Currie Cup Team of the Week – Round 11

Electrifying Lions wing Edwill van der Merwe stood out in Round 11 of the Currie Cup at the weekend, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld. 

The action kicked off at Athlone Stadium where Western Province recorded a hard-earned 22-14 win over the defending champion Pumas on Friday afternoon before the Sharks scored a 35-23 victory over the Cheetahs at a rain-soaked Kings Park. 

In Saturday’s fixtures, the Bulls edged the Lions 33-32 in an epic Jukskei derby in Johannesburg and Griquas outgunned the Griffons 47-21 in Welkom.

Our Currie Cup Team of the Week features six Sharks, four Western Province players, three Bulls and two Lions. Because the match in Welkom wasn’t televised, we were unable to assess and select Griffons and Griquas players.

15: David Kriel (Bulls)

Good positional play, clever grubber into the 22 forced opposite number Quan Horn to knock on and did well to stretch over and finish one of the tries of the weekend. 

14: Yaw Penxe (Sharks)

Weaved some magic to beat two defenders and grubber through in the tightest of spaces for Alwayno Visagie to dot down and made a try-saving tackle on Daniel Kasende. 

13: Manuel Rass (Lions)

Mr Momentum. Manipulated space with his fancy feet to create something out of nothing almost every time he touched the ball and bumped off defenders.

12: Harold Vorster (Bulls)

Brought his game-breaking boots to Ellis Park. Played a key role in two of his team’s tries, first breaking away in the lead-up to Kriel’s cracker followed by a pick-and-go and offload to Mornay Smith to score.  

11: Edwill van der Merwe (Lions) – Player of the Week

Absolutely electrifying. Scored a sensational solo try from his 22 and another to put the Lions right back in it after having an unbelievable earlier touchdown chalked off. 

10: Lionel Cronje (Sharks)

The veteran’s experience shone through in the way he controlled the game in the wet. Got off to a confident start with a penalty goal and a good run and kicked on from there. Scored 15 points in a Man of the Match performance to surpass 200 career Currie Cup points.

9: Tiaan Fourie (Sharks)

Helped boss the game from the base with good tactical kicking. Excellent pass to Penxe gave the wing a bit of room to create a try and sniped over from a scrum. 

8: Henco Venter (Sharks)

An ironman effort. Relentlessly ran at the Cheetahs (19 carries) and varied hard, direct carries with skill such as his dummy and basketball-like pass to tee up Aphelele Fassi for his try. Made a vital turnover, too, stripping Victor Sekekete of possession near his 22.

7: James Venter (Sharks)

Endless energy over the full 80 minutes. Mowed down ball carriers like a machine gun (19 tackles), was a pest at the breakdown and made valuable metres with his speedy entries into contact.

6: Marcell Coetzee (Bulls)

A barnstorming, hard-working outing. Pick and go was crucial to set up the Bulls’ opening try, muscled over for a five-pointer of his own in the second half and secured three turnovers in quick succession.

5: Connor Evans (Western Province)

In the thick of the action to earn the Man of the Match award. Worked his socks off, created a try-scoring opportunity with a charge down and was unrivalled in the lineout, where he was a safe pair of hands and produced a steal.

4: Adre Smith (Western Province)

An ultra-combative and physical display in which he took the fight to the Pumas and bled for the cause. Strong drive in the lead-up to Godlen Masimla’s try, soft hands to put Louw Nel into space and scored a well-deserved try in the 80th minute.

3: Lee-Marvin Mazibuko (Western Province)

A juggernaut at scrum time, an area Western Province dominated. Squeezed two penalties out of Cameron Dawson, set the platform for Jean-Luc du Plessis’ try and lasted 69 minutes. 

2: Fez Mbatha (Sharks)

An explosive evening’s work. Great first-step explosion allowed him to breach the gain line with most of his 12 carries, made 11 tackles, slowed the ball down at the breakdown and was good in the set pieces.

1: Kwenzo Blose (Western Province)

Dominated Njabulo Gumede and Simon Raw at scrum time and worked extremely hard for 65 minutes, including retreating to help out Clayton Blommetjies when the fullback found himself in trouble.