CRAIG LEWIS picks a South African XV based on performances in the seventh round of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament.
The latest round of action wasn’t a particularly memorable one for South African sides, with the Stormers suffering a disappointing defeat to the Blues in Auckland, while the Vodacom Bulls edged the Sharks in a rather dreary derby.
However, there were some decent individual performances, with both centres Jesse Kriel and Lukhanyo Am putting in big shifts for the Bulls and Sharks respectively, which makes for a tricky selection at outside centre.
Interestingly, Sanzaar’s statistics also show that Handré Pollard put in a particularly industrious shift on defence, making more tackles than any other player (13). Hyron Andrews, Lizo Gqoboka and Eli Snyman all made 12 hits each.
For the Stormers, Bongi Mbonambi was a standout performer, makings 11 carries, 39m and six tackles, while Sergeal Petersen and Dillyn Leyds did a lot of hard yards, with the latter racking up 71m from 14 carries.
Also notably, although it was far from a perfect performance from Damian Willemse, he made a whopping 21 carries, beat five defenders and completed 108m.
Jaco Coetzee made an impression for the Stormers, making six carries and 28m. Although he started at No 8, he is accommodated in this week’s selection at openside flank, with Dan du Preez making a big impact at eighthman for the Sharks: 18 carries, 57m, one try.
Similarly, in a week where there were no major standouts among the flanks, Duane Vermeulen earns selection at No 7 here, having won three turnovers, and completed eight tackles against the Sharks.
SA TEAM OF THE WEEK (ROUND 7)
15. Damian Willemse (Stormers)
14. Sergeal Petersen (Stormers)
13. Lukhanyo Am (Sharks)
12. Burger Odendaal (Bulls)
11. Dillyn Leyds (Stormers)
10. Handré Pollard (Bulls)
9. Embrose Papier (Bulls)
8. Dan du Preez (Sharks)
7. Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)
6. Jaco Coetzee (Stormers)
5. Eli Snyman (Bulls)
4. Eben Etzebeth (Stormers)
3. Trevor Nyakane (Bulls)
2. Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers)
1. Lizo Gqoboka (Bulls)
*The Lions had a bye in round seven
ALSO READ: Super Rugby Power Rankings (Round 7)
SA TEAM OF THE WEEK (ROUND 6)*
15. Tyrone Green (Lions)
14. Sbu Nkosi (Sharks)
13. Jesse Kriel (Bulls)
12. Lionel Mapoe (Lions)
11. Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks)
10. Elton Jantjies (Lions)
9. Nic Groom (Lions)
8. Dan du Preez (Sharks)
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers)
6. Jaco Coetzee (Stormers)
5. Marvin Orie (Lions)
4. Rhyno Herbst (Lions)
3. Coenie Oosthuizen (Sharks)
2. Malcolm Marx (Lions)
1. Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks)
ALSO READ: Five takeaways from past weekend
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
