Hero of the week: Marco van Staden

It is very rare that when a Springbok scores a hat-trick of tries he isn’t seen as our hero of the week. But while Kurt-Lee Arendse’s try-scoring exploits rightly won him the man of the match there was another player who did the damage to make Arendse’s road a lot easier.

Bulls flanker Marco van Staden, or Eskom as he is known, got his first start after 10 caps off the bench, and boy did he make it count.

Van Staden not only made the Wallaby breakdown a nightmare, but his trademark carries were exceptional, and on two occasions were a big part of two of Arendse’s tries. By taking the ball at speed and getting across the gain-line, Van Staden opened up space for the Boks to eventually score.

It was just reward for one of the most uncompromising, quiet members of the Bok squad, and gave the Bok management plenty of food for thought.