Top 10 SA Tries Of The 2023-24 European Champions Cup

The Bulls and the Stormers left their respective stamps on the European Champions Cup, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the 10 best South African touchdowns of the tournament.

The men from Pretoria and Cape Town flew the South African flag and reached the knockout stage in the European top-flight for the second time, with the former eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Northampton Saints at the weekend and the latter knocked out in the Round of 16 by two-time defending champions La Rochelle.

Though there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for Mzanzi’s traditional rugby powerhouses, there were plenty of memorable moments during their journeys.

Without further ado, I give you my top 10 South African tries of the tournament:

10: Ultimate Opportunist

Paul de Wet sparked a memorable opportunistic try in the Stormers’ tournament opener against the Leicester Tigers with a stab-through and superb offload off the ground for Courtnall Skosan to score.

9: Dayimani Dazzles

Man of the Match Hacjivah Dayimani dazzled in the Stormers’ 31-24 home win over the Sale Sharks. A flat Manie Libbok put Adre Smith into a hole with the second-rower linking up with his No. 8, who stepped and twirled his way over to draw first blood.

8: Golden Gans

Stedman Gans put Willie le Roux into space with a beautiful ball with the veteran fullback firing a pass to David Kriel to breach Bordeaux’s tryline.

7: Zas on the Double

Having already scored a try in the first half against the Sale Sharks, Stormers wing Lionel Zas doubled up in the second when he broke the line and combined with Dayimani.

6: Individual Brilliance

Mpilo Gumede showcased his power and his skill when he set up Sergeal Petersen against Lyon, the loose forward bumping off Ethan Dumortier before freeing up his wing with an unbelievable offload.

5: Bok to Bok

Kurt-Lee Arendse cut Saracens to shreds with his hot-stepping and speed and set up Canan Moodie for this try in electrifying fashion, with Moodie doing well to stay composed and finish off after being ankle-tapped by Owen Farrell.

4: Bad News Bears

Strong runs by Sebastian de Klerk and Gumede and good handling ended with Jan-Hendrik Wessels getting a great offload away to put replacement prop Khutha Mchunu in for his first try for the franchise against the Bristol Bears.

3: Off the Hook

Subtleness from Embrose Papier and good offloads by Kriel and Elrigh Louw saw Le Roux dot down under the sticks against Bordeaux.

2: Unlocking La Rochelle

The Stormers unlocked La Rochelle in scintillating fashion in their Round of 16 fixture. A brilliant break by Libbok got the ball rolling so to speak and Damian Willemse showed his class as well with Salmaan Moerat floating the final pass to Herschel Jantjies.

1: As Good As It Gets

Who else but Arendse masterminded this coast-to-coast cracker by the Bulls in their Round of 16 clash against Lyon. The handling was exquisite, and Papier pounced like a world-class scrumhalf would to score his second try of the afternoon and the best of the season.

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.