Super weekend for SA teams
The weekend’s Vodacom SupeRugby had a distinct South African flavour as the Conference claimed four victories while dominating the Vodacom Rugby App statistics.
Australian franchises were on the receiving end of a South African resurgence as the Vodacom Bulls claimed a Queensland Reds scalp in Pretoria to retain their position at the summit of the Conference log.
The Aussies weren’t safe at home either as the DHL Stormers routed defending champions NSW Waratahs in Sydney and the Toyota Cheetahs beat the Western Force in Perth.
In the local derby the Emirates Lions continued their fine run of form with a narrow victory over the Cell C Sharks.
It is the first time this season that the Points bracket is not dominated by way of the boot with three of the top scorers making it into the rankings thanks to tries scored.
Cheetahs flyhalf Joe Pietersen tops the rankings with 14 points with Dan Bowden of the Blues in second place with 13.
Damian de Allende of the Stormers, the Bulls’ Francois Hougaard, Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders) and Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) each scored 10 points over the weekend.
Hougaard, De Allende and Naholo made it into the top-five by scoring a brace of tries each.
Bulls fullback Jesse Kriel covered a whopping 194 metres over the weekend with Hougaard following behind him with 153m and Naholo shortly behind with 152m in the Metres Run category.
The Clean Breaks category was nearly a South African whitewash as De Allende, Faf de Klerk (Lions), Hougaard and Johann Sadie (Cheetahs) share the top ranking with Naholo with three apiece.
Vodacom SupeRugby rookie Harold Vorster highlighted that he is a rising talent beating 10 defenders over the weekend.
He is followed by the Force’s Dane Haylett-Petty (7), Karmichael Hunt (Reds) and Ruan Combrinck (Lions) with six each and Ben Smith of the Highlanders with five.
Meanwhile, the Cheetahs put in a massive defensive effort in their victory over the Force with Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brussow leading the charge with 21 Tackles in that game.
Team-mates Boom Prinsloo and Francois Venter were equally solid in defence with 20 tackles each with the Brumbies’ David Pocock and Deon Stegmann of the Bulls also cracking the top-five with 17 to their names.
Round-9 Stats:
Points:
1. Joe Pietersen (Cheetahs) – 14
2. Dan Bowden (Blues) – 13
3. Damian de Allende (Stormers) – 10
4. Francois Hougaard (Bulls) – 10
5. Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders) – 10
6. Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) – 10
Tries:
1. Damian de Allende (Stormers) – 2
2. Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) – 2
3. Francois Hougaard (Bulls) – 2
4. Ben Smith (Highlanders) – 1
5. Burger Odendaal (Bulls) – 1
Kicks from Hand:
1. Aaron Smith (Highlanders) – 13
2. Joe Pietersen (Cheetahs) – 12
3. Andrew Ellis (Crusaders) – 10
4. Sias Ebersohn (Force) – 10
5. Kurt Coleman (Stormers) – 9
Metres Run:
1. Jesse Kriel (Bulls) – 194
2. Francois Hougaard (Bulls) – 153
3. Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) – 152
4. Charles Piutau (Blue) – 117
5. Ben Smith (Highlanders) – 115
Clean Breaks:
1. Damian de Allende (Stormers) – 3
2. Faf de Klerk (Lions) – 3
3. Francois Hougaard (Bulls) – 3
4. Johann Sadie (Cheetahs) – 3
5. Waisake Naholo (Highlanders) – 3
Defenders Beaten:
1. Harold Vorster (Lions) – 10
2. Dane Haylett-Petty (Force) – 7
3. Karmichael Hunt (Reds) – 6
4. Ruan Combrinck (Lions) – 6
5. Ben Smith (Highlanders) – 5
Tackles:
1. Heinrich Brussow (Cheetahs) – 21
2. Boom Prinsloo (Cheetahs) – 20
3. Francois Venter (Cheetahs) – 20
4. David Pocock (Brumbies) – 17
5. Deon Stegmann (Bulls) – 17
Lineouts Stolen:
1. Eben Etzebeth (Stormers) – 3
2. Jacques du Plessis (Bulls) – 2
3. Dave Dennis (Waratahs) – 1
4. Eliot Dixon (Highlanders) – 1
5. Grant Hattingh (Bulls) – 1
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