The South African teams have finished their matches in the URC for 2021, with the first matches starting again on 8 January 2022 when the Vodacom Bulls take on Zebre at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Parma and the Cell C Sharks take on Benneton at Stadio Comunale Di Monigo Treviso.
It has been a very difficult URC initiation for the South African teams with all four of the teams struggling to adapt to the fast-paced tempo of the foreign teams. Victories were few and far between and the hopes of improvement during home matches were dashed when these fixtures were cancelled at the last minute due to Covid 19 and the visiting teams deciding to return home.
The match schedules were subsequently amended to have the four South African teams play one another which were also the last matches for 2021. The Cell C Sharks beat the Vodacom Bulls 30-16 and the Emirates Lions beat the DHL Stormers 37-19. The matches also saw the return of the various Springboks to their franchises which made a big difference, especially for the Sharks.
But as the saying goes: "every cloud has a silver lining" - this will apply to certain South African players who despite playing in struggling teams, managed to put up their hands and profile themselves as definite prospects for the future.
Players such as Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Carlu Sadie (Emirates Lions), David Kriel (Vodacom Bulls), Pepsi Buthelezi (Cell C Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers) to name a few really showcased themselves and are improving in their playing abilities as the URC continues.
This bodes well for their respective teams and with the inclusion of the recently returned Springboks, one can look forward to the South African teams improving their performances during the remainder of the URC.
With this in mind, we have selected the following South African URC team: 15. Dawid Kriel, 14. Sbu Nkosi, 13. Wandile Simelane, 12. Lukhanyo Am, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Evan Roos, 7. Marcel Coetzee, 6. Sia Kolisi, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Ruben van Heerden, 3. Carlu Sadie, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16. Scarra Ntobeni, 17. Ox Nché, 18. Thomas du Toit, 19. Salmaan Moerat), 20. Phepsi Buthelezi, 21. Stephan Ungerer, 22. Chris Smit, 23. Tim Swiel.
Article by Francois du Toit
