SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the past weekend's English Premiership, Celtic Pro12 and French Top 14 matches that involved South African players.
ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP
– London Wasps beat Gloucester 38-30 in a hard fought battle at Twickenham with former Bok and Cheetah flank Ashley Johnson scoring one of Wasps’ five tries.
– Saracens edged the Newcastle Falcons 23-18 with ex-Western Province flank Nick Fenton-Wells and former Sharks lock Alistair Hargreaves in their starting XV. Prop Petrus du Plessis was on Sarries’ benchs.
– Loose forward Gerrit-Jan van Velze came off the bench in the 77th minute for the Northampton Saints, who claimed a 36-21 victory over a determined London Irish side.
– Cheetahs prop Nick Schonert will join the struggling Worcester Warriors, who sit at the bottom of the Premiership table. He will leave the team from Bloemfontein after the Super Rugby season and link up another South African, Andries Pretorius, who signed from the Cardiff Blues. The flank, who qualifies for Wales through residency, made his Test debut against Japan last year.
CELTIC PRO 12
– Ex-Lions captain Josh Strauss played on the flank for the Glasgow Warriors, who cruised to a 27-9 win over Ulster at Scotstoun. Their fifth consecutive victory moved them to third on the log. Former Bok and Sharks lock Johann Muller captained Ulster while hooker Rob Herring also started for them.
– Treviso were smashed 62-7 by Bok and ex-Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner and his Leinster team-mates. Kirchner, who started on the wing for the winners, scored one of their nine tries.
– Ex-Stormers wing Gerhard van den Heever started for Munster against Connacht, who had ex-Western Province wing Danie Poolman in their run-on XV at Galway Sportsground. Both wingers scored for their respective teams, but Van den Heever’s Munster clinched a 32-23 win. Flank CJ Stander was in the winners’ starting XV and prop BJ Botha on the bench.
– Bottom-feeders Zebre convincingly beat Edinburgh 26-13 in a shock result at the Stadio XXV Aprile. Ex-Bulls flank Andries van Schalkwyk made Zebre’s run-on XV and was joined in the 66th minute by flank Michael van Vuren. Former EP Kings captain and centre Andries Strauss, flyhalf Carl Bezuidenhout and props WP Nel and Wicus Blaauw all played for Edinburgh with lock Cornell du Preez joining them in the 15th minute. Bezuidenhout kicked a conversion and two penalties..
– The Cardiff Blues narrowly defeated the Scarlets 17-13 in their Welsh derby. Lock George Earle, who started for Scarlets, was replaced by Johan Snyman in the 54th minute.
– In a game that featured three yellow cards, wing Hanno Dirksen played the full 80 minutes for the Ospreys, who beat the Dragons 20-10 at the Millennium Stadium.
FRENCH TOP 14
– No 8 Antonie Claassen and ex-Sharks scrumhalf Rory Kockott played for Castres when they hosted Montpellier at the Stade Pierre-Antoine. Kockott added 11 points through the boot, as Castres won 22-15. Centres Wynand Olivier and Robert Ebertsohn were on duty for Montpellier.
– Oyonnax and Toulouse played out to a thrilling 19-19 draw at the Stade Charles-Mathon. Former Sharks hooker Jody Jenneker was in Oyonnax’s XV, while scrumhalf Jano Vermaak played for Toulouse.
– Former Lions and Sharks wing Wandile Mjekevu and ex-Stormers scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage were part of Perpignan’s run-on XV, with scrumhalf Michael Claassens starting for hosts Toulon. Mjekevu scored one of three Perpignan tries but it wasn’t enough as Toulon won 46-31 to return to the summit of the Top 14 table. Former Bok No 8 Joe van Niekerk came on as a substitute for the victorious team from the 61st minute.
– Prop Johannes Coetzee was part of the Brive team that lost 19-13 against Biarritz, in an ill-tempered match, which saw three players yellow-carded.
– Locks Francois van der Merwe and Juandré Kruger and No 8 Jacques Cronjé played for Racing Métro in their easy 22-6 win over prop Dan Kotze and his Clermont team-mates.
– Grenoble and Bayonne drew 21-21 in their clash at the Stade Lesdiguiéres, with Bayonne fullback Scott Spedding and Genoble lock Hendrik Roodt both sent to the sin bin in the first half. The run-on teams also featured three South African props, Albertus Buckle for Grenoble and Gert Muller and JC Janse van Rensburg for the visiting Bayonne.
– Prop Heinke van der Merwe and lock Gerhard Mostert started for Stade Français, who overcame Bordeaux 37-23. Ex-Bulls scrumhalf Heini Adams played for the losing side and was joined by lock Juandré Marais in the 41st minute. Bok flyhalf Morné Steyn, who has seen little action in the past few weeks, took to the field in the 68th minute for Stade and ex-Sharks centre Meyer Bosman played from the 58th and flank Anton van Zyl from the 72nd.
Compiled by Mariette Adams
Photo: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
