HEROES OF THE WEEK: Mixed results couldn't hide standout performances

The South African URC teams had a mixed bag of results over the weekend, but there were still some stellar individual efforts.

Bulls hero of the week: Johan Grobbelaar

It may have been a heartbreaking loss for the Bulls against Munster and a setback in their playoff hopes in the URC, but while for the most part, the team would agree that they were not at their best, there were a few highlights and players that stood out in the game.

Captain Elrigh Louw led from the front as per usual, and could easily have snatched the man of the match award while Johan Goosen was having the game of his life - possibly his best game in a Bulls jersey - before the clumsy tackle saw him red-carded and the game changed.

But through it all, and in the entire season, there has been one constant - and that has been the rising star of Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar.

Not fazed by the arrival of Akker van der Merwe to compete with, Grobbelaar has overcome injury and setbacks and powered his way at the back of the Bulls maul, made a number of turnovers and has generally been a star all-round.

On Saturday he underlined the fact that he is being watched by the Bok selectors, scoring a try with brute power while three Munster players tried to stop him close to the line.

For that, and so much more, including 10 carries and unlimited contributions to the game, he is our Bulls hero of the week. 

Sharks Hero of the Week - Ntuthuko Mchunu

“One of the best prop tries you will ever see!” That was how some on social media reacted to Ntuthuko Mchunu’s first big play in senior rugby, with the young prop forward running like an outside centre from more than 40 metres out to score a remarkable try for the Sharks against the Lions in Johannesburg. From memory, it wasn’t the only great try he scored in that first season for the Sharks, which was in the Rainbow Cup in 2021.

Mchunu was just 21 at the time, and had spent only a short space of time playing prop after spending his school career playing at No8. It is hard to remember Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, a legend of Springbok rugby, scoring a similar try, so it was probably because Mtawarira also converted to front row from looseforward that he was described as “Beast 2.0”.

The Maritzburg College old boy has gone on to be capped by the Boks since then, and at the age of just 25, young for a prop, he still has plenty of time to fulfil his potential. Mchunu has been in good scrumming form this season, but still does a lot of damage and is prominent as a ball carrier. The try he scored taking the ball on the left touchline as if he was a wing before thundering through to score against the Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun was what those who saw that initial try three years ago might have expected from the big man.

Stormers Hero of the Week - Dan du Plessis

It probably isn’t being unkind to suggest there were no real Stormers heroes on a day they fluffed their lines against the Ospreys, but Dan du Plessis was arguably the Stormers player that most looked likely to bother the swarming opposing defensive system. Du Plessis often moonlights at outside centre for the Stormers but his best position is undeniably inside centre, where his legendary father Michael, a Springbok and Western Province star of the 1980s, also excelled (Michael played flyhalf too but was a better No12).

Du Plessis possesses the gift that all inside centres should be most known for - coming to think of it his uncle Willie, who played for the Boks against the British Lions in 1980 also possessed it - of being able to straighten the line. He’s also dangerous on the break and gives the opposition problems with his straight running, such as when he finished off the first Stormers try against the Ospreys.

Lions Hero of the Week - JC Pretorius

Like former Lions and current Springbok legend Kwagga Smith, who also once wore the No6 jersey of the Johannesburg franchise, JC Pretorius has excelled for the Blitzboks in the Sevens code. So it shouldn’t really be a surprise that he is noted for similar things to what Smith is, such as his work at the breakdowns and for being able to feature as a ball carrier in the wide channels.

Although Emmanuel Tshituka won the official man of the match award when the Lions thumped Leinster at the weekend, the two tries that got him noticed were scored after the game was already won and merely put the seal on a great win. What got the Lions marching to victory was their early explosion from the blocks and the two tries they scored in the opening 10 minutes, both of which featured 29-year-old Pretorius as a support player and runner in the wide channels as the hosts successfully followed out their plan of stretching their players under the hot highveld sun.