Nine South Africans have been included in the URC’s Elite XV team of the season.
Three are from the Bulls, three are from the Stormers, two are from the Lions, and Ulster’s Werner Kok joins them.
A South African halfback pairing of Embrose Papier (Bulls) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) would theoretically dictate terms for the team, after Papier scored eight tries and Feinberg-Mngomezulu finished the regular season as the top point scorer with 158 points to both drive their sides into the playoffs.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the only player to retain a spot on the URC Elite XV from last year.
Kok scored eight tries to earn his spot at right wing despite Ulster not reaching the playoffs.
He and Quan Horn (Lions – fullback) feature in the backline alongside Kyle Rowe (Glasgow – left wing), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster – inside centre) and Stafford McDowall (Glasgow – outside centre).
In the pack, two South Africans play in the front row: Stormers loosehead Ntuthuko Mchunu and Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar, who also scored eight tries. They are joined by Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson.
Cobus Wiese, who has played an impact role from the bench as often as he’s started for the Bulls this season, joins Connacht’s Darragh Murray in the second row.
The URC’s Top Try Scorer, Evan Roos (Stormers) features at eighthman alongside the Lions’ Ruan Venter and Connacht’s Cian Prendergast.
SA players shine in the URC
Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s selection would have been tight, after Lions No 10 Chris Smith was awarded the Golden Boot after scoring 17 penalties and 49 conversions for a total 149 points.
The Stormers flyhalf hit 113 points in kicks in comparison, but played four less games than Smith.
Horn was also given the URC’s Ironman award for the second consecutive year after playing a full 80 minutes in every match in the regular season. His tally of 1,440 minutes was even better than last year’s 1,428.
The URC’s Elite XV was elected by a media selection panel spanning all five territories.
Players had to have a minimum of nine appearances to be eligible. The URC’s analytics machine, URC StatMaster, then provided a shortlist of 10 players per position to the panel.
Cardiff fullback Tom Bowen, 20, earned the URC Next-Gen Player of the Season award. The Welsh fullback had a fantastic year, and scored one of the tries that won the game against the Stormers in the final round, clinching Cardiff’s play-off spot in the process.
The URC’s Elite XV
15 Quan Horn, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
