SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 13

Aphelele Fassi epitomised the heart and guts of the Sharks in their heroic win in the Scottish capital and mans the last line of defence in our South African United Rugby Championship Team of the Week, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Stormers’ maiden trip to Belfast turned into a nightmare as they were bashed 35-5 by Ulster on Friday night. At the same time in Llanelli, the Bulls staged a second-half fightback but it wasn’t enough as they suffered a 37-28 loss to the Scarlets while.

Saturday saw the Sharks claim an epic 22-19 win over hosts Edinburgh and the Lions go down 43-24 to Connacht in Galway.

Fassi’s one of eight Sharks in our side. The Bulls and Lions each have three representatives with a solitary Stormers standout completing our line-up.

15: Aphelele Fassi (Sharks) – Player Of The Week

A world-class complete performance. Fantastic floating try assist for Marnus Potgieter, made no less than three try-saving tackles – on Jack Blain, Charlie Shiel, and Mark Bennett – and showed the range of his educated boot, including a kick that almost created a try for Thaakir Abrahams to earn the Man of the Match award.

14: Marnus Potgieter (Sharks)

Not the explosive performance of the previous weekend as he had precious few opportunities but got onto the scoresheet nevertheless, shut down his channel on defence, and was dependable in the air.

13: Henco van Wyk (Lions)

Such a game grafter. Everything he does screams competitive spirit, from his leg driving carries to steamrolling Diarmuid Kilgallen and the way he flings his body into tackles. Showed his agility and power to beat two defenders for his try.

12: Marius Louw (Lions)

Personified the traditional fighting spirit of the Lions. Led by example in the way he gave his all when the game was already well and truly lost, summed up best by his quick tap try.

11: Stravino Jacobs (Bulls)

A fireball who threatened with every touch. His first-step explosion was lethal and he did very well to take a leaping catch of Johan Goosen’s crosskick and finish off after he’d been held up earlier.

10: Sacha Feinberg – Mngomezulu (Stormers)

His versatility was priceless as he switched to flyhalf following Jean-Luc du Plessis’ injury early on. Asked questions of Ulster’s defence, posting team-high number in running metres (91) and defenders beaten (6) and his distribution, which included a missile to Suleiman Hartzenberg, was impressive.

9: Grant Williams (Sharks)

Electrifying. Top poaching skills and pace to run in an intercept try, textbook support play to go close and force a yellow card after Ox Nche’s break, and kicked well. Pity his night was cut short by injury.  

8: Elrigh Louw (Bulls)

A dynamo with an extraordinary work rate. Made commanding carries consistently (a match-high 11 successful hit-ups for 66 metres), one of which set up the bonus-point try, and tigerish on defence in the sudden and powerful way he pounced on ball carriers.

7: Henco Venter (Sharks)

An absolute warrior. Fuelled by unmatched intensity, he had his foot on the gas from the get-go and didn’t let up, making 17 tackles in all. Edged Cyle Brink, who carried strongly, forced his way over for a try and produced a jackal in the 46th minute.

6: James Venter (Sharks)

Tough (he took some big hits and kept getting up) and tireless. A Trojan on defence, making a mammoth 27 tackles, and a nuisance at the breakdown. Saw off Marco van Staden, who came alive in the second half where his world-class conditioning shone through against the tired Scarlets and saw him win two crucial penalties.

5: Gerbrandt Grobler (Sharks)

The masterful manner in which the Sharks disrupted Edinburgh’s lineout was a key contributor to their win. Grobler was one of two cats amongst the pigeons, managing two steals including a clutch intervention in his 22 at the death.

4: Hyron Andrews (Sharks)

Like Grobler, Andrews snapped up two of Edinburgh’s throw-ins. As a combination, they held their own physically as well while Andrews got around the park in open play.

3: Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Bulls)

His best performance for the Lions. Used his unrivalled mass to bag a try that seemingly put a spring in his step. For a 153kg gargantuan, he got through a ton of work, especially on defence.

2: Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls)

Injected pace into the tight channels with well-timed runs and won extra metres with ultra-determined leg drives, one such surge providing the momentum for the Bulls’ first try. Top-class in the set pieces.

1: Ox Nche (Bulls)

In the thick of the action. Channelled his inner wing with a wonderful hand-off and break and tried his best to chase down Henry Immelman in the corner. Incredibly strong on his feet with his determination and low centre of gravity and earned the Sharks three points through great counter-rucking.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

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.