SA's URC young stars catch the eye

Every rugby season brings a wealth of new talent, and in some cases South Africa is blessed with some of the best young talent on the planet.

This year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship has already shown us several new stars that are experiencing their breakthrough season, and while it is never easy to single out individuals in a team sport, we gave it a crack and came up with these four names.

Sacha Mngomezulu
Stormers
Age: 20

The fact that the SA under-20 captain was recently invited to the Springbok training camp shows just how highly he is rated by the Bok management and while his senior experience is extremely limited - he hasn’t even played five senior games yet - there is so much belief in the ability he brings that already everyone is talking about him as a future Springbok. His one start against Zebre saw him kick seven out of seven and score a try and showed just how good he can be this past weekend against the Emirates Lions. He still has a way to go, but certainly there will be many who hope he can live up to the hype created around him.

Thaakir Abrahams
Sharks
Age: 22

While Abrahams has some work to do on his defence, on attack there are few in the Vodacom URC that can touch him in full flight. Small, but fleet-footed, and possessing a deadly sidestep, Abrahams has punched above his weight for some time now and has never looked out of step at senior level. While the Sharks are blessed with some exceptional talent on the wing, Abrahams is part of a new generation that fears nothing and can’t wait to have a crack. Watch him fill highlight reels for years to come

Henco van Wyk
Lions
Age 21

It’s been said that he is called Special Weapon X for a reason. And the reason is simple. Van Wyk has burst onto the scene with his irrepressible play and powerful runs at outside centre. His ability to break a tackle, to score tries that seem impossible and to work hard on defence has already earned him a call-up to the SA A side and it is likely higher honours are in his future. With a dearth of options behind Lukhanyo Am for the Green and Gold jersey, Van Wyk’s senior career may be short, but he has shown time and again that he has the temperament to take on the world’s best and it won’t be long before the rest of the world knows his name.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Bulls
Age 21

Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ rise to prominence is an interesting one. A schoolboy monster at Grey College, he played lock and prop and had to find his feet when arriving at Loftus Versfeld in the front row. Finally he has settled at hooker and seems to be comfortable learning from an old head like Bismarck du Plessis.

He has some work to do on his lineout throws, but his robust play at hooker, his incredible pace for a front row and his size have already caught the eye and while he is only still 21, he has years of rugby ahead of him that he can grow from schoolboy monster to someone who terrorises opposition at international level.