URC: Team of the Week for Round 17

With just one final weekend of fixtures left to play, Glasgow cling to the top of the table having bounced back to winning ways. The Warriors surpass the Stormers to the summit, after the Cape Down side drew an all-time URC classic with Ulster up in Belfast. Leinster move up to third after ending the Lions' hot run of form, with the Johannesburg side down to fifth, after falling beneath the Bulls.

The Pretorians ran riot against Zebre to get back into the home quarter-final spots, with Munster, Cardiff and Ulster rounding off the sixth, seventh and eighth places respectively. Munster lost on the road in their All-Ireland inter-pro derby, with a win for ninth-placed Connacht keeping the province just one point adrift of the top eight. Let's take a full-review of the weekend's action, before diving in to our Team of the Week for the penultimate round of the regular season.

We get our Team of the Week for the penultimate round of the United Rugby Championship underway, with back-to-back entries from the barn-burner in Belfast. The 38-38 draw between Ulster and the Stormers will go down as one of the all-time best URC fixtures, with Ulster full-back Mike Lowry at the heart of the action. Lowry continues to stake his claim for a return to the international stage, as he bagged a well-taken try and ruled the back-field in the midst of a chaotic clash with the Cape Town club.

Keeping it all things Ulster for the first two entries, we hand the right wing spot to Werner Kok this week, after the South African starred against his fellow countryman with a stunning hat-trick performance. The former Springbok Sevens star was unleashed across the touchlines, and ran rampant in the chaos that unfolded up at the Affidea Stadium. Three tries, a blistering work rate upon both sides of the ball and a never say die attitude opimtised the Ulster effort, as Richie Murphy's men returned to the top eight with the hard-fought draw against the former league leaders.

From one hat-trick scoring South African to another now, as Sharks centre Jurenzo Julius was unstoppable in the Durban side's victory over Benetton this past weekend. Julius raced away for a phenomenal hat-trick against the hard-hitting Italian outfit, and overpowered the highly rated Tommaso Menoncello upon their battle in the middle of the park. Julius kept the former Six Nations Player of the Tournament quiet for the one-sided Sharks win, as a stand-out performer upon both sides of the ball. Plenty of excitement around the 22-year-old ahead of a possible Springboks run this Summer.

We head back up to the Northern Hemisphere to complete the midfield, an Ireland international Jamie Osborne continues to add strings to his bow ahead of this Summer's Nations Championship. Ireland jet down to the land down under to face Australia, Japan and then hop over to New Zealand, with Osborne proving his capabilities to cover the midfield, having also proven his worth at full-back prior to Hugo Keenan's return. Osborne bagged Leinster's opening try after just one minute against the Lions, and caused the Johannesburg side plenty of issues at the gain-line.

It was the return that the Scotland international had been dreaming of, as Duhan van der Merwe bagged himself a brace upon a hard-fought trip down to Rodney Parade. Coming back into the Edinburgh fold after a lengthy spell on the injury side-lines, van der Merwe looked to have not missed a step, as he ran in two tries and was a defensive rock in the gutsy win over the Dragons. With a return to the Scotland camp expected for the Nations Championship, it's great to see the power-house get back towards top speed.

When Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu turns up like he did this past weekend, he can stake a claim to be the most in-form Springbok in the world. Such is the talent of the enigmatic out-half, who took the game by the scruff of it's neck up at the Affidea Stadium. Feinberg-Mngomezulu raced away to collect two tries against Ulster, and contributed to his ever-growing assists tally on the front foot. Accurate kicking kept the score-board ticking and Ulster asking defensive questions, as the Stormers man stole the show in the end-to-end classic that culminated in a deserved draw for both sides.

It was a welcomed return to dominant winning form for Glasgow Warriors this past weekend, as the Scottish side put Cardiff to the sword in the clash of the capital city clubs. George Horne was the pulsating tempo of the relentless Warriors outfit, as he fired quick-ball to keep Cardiff on the back foot and slinked his way through to deliver some neat assists. Dutifully awarded the Player of the Match honours upon a stunning individual performance, the halfback helped guide Glasgow back to the summit of the URC in line for a more favourable quarter-final draw in the weeks to come.

We roll onto the forward pack now, with Ulster replacement Eric O'Sullivan on hand for a fantastic cameo from the bench. The loose-head entered the exhaustive fray with 53 minutes elapsed in Belfast, as he ran on for Wallabies prop Angus Bell. O'Sullivan ensured that Ulster would not drop their intensity around the park, as the Stormers began to surge ahead into the closing stages. The 30-year-old was on hand to crash over for a 74th minute try, that once converted by Nathan Doak, bouyed Ulster with one hand on the win. Whilst the end result pleased neither side, O'Sullivan can take personal pride with a true impact effort.

If you feel like you are getting an eeiry sense of deja vu, that's because Ewan Ashman has now appeared in three straight RUCK Team of the Weeks for the United Rugby Championship. The Edinburgh hooker is collecting Player of the Match medals like it's going out of style, as he received his third straight accolade upon Edinburgh's win over the Dragons. After bundling his way over for a try mid-way through the first half, Ashman took the Welsh back side to scrummaging school and delivered Test level set-piece delivery upon another brilliant outing for his club.

Our pick for the tight-head side of the scrum goes to Asenathi Ntlabakanye of the Lions, who is another returning face to RUCK's Team of the Week. It has been a tremendous season for the Jo'Burg side, with the tight-head frequently one of the top performers for the club. Even after their defeat in Dublin, the 27-year-old gets the pick, as he repeatedly sent the Leinster scrum backwards having won the head-to-head with Ed Byrne. Ntlabakanye is a wrecking ball around the loose, and is hoping to end a play-off securing season in the URC with a return to the Springboks fold this Summer.

The South Africans have certainly showcased their strengths this week, with a fifth entrant now coming from the Rainbow Nation (six if you count Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe). Ruan Vermaak was an assured, confident set-piece operator in the Bulls' win over Zebre, as the Italian outfit barely had a look in at the line-out and were hassled by the lock's breakdown work-rate. The 28-year-old capped off his day with a hard-fought try, in a showcase of his talents to Rassie Erasmus and co. Whilst Vermaak is currently uncapped in green and gold, this Summer could spell the opportunity for the Bulls man.

We close out the engine room with Max Douglas of the Scarlets, who is the first of two stand-out forward pack performers from last weekend's Welsh derby. We'll get onto a certain farewell-bidding back row shortly, but Douglas continues to steadily ply his trade for the Llanelli side upon his second full season with the club. The uncapped Australian is a former Waratahs man, and joined Scarlets from a brief stint in Japan. He bagged a try and ruled the set-piece upon his 32nd Scarlets cap, with just one year left to go before he becomes eligible for a Wales call-up through residency.

The last (but by no means least) South African on our list, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi may be leaving the Sharks at the end of the season - yet showed no signs of slowing down for his current side. The back row is heading home to the Stormers this Summer, after the upcoming Nations Championship campaign is wrapped up with the Springboks. Kolisi bagged a well-taken try in the one-sided win over Benetton, and emptied his Sharks' tank upon his penultimate match, with a play-off spot increasingly out of sight for the Durban side.

It was an incredibly emotional afternoon for Jac Morgan, as the Wales international ran out for his final home cap for the Ospreys. The back row will end his Ospreys career in Dublin against Leinster, as the Swansea side look unlikely to make the play-offs this season. Morgan put in another tremendous Player of the Match performance, to mark the end of an era before he heads across the River Severn with his move to Gloucester. Thunderous in contact and passionate to drive his side forward, Morgan delivered a trademark shift upon the Welsh derby win over the Scarlets.

We close out the Team of the Week for Round 17 of the URC, with the hardest spot to decipher this, due to the sheer quality of performances at number eight. After much deliberation, we have settled on Connacht's Sean Jansen to take the spot, despite the strong efforts of Juarno Augustus, James Culhane and Cameron Hanekom for their respective sides.

Jansen rallied the men in green for a memorable Irish inter-pro win over Munster, that secured some crucial points to remain in the conversation for a late push to the play-offs next week. A try-scoring contribution paired with countless dents of the Munster gain-line, saw Jansen put his body on the line at the Dexcom, and record a dramatic win for Stuart Lancaster's side.