DHL Stormers - Hacjivah DayimaniThere has been some talk of the missing bling to the DHL Stormers attacking and transition game but if there is one man who can bring it back it is Hacjivah Dayimani.
The Jeppe old boy has been omnipresent in the last three Stormers games, and it may not be a coincidence that his man of the match performances has come from his preferred position of No8, which he switched to after Springbok Evan Roos broke his jaw playing against La Rochelle in mid-December. What has been noticeable in the time of Roos’ absence is the effort that Dayimani is making to be more physical.
“In past seasons there was a perception that I was always in the wide channels but shy away from the hard yards, so in the big games I want to rock up and show that I can also be visible in the dirty places,” said Dayimani ahead of his latest man of the match performance against Sale Sharks.
In that game Dayimani scored a good try going through the middle but was also the catalyst out wide for one of the Stormers’ tries of the season so far as first his deft handling created the space down the left touchline for wing Leolin Zas as the Stormers attacked from deep inside their own half and then he carried on the attack with his running skills before transferring back inside for Zas to complete his second try. The first Zas try also had the Dayimani touch to it as it was his great breakout that created the field position that led to the score.
Vodacom Bulls - Devon Williams
In a game where the Bulls dominated and could have won by a lot more at Ashton Gate, there were a multitude of heroes. The award this week could easily have gone to the front row, who demolished Bristol’s scrum and won six straight scrum penalties. It could have gone to Harold Vorster, who put in a blinder at 12 or to some of the loose forwards who were exceptional.
But it goes to Devon Williams who came into his own, who unleashed a calculated and mature counter-attack time after time to stretch Bristol and give the Bulls acres of space on the outside.
Not only was he good in his core abilities, but his ability to read the game from the back, find the space on the outside and turn defence into attack has made him one of the Bulls’ best acquisitions this season, even if he is on loan from the Pumas.
Williams showed that on the biggest stage he is more than comfortable and more than inclined to shine. A worthy man of the match winner and this week’s hero in a game the Bulls showed they can win away in cold temperatures.
EPCR Challenge Cup
Emirates Lions - JC Pretorius
The Lions pretty much gave up the contest when they sent a team of fringe players to unbeaten Montpellier last week. And it wasn’t surprising that Montpellier dominated most of the game in terms of possession and territory. How the scoreline wasn’t at least 20 points in their favour by halftime remains a mystery, but has to be because of the Lions ferocious defence - which in the absence of much else - was all they had going for them.
At the core of it was a former Springbok Sevens flyer, who was everywhere on the field. From a few jackals to several tackles on the day and putting his body on the line in every corner of the field, Pretorius never gave up.
It would have been better had he been given more support, but he is our hero of the week.
Toyota Cheetahs - Munier Hartzenberg
The Cheetahs adopted new home of Amsterdam didn’t give them the kindest of welcomings as they looked rusty after more than a month without any action. But while they tried to go toe to toe with French Top 14 outfit Pau and lost, one player stood out. Wingers are often dependent on the amount of ball that comes their way, but Munier Hartzenberg is an exception.
He went looking for work and when he got the ball, always looked dangerous. From being tackled out in the corner in the first half to grabbing a try for himself later on,
Hartzenberg was by far the most dangerous Cheetah on the field and for that he wins our Hero of the week award.
Hollywoodbets Sharks - Ox NcheOx Nche’s role in swinging the Rugby World Cup semifinal against England in the Springboks’ favour is still fresh in most memories, and no doubt it is in Nche’s memory too, but there will surely be space in his memory bank for the role he played outside of his specialist scrumming in the Sharks’ comfortable win over Oyonnax in the EPCR Challenge Cup at the weekend.
Nche was up to dot down the first try after a strong run from Aphelele Fassi, and soon the scoresheet read Sharks two tries, both from Nche, when a switch of direction after the ball initially went to the left off an attacking lineout saw the big man thunder over in the right corner.
Afterwards, Nche said in the television interview he can’t remember scoring a brace of tries in a game, but had he stayed on for the entire 80 minutes he might have notched a hattrick such was his prominence as a ball carrier.
Nche’s value to the team cannot be underestimated as he appears to spark to players around him, and sometimes when he carries it evokes memories of the 1990s, when the Natal players of that era buzzed like angry bees around the hulking ball-carrying figure of Wahl Bartmann.