Here are our selections for heroes of the week after the last round of Vodacom URC action.
VODACOM BULLS - Kurt-Lee Arendse
For the second week in a row the pint-sized winger scoops our award and for good measure. In a horror second half where Arendse was left in the wilderness and Leinster ran rampant, the Springbok showed his class more than once, his bravery consistently and was the biggest Bulls threat on the field.
His try in the first half was textbook for Arendse, and while scrumhalf Luke McGrath escaped punishment for a head knock that deserved a red card, Arendse’s finishing was top class.
The same every time he got the ball. Much like his Bok teammate Cheslin Kolbe, Arendse sometimes defies logic, moving forward where you expect him to be stopped. He did that more than once on Friday night, and stood head and shoulders above his teammates. His defence was top class and easily captured our hero award for the second week running.
EMIRATES LIONS - JP Smith
It isn’t often a prop grabs one of these awards, especially as they tend to do their work in the deep dark crevices of the scrum, but Smith has been in some exceptional form since returning from overseas and signing for the Lions.
The prop forward has made his presence felt in the Lions scrum, which is one of the best performing setpieces in the competition, but it is precisely in general play where he has been excellent.
His workrate has been exceptional for the Lions, and his support play is second to none. For a big man to get around the park, he has been at the forefront of a very industrious Lions pack and often looks like one of the loose forwards when he is in full flight.
Smith also isn’t scared to carry the ball and often pops up as a man to make some metres for the Lions when they need it most.
He may not always get it right, but Smith’s workrate and exuberance in a game which was frustratingly refereed and tough to watch, was a highlight on a tough day for the Joburg side.
DHL STORMERS - Evan Roos
It was hard to find a candidate that stood out completely in a Stormers performance that stuttered and started and struggled to find momentum.
After being completely outclassed in the first half, and having very little of the ball, the Stormers attack tried their best in the second half but often were just that little bit too flashy, too keen to run at all costs.
One player who never let his head drop was Evan Roos. The big No 8 was a colossus on defence for the Stormers, and was always there to take the ball up when needed.
With a try disallowed in the second half, he finally got the ball over the line for the crucial score that mattered in the end.
Roos has often been criticised for being a bit too loose, or losing his head at times, but on Saturday despite his team’s frustrations, he never looked backwards.
And that makes him a clear choice for our Hero of the Week.
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS - Aphelele Fassi
It was his solo try that broke the deadlock in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship game at Hollywoodbets Kings against Edinburgh, catching a clearance kick near his own 10 metre line and hemmed in against the touchline before breaking a couple of waves of defenders on route to scoring 60 metres away.
For Natal old timers, it might have been reminiscent of the try Doc Louw scored taking the ball near his own tryline from a Western Province restart in a Currie Cup match in Durban in 1978 and running the length of the field to score.
Fassi’s was a significant try too, for the Sharks were starting to look increasingly frustrated by their inability to convert their pressure and good play of the first quarter of the game into points. Fassi provided what in soccer parlance would be referred to as the assist for the Sharks’ second try too, and produced a genius 50/22 with an excellent field kick at a crucial stage of the game too.