24 June 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld
SUPER RUGBY SA TEAM OF THE WEEK – QUARTERFINALS
Contrasting performances yielded the same outcome for the Bulls and Sharks as they crashed out of the Super Rugby quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Bulls showed a ton of heart to push the Hurricanes close, succumbing 35-28 in Wellington, while the Sharks were far less defiant in their 38-13 defeat to the Brumbies in Canberra.
As a result, South Africa will be sans a side in the semi-finals for just the second time in 17 years. Unsurprisingly, Bulls players dominate our Team of the Week, however, some of the more determined Sharks managed to make the cut.
Blitzed Beauden Barrett, which few players in the world have the pace to pull off. He also finished brilliantly in contact to score the Bulls’ opening try. Made a South African round-record 82 metres and used his boot to great effect, an excellent touch finder just after the break being the pick of the bunch.
The veteran flyer was the obvious South African standout in the quarter-finals. He scored two sublime tries to keep the Bulls in the game. How he managed to score the first, with precious little room and two defenders in front of them, was mind-blowing. A perfect way to put an exclamation point on a strong late push for a Springbok recall.
The Cornal Hendricks comeback is right up there with the best of them. Not many wingers in SA could’ve pulled that try off.
The antithesis of a nano-back
— Derek Alberts (@derekalberts1) June 22, 2019