URC Team of the Week - Round 16

With just two rounds to go before we enter the quarter-finals, the Cape Town side take a one-point lead at the summit of the URC, with the Warriors dropping down to second place. The Lions continue upon their historic campaign, as the Johannesburg side claimed a strong win over Connacht to propel them into third. Leinster slip down to fourth following their upset defeat to Benetton, before their Irish rivals Munster climb up to fifth following their inter-provincial victory over Ulster at Thomond Park.

Cardiff, Bulls and Ulster round off the six, seventh and eighth placed teams, that have one hand on the quarter-finals at this late stage of the season. The URC takes a break now, for the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup to play out, yet we've once again pieced together the Team of the Week following an exhilarating round across the cross-continental competition.

Player of the Match from another statement making win for the Lions, there were few full-backs that put in the performance to that of Quan Horn this weekend. Such a dangerous threat with the ball in hand, the 24-year-old is really coming into his own upon a remarkable season for the Johannesburg side. Lightning fast feet asked constant questions of the Connacht defence, and an impressive eagerness for contact kept the back-field on lock when the Irish province broke through the gain-line.

The man of the hour for the Dragons this past weekend, as David Richards rounded off the attacking move that took the Welsh side into an 82nd minute lead. It came down to the final play in Parma, with the 26-year-old on hand to dive into the corner, and steal a late winner for the Newport side. Aside from the decisive try, Richards had a stunning performance out in Italy, as he carried well along the touchlines and emptied the tank with some bursts into the centre of the park.

We return back to Jo'burg, in what won't be the final time we address the impressive end-of-season strength shown by the Lions. Henco van Wyk was paramount to the home victory over Connacht, with the powerful centre on hand to deliver a brace of tries towards the hard-fought 33-21 win. It was by no means a walkover against Stuart Lancaster's gusty Galway side, with van Wyk fronting up in the contact and making countless dents upon the Irish province's gain-line.

The former All Blacks centre continues to enjoy his new lease on life with Benetton, and played an instrumental part upon the unexpected win over Leinster. After a heavy collision sent the now Tonga international to the side-lines for a brief 10 minute check-up, he returned to command the Italian team's attack and impose his Pacific Island flair upon their re-shuffled Leinster defense. A strong contribution from the 33-year-old, who continues to age like a fine wine.

Our third back-line entry from the Lions this week is Erich Cronje, who narrowly made the cut ahead of Dragons flyer Jarred Rosser. Cronje was a dynamo along the touch-lines for his side, as Connacht walked into the baring jaws of the Ellis Park 'Lions Den'. Cronje delivered a strong finish to bag himself a second half try, and was a constant thorn in the side of the visitors from Galway.

We move on into the half-back pairing now, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu putting in another clinical performance to guide his Stormers to the top of the URC table. The Springboks man seems to once again be in the conversation around the URC Player of the Season award, with his marksmanship from the tee and solid game-management building a healthy points tally for the Cape Town side. The fly half also grabbed himself a try in the win over Glasgow Warriors, and showcased his revered footwork throughout.

Whilst it was by no means the desired result for Connacht upon their trip down to Johannesburg, there is no denying how scrum half Matt Devine maximised his minutes in the land of the Springboks. Coming off the bench eight minutes into the second half, Devine kept his province in the fight with two well taken tries against the run of play. With a knack for sniping around the back of the breakdown and keeping the defenders on their toes, the 24-year-old has all the makings of a future star of Andy Farrell's Ireland team.

Rolling on into the forward pack now, and there was plenty of stand-outs from the Stormers pack following their win over Glasgow. One such heavy-hitter was loose-head prop Ntuthuko Mchunu, who wrestled his way over the whitewash for two tries against the Warriors, with back-to-back scores that opened up the floodgates after just eight and 13 minutes. With three Boks caps to his name, expect the 27-year-old to build upon his international tally this Summer, should his fine form continue in Cape Town.

The hooker spot was the toughest position to chose this week, with two equally deserving front rowers putting their hands up. We hand an honourable mention to Benetton's Nicholas Gasperini, who was a tide-turning impact substitute against Leinster. With two tries in quick succession, Gasperini helped the Treviso side gain a foothold against the Dubliners, on route to a memorable victory.

However, we hand the accolade to Ewan Ashman, following another excellent display at the spear-head of his Edinburgh side. In what is one of world rugby's toughest tasks, Ashman excelled when scrummaging against the Springbok-heavy Sharks pack, and executed a sublime set-piece that dutifully awarded him a second URC Player of the Match award in a row.

Another difficult position to decipher this week, as we have to give a deserved shout out to Sharks replacement tight-head Vincent Koch, who lifted the Durban side's second half efforts with a nice try. However, we hand the number three jersey Bryan O'Connor, who was not fazed to make his first Ulster start in the hostile atmosphere of Thomond Park on derby day. With Tom O'Toole side-lined for the Belfast side, O'Connor stepped up and competed well at the scrum and emptied the tank around the park. Munster's second half runaway was by no means his doing, upon a strong first start in white.

It was another impressive performance in Leinster colours for Conor O'Tighearnaigh, who's stock only continues to rise as a future Ireland prospect. At just 23-years-old, the colossal 6ft 7 lock will only grow his technical game to couple a hulking frame, with a stand-out performance coming in Leinster's losing effort to Benetton. Having made his Ireland A call-up in 2025, O'Tighearnaigh is on the radar of Andy Farrell and the coaching staff, with the incoming Nations Championship possibly set to provide a golden opportunity for a first Ireland Test cap.

Packing down the engine room alongside the towering Irishman is Cardiff lock Rory Thornton, who was a stand-out operator from the hard-fought Welsh derby win over the Ospreys. With a burning desire to get the upper hand over the regional rivals, Thornton fought tooth and nail against the Ospreys, with some excellent work around the breakdown and disrupting the set-pieces. The 31-year-old also grabbed a try against his former side, in what must have been a conflicting score for the Bonymaen original.

We return back up to the Hive Stadium for our next entry, before we round off our picks with the show stealers from Limerick. Glen Young was once again tremendous for Edinburgh, with an exhaustive effort on the defensive foot a difference maker against the bruising Sharks ball-carriers. With a relentless attitude to cutting the South Africans down to size, Young mustered up an impressive tackle count, having also gotten his name upon the score-sheet mid-way through the first half.

We round off our Team of the Week for Round 16 of the URC, with two unforgettable performances in the red of Munster. We start with John Hodnett, who scored four tries for his province in the Irish inter-pro derby win over Ulster on Saturday. Two short drives over the whitewash and two stunning breakaway scores down the touch-lines, defined a truly memorable day for the back row forward. Couple this with a tireless work rate in defence, and you have all the ingredients for a Player of the Match award.

It must have been bitter-sweet for Alex Kendellen, who scored a hat-trick of tries but was overshadowed at the end of the match by his back row partner John Hodnett. Kendellen entered the match from the bench and was able to grab two tries within nine minutes of joining the fray. His first two scores saw the young Ireland hopeful spot space around the back of the breakdowns, with only eyes for the line as he broke free from the Ulster defenders. His hat-trick score was a lung-bursting kick-chase, as he won the foot-race against the back-peddling defender before grounding the ball in the in-goal area.