SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the South African players who featured for their respective clubs in the sixth round of the 2020-21 French Top 14 season.
– Lock Eben Etzebeth and his Toulon teammates claimed a hard-fought 19-6 win over Castres at home. Scrumhalf Rory Kockott started and played 64 minutes for Castres, who are now in 13th position on the log with Toulon in seventh.
– Clermont, featuring South African-born Japanese international Kotaro Matsushima and No 8 Jaco van Tonder, outlasted Pau in an 11-try thriller for a 50-29 win. The result moved Clermont to level on points with Toulouse, with a game in hand.
– Stade Français slumped to an agonising 27-25 defeat in their Parisian derby against bitter-rivals Racing 92. Scrumhalf James Hall was in Stade’s starting lineup and played until the 70th minute.
– Despite conceding a red card in the eighth minute of the match, Bayonne still proved to powerful as they beat Agen 26-15. Jeremy Jordaan was on Agen’s bench, but came on as replacement wing at the beginning of the second half.
– La Rochelle, with wings Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule and flank Wiaan Liebenberg in their ranks, ground out a 20-6 victory over Bordeaux to stay in the top three in the standings. Bordeaux, who remain in ninth place, had lock Jandre Marais and hooker Joseph Dweba in their team.
– Springboks Johan Goosen, Jan Serfontein and Cobus Reinach together with compatriot Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, were in the Montpellier side that easily dispatched Brive 30-6. Serfontein, who missed the previous two rounds of action due to injury, marked his return by scoring one of Montpellier’s four tries, while Bismarck du Plessis and Henry Immelman played influential roles for the winning team off the bench. Lock Retief Marais enjoyed a solid 30-minute cameo off the bench for Brive.
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