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SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 1

A roaring pride of Lions lead the way in our inaugural South African United Rugby Championship Team of the Week.
United Rugby Championship

A roaring pride of Lions lead the way in our inaugural South African United Rugby Championship Team of the Week, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld. 

The men from Johannesburg flew the South African flag in the first round of the new league as they claimed a 38-26 bonus-point win over Zebre in Parma on Friday night. 

Saturday proved to be a dark day for the rest of the local teams, starting with the Stormers. The Capetonians looked on course to follow in the Lions paw prints before a fightback from Benetton banked the hosts a 22-18 win in Treviso. 

The Bulls and Sharks faced exceedingly tougher tasks in Ireland and endured baptisms of fire, the Pretoria side suffering a 31-3 loss to tournament favourites Leinster at Aviva Stadium and the Durbanites going down 42-17 to Munster at Thomond Park.  

There are no less than nine Lions in our line-up, along with five Stormers and a solitary Sharks standout.

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15: Warrick Gelant (Stormers)

Influential all around. Put his educated feet to good use, kicking well off both with good variation. Bit of good fortune but it was his first kick that resulting in the opening try. Excellent show and go to slice through near the 30-minute mark and made a try-saving intervention moments later.

14: Jamba Ulengo (Lions)

Wrote his name in the history books by scoring the first try of the new tournament, which kick-started an excellent all-around effort by the Lions winger. Great work rate saw him circle to the other wing to defuse a dangerous grubber, create a turnover that sparked Rabz Maxwane’s second try and win a try-saving breakdown penalty in the 74th minute.

13: Wandisile Simelane (Lions)

Perfect bullet pass allowed Maxwane to get the ball at pace and canter home for his first try and had a hand in the left winger’s second with a good kick-chase. Stellar on defence; exemplary rear-guard hustle to save a try and had his busy channel on lock, making all 16 of his tackles.

12: Burger Odendaal (Lions)

Physical and direct yet skilful. Led by example as he made the first significant surge of the match and continued his hard running throughout. Trucked Tommaso Boni on his way over the try line, set up both of Maxwane’s tries – the first with a brilliant pass that freed up Simelane and the second with a top-class kick off the left foot – and did strong work on defence with a team-high 17 hits.

11: Rabz Maxwane (Lions) – Player of the Week

A danger man three times over in an exhilarating Man of the Match display. Showed his stepping skills to score his first try, his speed to outsprint Pierre Bruno to score his second moments later and created a try for Jaco Visagie with excellent contesting in the air.

10: Jordan Hendrikse (Lions)

The talented young flyhalf introduced himself to European audiences in fine style, showcasing his complete skillset as he guided the Lions to victory. Architected the historic first try with a delectable drift pass to Ulengo, kicked six out of eight for 13 points and got consistently great distance with his booming line kicks.

9: Andre Warner (Lions)

Made the most of the quick, front-foot ball he was given and further upped the tempo with panic-inducing quick taps. Kept Zebre guessing throughout as he alternated between putting runners into space, sniping around the fringes at opportune times (13 metres from five darts) and kicking accurately. 

8: Evan Roos (Stormers)

Super abrasive and slowed the ball down at the breakdown as part of a good defensive shift. However, it’s with ball in hand where he made the biggest impact, most notably creating a try-scoring opportunity early in the second half and setting off on another rampaging run in the 51st minute. Led the Stormers in carries (11), metres (39) and defenders beaten (6).

7: Willie Engelbrecht (Stormers)

Monstrous on defence with his trademark physicality and outstanding output. Made 12 bone-crunching hits with a 100% success rate and was strong over the ball, winning a pressure-relieving penalty in his 22 in the 19th minute. Edged Vincent Tshituka, whose hard grafting included a crucial try-saving tackle in the final 10 minutes.

6: Nama Xaba (Stormers)

Marcell Coetzee did everything he could to inspire his troops, making smashing hits on the likes of Garry Ringrose and Ed Byrne. However, Xaba made a massive impact when he replaced the injured Deon Fourie. Brilliant at the breakdown, where he won a penalty in his red zone and another that earned his team three points just before half-time and made a round-high 18 tackles. 

5: Salmaan Moerat (Stormers)

Back with a bang. Returning after a long period following neck surgery, Moerat didn’t skip a beat in a cracking comeback. Impressive fitness after such a long layoff and had no hesitation whatsoever to hurl himself into collisions. His 14 tackles were bested only by Xaba and included a late try-saver. 

4: Le Roux Roets (Sharks)

A momentum monster. Used his 138kg to get the Sharks over the advantage line every time he carried the ball, often from a standing start. Matched his eight carries with the same number of tackles, which included a try-saving effort shortly after half-time.

3: Carlu Sadie (Lions)

A dominant force. Helped lay the foundation for the win at scrum time, where the Lions ate Zebre alive and made a number of significant carries as well.

2: Jaco Visagie (Lions)

Shades of Malcolm Marx with his world-class work rate, which put him in position to grab a rebound from an aerial battle to score a memorable try complete with a dummy, sprint and steamrolling of Carlo Canna. A menace at the breakdown, where he secured a turnover in his 22 in the ninth minute and another in quick succession, and solid in the set pieces.

1: Ruan Dreyer (Lions)

The main man behind the Lions’ scrum dominance. Directly responsible for two of his team’s penalties at the set-piece, one early on and another in the second half. 

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Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.

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