SA United Rugby Championship Team of the Week – Round 6

The Bulls left up tickled pink when it came time to select our South African United Rugby Championship Team of the Week, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Bulls and Stormers were the only local teams in action over the weekend as the Lions’ and Sharks’ home games against Glasgow and Ulster were postponed due to gastroenteritis infections in the touring camps.

The men from Pretoria produced a stunning second-half performance in which they scored five tries to end their northern hemisphere tour with a 44-22 bonus-point win over Benetton in Treviso on Friday night.

The Capetonians were on Saturday stunned by Cardiff, the defending champions going down 30-24 in the Welsh capital, bringing to an end their 15-match unbeaten streak.

Our side has a nine-six split in favour of the Bulls and is headlined by the talismanic Marcell Coetzee.

15: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls)

Full of energy. Injected bolts of speed and x-factor into the attack and punched above his weight in contact by pin-balling off a couple of tackles and making a few extra metres.

14: David Kriel (Bulls)

Over-delivered in terms of consistently creating something out of nothing and a towering figure under the high ball. Two top-notch counter-attacks and finished in style with a break and try assist for Stravino Jacobs. Ended with a match-high 87 metres.  

13: Harold Vorster (Bulls)

With Alapati Leiua ineligible for selection, Stedman Gans would’ve been the default pick but we simply couldn’t reward him for a dreadful defensive outing that saw him leak a try and create further openings. Instead, we opted to shift Vorster to outside centre as he was solid if not spectacular.

12: Dan du Plessis (Stormers)

Made his presence felt with both his power and agility. Nifty step to make a brilliant early break and consistently crashed over the advantage line.

11: Leolin Zas (Stormers)

A handful in more ways than one. Ran the ideal angle to snap up Manie Libbok’s dink and race in for a try, sat down Rhys Priestland with a strong run, and threatened with a dangerous chip and re-gather. 

10: Chris Smith (Bulls)

Aside from the perfectly-weighted left-footed chip to Zas to spark a try, Libbok had a rare off night, missing two kicks at goal and two penalties for touch. Smith’s flawless goal-kicking for 13 points kept the Bulls in the game and he signed off with a clever dink that found touch in Benetton’s 22.

9: Zak Burger (Bulls)

One of the key difference-makers in the second half. Didn’t just shift the Bulls into an extra gear, he took them up several notches with his energy, speed, and vision, all of which set up the final try.

8: Hacjivah Dayimani (Stormers)

Super dynamic. Showed his speed with a surging breakaway and athleticism, later on, to swivel out of a tackle. Won a vital breakdown penalty on his line and was good in the lineout, where he picked one off in the 63rd minute. Unlucky to be yellow-carded.

7: Marco van Staden (Bulls)

A raging bull who reminded of his class. Ravenous at ruck time, digging his claws in to slow Benetton’s ball down and winning a penalty in each half, and broke the game open with a powerful carry that led to the opening try. Made a match-high 15 tackles.

6: Marcell Coetzee (Bulls) – Player Of The Week

A powerhouse in pink. Spectacular at the breakdown, where he pulled off two key turnovers, the second on his 22m line.

Punched dents in the defence all evening (an unrivalled nine successful carries) and it paid rich dividends in the second half. Beat a match-high four defenders, provided the momentum for the second try and scored the bonus-point try through pure power and determination in a massive Man of the Match performance.

5: Ruan Nortje (Bulls)

Another non-stop, all-around effort. Worked hard and smart, doing the hard yards when needed while also running clever lines, two prime examples seeing him take an offload from Kurt-Lee Arendse and the other seeing him run in the opening try. Good in the lineouts and busy on defence, including making a telling tackle on Dewaldt Duvenage.

4: Andre Smith (Stormers)

Did very strong maul work, playing a prominent role in the rolling thunder that earned the Stormers three of their four tries. Brought the physicality and was a brick wall on defence to comfortably beat out Janko Swanepoel, who spilt a lineout and conceded a penalty for side entry.

3: Frans Malherbe (Stormers)

Not the colossal performance he would’ve envisioned to celebrate becoming the most-capped Stormers player ever but still solid and had some deft touches whereas Francois Klopper was popped like a champagne cork at scrum time.

2: Bismarck du Plessis (Bulls)

A vintage performance by the veteran. Got through a ton of work and was a menace at the breakdown, acting line a fourth loose forward to rip some crucial turnovers at crucial times.

1: Steven Kitshoff (Stormers)

Showcased his motor and mobility. Snatched a turnover and made several rhino-like rumbling carries. Tried his best to get through to the ref and his assistants who collectively made some poor calls and missed a few incidents.

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.