URC Team of the Week: Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman star for Leinster while ‘teenage speedster’ catches the eye
Leinster centre Jordie Barrett and Cardiff wing Tom Bowen both made the team.
Following another enthralling weekend of United Rugby Championship (URC) action, here is the Planet Rugby Team of the Week for Round 10.
After putting the Stormers and Lions to the sword respectively, Leinster and the Bulls lead the way with three representatives in our side while the Ospreys and Sharks are next best with two players each.
URC Team of the Week, Round 10
15 Jack Walsh (Ospreys): The 25-year-old came to the fore with an excellent all-round performance as the Welsh region cruised to a one-sided 43-0 triumph against Benetton on Friday night in Swansea. Walsh proved a handful on attack as he kept Benetton’s defence busy throughout that encounter and he was rewarded with two tries for his efforts. Meanwhile, Jordan Hendrikse of the Sharks and Josh McKay of Glasgow Warriors also impressed.
14 Sebastian Cancelliere (Glasgow Warriors): The Argentina international caught the eye with his brilliant attacking skill set as the defending champions clinched a narrow triumph over Connacht at Scotstoun on Sunday. Cancelliere was constantly looking for work on attack and defence and showed off his brilliant finishing ability as he crossed for two tries. He comes in ahead of Sharks flyer Yaw Penxe who impressed in his side’s win over Cardiff.
13 David Kriel (Bulls): The Springboks hopeful was one of the Bulls’ best players as he came to the fore with his brilliant playmaking skills which created attacking chances for his team-mates, while he contributed 12 points after scoring a try and slotting two conversions and a penalty. In other action, Evardi Boshoff?also impressed for Ospreys.
12 Jordie Barrett (Leinster): The All Black was one of Leinster‘s star performers in that one-sided triumph over the Stormers at the Aviva Stadium as he showed his class with an excellent all-round showing during the full 80 minutes. Barrett was solid on defence, kept his opponents busy with some strong carries which saw him cross for one of his side’s five tries, and also impressed with some long range kicks for touch. He beats out Johnny Williams of the Scarlets and David Hawkshaw of Connacht.
11 Tom Bowen (Cardiff): The teenage speedster was arguably the Welsh region’s best player in their defeat against the Sharks as he put in an outstanding attacking performance. Bowen was one of the leading attackers in that encounter as he made 11 runs, had a match-high four line breaks and crossed for tries either side of half-time. There were fine performances from more experienced campaigners like James Lowe of Leinster and Sergeal Petersen of the Bulls elsewhere but Bowen gets the nod after a fine display.
10 Owen Williams (Ospreys): The experienced inside centre was shifted to fly-half for the Ospreys’ clash with Benetton with first choice number 10 Dan Edwards called up to Wales’ Six Nations squad. Despite playing out of position, Williams impressed as his team’s chief playmaker and finished with an 11-point contribution courtesy of four conversions and a penalty, and comes in ahead of Ross Byrne of Leinster,?Siya Masuku of the Sharks and Scarlets’ Ioan Lloyd.
9 Gonzalo Garcia (Zebre Parma): This was a difficult decision as Ben Afshar also delivered an outstanding performance in his side’s victory over Connacht at Scotstoun and was named as the official player of the match in that clash. However, Garcia walked off with the same award in Zebre’s historic victory over Ulster at Kingspan Stadium. The Argentina number nine put in a fine all-round display and controlled the game superbly.
The forwards
8 Max Deegan (Leinster):?Having the massive shoes of Caelan Doris to fill did not weigh too heavy on Deegan, who proves time and again what a talented player he is in his own right. He had the most carries, most tackles, gained metres in traffic and was solid at the breakdown. It had to take a special shift to edge Munster’s Gavin Coombes to this spot while?Jack Mann also impressed for Glasgow.
7 Alex Kendellen (Munster):?Another hotly contested jersey as Justin Tipuric laid down the challenge to other openside rivals with his tireless showing for the Ospreys against Benetton on Friday night. However,?Kendellen’s performance was top drawer and played a key part in Munster’s first-half success in Newport.
6 Marcell Coetzee?(Bulls):?Jack O’Donoghue emptied the tank for Munster while Henco Venter made 20 tackles for the Glasgow cause against Connacht on Sunday. But instead we went for player of the match in Johannesburg, Coetzee, who did not stop carrying and tackling for the cause and was rewarded with a key try.
5 Cobus Wiese (Bulls): The former Sale Sharks lock impressed at the coalface with a physical and skilful performance against the Lions. With Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw going off injured the Bulls needed a focal point up front and Wiese certainly provided that in a powerful showing.
4 RG Snyman (Leinster): What a signing he has been. It was like men against boys at times against the Stormers as the Leinster lock occupied several defenders before offloading with ease. He could well be the missing piece of the Leicester jigsaw as they look to end their wait for silverware.
3 Corrie Barrett (Ulster): The 26-year-old came off the replacements bench in Ulster’s shock defeat to Zebre Parma but was one of his team’s shining lights as he took the fight to the Italian outfit. Barrett put in a solid scrummaging display but made his biggest impact as a ball carrier where he kept Zebre’s defence busy during his 33-minute stint and eventually scored two tries from close quarters. He comes in ahead of Sharks veteran Trevor Nyakane.
2 Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks): Ireland star Dan Sheehan shone upon his return to action for Leinster – after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to injury – but has to play second fiddle to Mbonambi, who was one of the Sharks’ best players in their URC triumph over Cardiff. The Springboks hooker shone in the execution of his core duties while also catching the eye with his outstanding leadership skills and crossed for two well-taken five-pointers.
1 Ntuthuko Mchunu (Sharks): The 25-year-old continues to deputise for fellow Springboks prop Ox Nche in the Sharks’ starting line-up but gave a good account of himself in that away victory over Cardiff. Nchunu offered good support to his more experienced front-row team-mates Nyakane and Mbonambi in the tight exchanges, especially at scrum-time where he put plenty of pressure on Rhys Litterick and also impressed as a ball carrier.
