After an extended break, courtesy of an exciting Quilter Nations Series, the URC returned with a bang. While Friday night’s games went largely as expected, Saturday dished up a top-of-the-table classic comeback victory for a depleted Stormers against a largely full-strength Munster side at Thomond Park. The Scarlets notched their first win of the season by walloping the former champions Glasgow. Elsewhere, the Sharks continued their never-ending struggle against the sport of Rugby, and the Lions picked up a vital five points away at Loftus Versfeld.
Jacobs is a bull of a rugby player. He is both fast and incredibly strong. Much of what the Bulls did well this past weekend was to simply engineer situations that put him in space or that let him run into defenders at full tilt. Both of his try assists came from these scenarios. His first was a set-piece move designed to get him on the outside of his man. He took the gap at pace, fixed the last man, and fed Papier. His second came from an expansive exit play – this time, the space was more limited but that was not an issue as he brushed aside the tackle of hardman Venter – 49 points
The Junior Bok was his shifty self against the Lions. The diminutive winger is nigh on impossible to tackle, as he darts this way and that. His power should not be underestimated either, as he has the courage and quick force generation to bounce off bigger men – 46 points
One may look at O’Brien’s lack of try involvement or his limited carry meters and wonder how he managed to outscore both Jooste and Jacobs. The key lies in what he didn’t do rather than what he did. O’Brien made very few mistakes. While Jacobs and Jooste were attacking fiends, they also conceded turnovers and penalties, and made handling errors – O’Brien did not. Add to that a large quantity of carries and a hatful of offloads, and you have the makings of a high-scoring week – 74 points
CE: Sebastian de Klerk – Bulls (1 try, 1 try assist, 7 defenders beaten, 9 carries for 116 metres)
The third of three Bulls back three players to make the TOTW in a week where they succumbed to the Lions at home. De Klerk continued his sensational start to the season with another attacking masterclass. His sheer pace just makes things happen. This was showcased by his assist for Papier’s first try, where he easily glided past his opposite number and tore up the touchline, before fixing the last man and feeding the try-scorer – 82 points
It was an all-court performance from the rising Irish centre. He was at the heart of another excellent Ulster win. Both of his assists came from his superb running game, which saw him carry 12 times for 91 meters, of which 85 were post-contact. While his first assist showed his ability to find space, his second demonstrated his strength as he rode the tackle of Umaga before offloading. He also chipped in on defence with 6 tackles and a turnover won – 92points
FH: Sean Naughton – Connacht (3 try assists, 2 line breaks, 8/8 goal kicks)
Naughton produced a high-skill performance to sink the Sharks in Galway. He was accurate from the tee, sinking all 8 attempts and showed excellent hands for his try assists. The first was simple hands down the line, but he had to release quickly to avoid the rushing defender. For his second assist, he took the ball to the line off a scrum move and engaged the defence before giving a pinpoint inside ball to Gavin, who waltzed in for a try – 83 points
Doak continued his fantastic start to the season as Ulster dominated Benetton. He kept Ulster ticking over smoothly, with all 68 of his passes accurate. His assist showed Dupont-esque vision to spot Baloucoune in space. While the execution was not perfect, the try was still scored, courtesy of a slightly lucky bounce – 64 points
After perhaps a slightly slow start to the fantasy rugby season, Coombes enters the TOTW for the second consecutive week, despite picking up a yellow card. Coombes’s reputation now precedes him in the URC, and both his assists came from the defence being overly aware of the threat he poses. This was particularly clear for his second. Munster ran a tap move where the ball was passed to him as a target for the aggressive Stormers defence. As soon as they bit, he passed out the back to Hodnett, who finished excellently – 54 points
Boyle delivered an incredible performance ball-in-hand against the Sharks. He carried 13 times for 45 meters, of which 42 were post-contact. His try highlighted this as he got the ball on the edge of the Sharks’ 22-metre line in a bit of space. He rampaged towards the line with none of the Sharks’ backs seeming to want to put a hand on him. He was no slouch on defence, making all 8 of the tackles that he was required to – 58 points
BK: Alun Lawrence – Cardiff (18 carries, 17/17)
Lawrence is a proper workhorse who, not for the first time, features in the TOTW on the back of sheer quantity of actions. He carried 18 times, of which 12 crossed the gainline. Furthermore, he finished the game with 17 tackles completed, at a 100% success rate – 61 points
Ulster seemed to be constantly on top of Benetton, and the physicality provided by Sheridan was key to that. He picked up points across a number of categories: 14 passes and tackles, 8 carries, and a turnover won. He picked up a try towards the end of the game after throwing a big dummy from the back of a ruck, tucking the ball, and charging over the line – 58 points
Leinster were struggling against the Dragons when Snyman made his entrance from the bench. However, by the final whistle, they were comfortably clear. “The Viking” made a huge contribution on attack with his ability to occupy defenders and release his teammates with passes or offloads. His try was a storming effort in broken field, and his basketball style assist is instantly iconic – 72 points
While not a vintage performance at the set-piece, Boyle earns his spot in TOTW6 through his work around the park. This was particularly evident in the attacking phases as he carried 10 times, of which 7 crossed the gainline. He also beat 4 defenders and made 1 line break – astonishing numbers for a prop in a tight game – 46 points
HK: Dafydd Hughes – Cardiff (3 tries, 12 carries, 16/16 successful lineout throws) – Player of the Round
Hughes was a beneficiary of an all-conquering Cardiff maul. The hooker crossed the line 3 times in the first half, all at the back of the maul. That being said, he deserves credit not only for finishing the tries but also for being accurate with each and every one of his 16 throws at lineout time – a classic hooker performance – 104 points
Matthias is the sole representative from perhaps the shock of the round as the Scarlets nilled the usually rampaging Glasgow Warriors. Matthias did his core role well – securing set-piece possession. However, he earns his spot in the team due to his solid defensive outing, making 16/17 tackles and winning his side a turnover – 57 points
