Three from four wins is not something to be scoffed at and was it not for another dubious red card, South Africa could've had a full house of wins in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
But, there were enough positive signs in the wins from the Stormers, Sharks and Lions to make up for the tough loss the Bulls suffered overseas.
The coastal sides returned to winning ways in front of their home fans as the Stormers and Sharks picked up valuable victories in Cape Town and Durban, respectively, to get them away from the bottom three spots in the tournament.
Players from the two sides dominate the Independent Newspapers team of the week after not featuring at all last week.
Damian Willemse v Munster stats drop 👇
— HG Rugby (@HuwGriffinRugby) October 20, 2024
80 mins
59 metres
15 passes
14 points
12 carries 🥇
7/9 tackles
6 kicks
6 defenders beaten 🥇
4 conversions
3 offloads 🥇
1 quick throw
1 penalty kick
1 drop goal
0 pens conceded
He was plan A, plan B & plan C!
pic.twitter.com/4gJsdRcxWN
The Stormers had a second-half grind and thanks to the boot of flyhalf Damian Willemse, they secured a first-ever win over former URC champions Munster. Defensively they were outstanding and thanks to some slick handling at the back, they scored some brilliant tries.
The Bok power of the Sharks proved too much for defending champions the Glasgow Warriors but how they allowed the Scots to come back and score two quick-fire tries to salvage two points from the match was borderline criminal. But fullback Aphelele Fassi entertained on the attack alongside winger Makazole Mapimpi. The Sharks' forwards laid the platform with lock Eben Etzebeth at the helm.
⭐️ Your Vodacom #URC Man of the Match ⭐️
🏅 Aphelele Fassi | @sharksrugby 🏅
🏅 Damian Willemse | @thestormers 🏅#VodacomMOTM | #STOvMUN #SHAvGLA pic.twitter.com/R9POJ4MO6E
It was another 23-man effort from the Lions in a wet and soggy Parma as they held on with a mammoth defensive effort in the dying minutes to secure a fourth victory over Zebre Parma. They are one of two sides who are unbeaten in the URC and were it not for the 15 men tackling their hearts out in the last five minutes, they could've given up their win record this season.
That red card will still be the main discussion this week and if it was the right one for Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar. But they were under pressure after going down to 14 men and conceded their winless run in their second tour match.
Prop Wilco Louw showed his class in the scrums again and is unlucky to miss out on the team of the week, while winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, who will head to Japan soon, keeps stringing together good performances, but misses out thanks to the Lions' Richard Kriel.
Best player: With a flawless kicking performance off the tee, slotting all four conversions and a penalty goal, and hitting a spectacular drop goal to take the game away from Munster, Willemse stands out as the Player of the Week. He kicked 14 points, made 12 carries, ran 59 metres and combined excellently with fullback Warrick Gelant to get their attack going. The Sharks' Aphelele Fassi sparkled and is going from strength to strength, while winger Makazole Mapimpi, Eben Etzebeth and the Stormers' Marcel Theunissen deserves an honourable mention.
URC team of the weekend: 15 Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), 14 Richard Kriel (Lions), 13 Ruhan Nel (Stormers), 12 Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), 11 Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), 10 Damian Willemse (Stormers), 9 Morne van den Berg (Lions), 8 Keke Morabe (Stormers), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka (Sharks), 6 Marcel Theunissen (Stormers), 5 JD Schickerling (Stormers), 4 Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), 3 Neethling Fouche (Stormers), 2 Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), 1 Ox Nche (Sharks)