SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the South African players who featured for their respective clubs in the 10th round of the English Premiership.
– Bath needed a last-minute penalty to salvage a narrow 16-14 West Country derby win over Gloucester. Juan Schoeman started at loosehead prop for Bath, while Tian Schoeman played 38 minutes from the bench in the second half after replacing fullback Tom de Glanville. Gloucester, who have won just one of their opening 10 Premiership matches, had Ruan Ackermann back at No 8. Ackermann made 14 carries and 10 tackles.
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– England centre Joe Marchant notched a brace of tries on his 100th Harlequins appearance to help the south-west Londoners beat Sale Sharks 24-12 and stretch their winning run to four games. Harlequins are five points away from the Bristol Bears after the league leaders were held to a draw by London Irish. Andre Esterhuizen, captain Stephan Lewies and tighthead prop Simon Kerrod started for Harlequins, while loosehead prop Jordan Els and Springbok Wilco Louw were on the bench. Lewies put in a strong defensive shift, making 20 tackles, to help his side withstand a late comeback from Sale. Robert du Preez, Dan du Preez and Jean-Luc du Preez all started for the Sharks, who were led by Jono Ross and had Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead prop. Robert du Preez scored a try and slotted a conversion. Meanwhile, Lood de Jager made his comeback from injury off the bench, coming on just after half time. Cobus Wiese was also among the substitutes and played 35 minutes.
– The Northampton Saints climbed into the Premiership top four after fighting to claim a 13-12 victory over defending champions the Exeter Chiefs. Shaun Adendorff started at No 8 for Northampton and continued his excellent form this season, with five carries for 18 metres, while he completed all 20 of his tackles, won a turnover and beat two defenders. Don Armand was on the bench for Exeter and played 27 minutes at lock.
– Jasper Wiese scored a try to help 13-man Leicester Tigers to a 27-8 win over Wasps, who themselves were shown a red card. In a mixed outing for the in-form South African No 8, he scored after just three minutes, but was then shown a red card in the 26th minute for a dangerous cleanout at a breakdown. Up until that stage, Wiese had a good game, making nine carries for 50 metres, beating five defenders. Loose forward Hanro Liebenberg was red-carded late in the match for tackling a player in the air. Also in action for Leicester was wing Kobus van Wyk, loosehead prop Luan de Bruin and flank Cyle Brink.
– London Irish launched a dramatic second-half fightback to rescue a 34-34 draw with Premiership log leaders Bristol Bears in an eight-try thriller. The home side had gone into the break trailing 31-13, but scored three tries in the final 20 minutes to snatch a draw. Scotland-capped loosehead prop Allan Dell was on the bench for London Irish.
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Photo: Stephen White – CameraSport via Getty Images
