Team of the Week: Sharks & Kings
It was a weekend of intrigue and surprises. Our famous weekly selection reflects these results.
There is a big spread, with eight teams represented in our starting XV.
There are four Sharks and three Southern Kings, which is just reward for their impressive and deserved wins.
The Chiefs, Blues (two each), Brumbies, Highlanders, Bulls and Reds (one each) make up the numbers.
Our back-up team also has a big spread – four Chiefs, three Bulls, two each from the Blues and Hurricanes, as well as one each from the Reds, Stormers, Sharks and Brumbies.
Team of the Week – Round Two:
15 – Jesse Mogg (Brumbies):
He is making string claims to be the Wallaby fullback against the Lions. Safe under the high ball, good positional play, a booming boot and not to bad on the counter either.
Bubbling under: Gareth Anscombe (Chiefs)
14 – Sergeal Petersen (Southern Kings):
Dream debut! Three months ago he was writing his final school exams, now he is fulfilling his promise as a rugby player.
Bubbling under: Frank Halai (Blues)
13 – Tim Nanai-Williams (Chiefs):
And they said the Chiefs would miss Sonny Bill Williams. How wrong they were.
Bubbling under: Conrad Smith (Hurricanes)
12 – Francis Saili (Blues):
One of several exciting young talents at the Blues, Saili is a genuine threat to opposition defences.
Bubbling under: Ben Tapuai (Reds)
11 – Hosea Gear (Highlanders):
Played well in a losing cause and showed his class again.
Bubbling under: Bryan Habana (Stormers)
10 – Patrick Lambie (Sharks):
Outplayed Bok rival Johan Goosen on the day, even though Goosen had a good second half.
Bubbling under: Morné Steyn (Bulls)
9 – Piri Weepu (Blues):
The trimmed down version of the All Black showed how important he is going to be to the Blues' cause this year.
Bubbling under: Francois Hougaard (Bulls)
8 – Pierre Spies (Bulls):
Another player who put a disappointing 2012 behind him and is looking in good nick.
Bubbling under: Peter Saili (Blues)
7 – Marcell Coetzee (Sharks):
Carrying from where he left off last year. Another big season awaits for the Bok.
Bubbling under: Sam Cane (Chiefs)
6 – Eddie Quirk (Reds):
Just in case people thought Scott Higginbotham's departure would be a loss, Quirk showed us why not!
Bubbling under: Liam Messam (Chiefs)
5 – Steven Sykes (Kings):
He may have pushed the envelope at times, but Sykes was pure class and vital to the Kings' cause.
Bubbling under: Franco van der Merwe (Sharks)
4 – Craig Clarke (Chiefs):
He made as big a statement as the rest of his teammates, but he brings added value as a captain.
Bubbling under: Jeremy Thrush (Hurricanes)
3 – Jannie du Plessis (Sharks):
The Bok veteran is the anchor in a solid Sharks scrum.
Bubbling under: Ben Afeaki (Chiefs)
2 – Bandise Maku (Kings):
Another player who was lambasted for moving to Port Elizabeth, only to prove his detractors wrong.
Bubbling under: Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
1 – Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks):
The Beast is alive and well!
Bubbling under: Morné Mellet (Bulls)
Our individual selections:
Nicholas Tatham XV: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Ali Williams, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Morné Mellet.
Michael de Vries XV: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Ben May, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Ben Alexander.
Paul Dobson XV: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Peter Saili, 7 David Pocock, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Quintin van Jaarsveld XV: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Leonard Kaplan XV: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 David Pocock, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Jan de Koning XV: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Morné Mellet.
Previous selections:
Team of the Week – Round One: 15 Jesse Mogg (Brumbies), 14 Henry Speight (Brumbies), 13 Andrew Smith (Brumbies), 12 Kyle Godwin (Western Force), 11 Alfie Mafi (Western Force), 10 Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels), 9 Nic White (Brumbies), 8 Ben Mowen (Western Force), 7 David Pocock (Brumbies), 6 Scott Higginbotham (Melbourne Rebels), 5 Toby Lynn (Western Force), 4 Hugh Pyle (Melbourne Rebels), 3 Laurie Weeks (Melbourne Rebels), 2 Stephen Moore (Brumbies), 1 Ben Alexander (Brumbies).
