

Muhammad Ali’s classic quote, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” best describes the Western Province wing’s performance. Made it look easy when he cut through three Bulls to score in the 11th minute, danced past a few more as the game progressed and showed his strength when he ran over Sango Xamlashe, who had an otherwise solid outing as captain on debut.

13: Jeremy Ward (Sharks)

With captain Lukhanyo Am among several absent Springbok stars, Ward assumed the leadership role in the Sharks backline with aplomb. A wise and cool head and made big plays, first athletically catching a Boeta Chamberlain chip and scoring only to be called back for offside and then getting his five-pointer when he beat Eduan Keyter to a chip from Werner Kok.

12: Dan du Plessis (Western Province)

Thrived one slot closer to the action in the No.12 jersey. Ran hard and good lines to rack up 48 metres, beat three defenders and cross the whitewash. Marius Louw also had a good outing, playing like “a man possessed” as Gcobani Bobo put it on commentary.

11: Eduan Keyter (Griquas)

A consistent performer destined for big things, it’s surprising the Griquas winger hasn’t had his big break yet. Showed his class with a terrific finish, collecting Andre Swarts’ grubber, swerving past Manie Libbok and dotting down in the corner in the nick of time and created his team’s other try with a surging run from inside his 22.

10: Eddie Fouché (Pumas) – Player of the Week

The lashing of the Lions was a perfect example that the Pumas are a different animal when they have their premier playmaker in the saddle. Lit the fuse with a moment of magic – deftly chipping for wing Etienne Taljaard to collect and score in the 33rd minute (time-stamped below) – and pulled the strings expertly from there. Excellent decision-making and execution and scored 14 points to steer the Pumas to a commanding win.

9: Jaden Hendrikse (Sharks)

One of the unluckiest players to miss out on a place in the Springbok squad and showed why with an electrifying performance in Kimberley. Pushed the envelope from the word go, speeding up play and making a number of dangerous darts. Showed great skill to set up Hyron Andrews for a galloping try (time-stamped below), his second assist after having also unleashed captain Phepsi Buthelezi, and was fundamentally sound.  

8: Evan Roos (Western Province)

Pumas talisman Willie Engelbrecht had one hand on our No.8 jersey after he led the resistance during a testing period in the first half (12 tackles in all) and made a team-high eight carries, one of which saw him pick up and power his way over from a scrum. However, Roos was an irresistible force at Loftus, where he knocked Bulls rookies over like bowling pins on both sides of the ball, including when he stormed over in the 54th minute (time-stamped below).

7: Phumzile Maqondwana (Pumas)

Warren Brosnihan was spot on in highlighting that this was the rising Pumas star’s most impressive physical performance. Had a real hard edge to him as he tirelessly blasted ball-carriers back in a remarkable defensive display in which he made a whopping 22 tackles and won three turnovers. Carried effectively as well.   

6: Gideon van der Merwe (Griquas)

The beating heart of Griquas. Excellent in all aspects and out grafted everyone in the Kimberley clash. Made an unrivalled 14 tackles, many of them bone-crunching hits, and won a vital breakdown penalty when the Sharks threatened to score in the red zone in the 32nd minute. 

5: David Meihuizen (Western Province)

Dominated the lineouts and anchored the unstoppable driving maul, which earned Province three of their seven tries. Stayed in the Bulls’ faces throughout, be it making metres in attack, stopping ball-carriers behind the gain line or through clattering clean-outs. A big physical presence. 

4: Darrien Landsberg (Pumas)

Stood tall in the lineouts (10 takes) but his athleticism and work rate in open play were what stood out. Instead of bashing the ball up route-one style, the second-rower stepped would-be defenders on a few occasions. Tackled like a Trojan, making no less than 15 hits. 

3: Neethling Fouché (Western Province)

The iron fist of the dominant Province tight five. Wreaked havoc at scrum time and showcased strength and skill with ball in hand. Provided the momentum and created space for hooker JJ Kotze’s second try with a typical power carry and also made some good offloads. Delivered the tackle of the round as he just about smashed scrumhalf Johan Mulder’s soul out of his body. 

2: JJ Kotze (Western Province)

Like Engelbrecht, Simon Westraadt’s very unlucky that he didn’t make the cut. Was a whirlwind of action and aggression, flawless in the set pieces, which paved the way for the purring win, scored one of his team’s five tries and came away with the Man of the Match award. However, how do you deny Kotze, who enjoyed the epitome of a dream debut? Just as good in the set pieces, scored a first-half hat-trick and flopped over for a fourth try in the 49th minute.

1: Corné Fourie (Pumas)

Few have conquered renowned scrummager, Carlu Sadie, quite like Fourie did on Friday night. Returning to the Pumas from English club Gloucester, the 32-year-old made a massive impact upfront, winning three penalties, and was a feature in the tight loose. Sadly stretchered off after suffering a nasty knee injury.