United Rugby Championship Team Of The Week | Round Four | Leinster On Top
United Rugby Championship Team Of The Week | Round Four | Leinster On Top
Check out the United Rugby Championship Round 4 Team of the Week, featuring standout performances from Caelen Doris, Huw Jones, Rhyno Smith and RG Snyman
Breaking records and taking names, the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship is rolling, and there ain’t no turning back now.
Just 48 hours after 83,000 fans packed into the iconic Croke Park stadium in Dublin to watch arch-rivals Leinster and Munster duke it out for Irish supremacy, we, like all other rugby fans, are still in awe of how impressive the weekend’s action proved to be.
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Away from the bright lights of Dublin, seven other cracking fixtures of high-octane URC action took place.
Compiling the numbers of who achieved what over the weekend took some doing but here is our round four URC team of the week.
1. Jeremy Loughman – Munster Rugby
Munster’s loosehead firmly got one over on his chief competitor for the Irish number one jersey with an immense performance in a losing cause. Departing the field looking like a spartan returning from war, Loughman could not have given any more than he did with some big-time shots and dynamic carries accompanying a powerful scrummaging performance.
2. Johnny Matthews – Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow’s try-scoring machine was at it once again in round four as he crashed over for his team’s opening score to set the stage for a rout of Zebre. When Matthews gets set at the back of the maul, he is quite possibly the best hooker in world rugby at capitalising.
3. Tadhg Furlong – Leinster Rugby
The ‘Juke Box’ was at his best on Saturday, delivering hit after hit with some trademark shimmying carries combined with some bone-crunching hits. At set piece time, he enjoyed a right old tussle with Loughman and held up his end of the bargain while the other side of the scrum collapsed time and again.
4. RG Snyman – Leinster Rugby
Writing Leinster Rugby next to Snyman’s name still feels like far-fetched fiction from the pen of J.R.R.R Tolkien. Like the creatures that the South African-born author describes in his blockbuster Lord Of The Rings books, Snyman is rugby’s equivalent of Balrog. Battering his way through his former Munster teammates in contact, dominating the air at the line-out and sealing it with a try were just rewards for the 6’11” double World Cup winner.
5. Ruan Nortje – Vodacom Bulls
Captain Pretoria got the motor revving for his team in their first tour match of the season with a complete performance against the Ospreys. Masterful at line-out time and just so damn effective around the park, the lock has gone to another level since becoming a Springbok earlier this year.
6. Jarod Cairns – Emirates Lions
The cat is firmly out of the bag with this one (excuse the pun), as the rugby world is quickly finding out just how impressive the Lions' backrow is. Living in a world where Evan Ross, Elrigh Louws and Cameron Hanekoms of the world garner all of the headlines, the 23-year-old Cairns feels like he is firmly on his way to becoming a Springbok. Once again, front and centre for the unbeaten Lions in their first match on the road this season, Cairns smashed the Dragons ball carriers with monstrous hits.
7. Ben Muncaster – Edinburgh Rugby
Doubling up on opensides (Cairns, despite playing 6, was the Lions openside given South African sides flip their flankers), the Edinburgh youngster had a breakout performance against a strong Stormers pack on Saturday. Claiming two tries in the fixture, the 23-year-old showed his full array of skills, scoring one from around the ruck before racing away from a long way out for his second.
8. Caelen Doris – Leinster Rugby
Stop the votes! We all know who is quite clearly the best number eight in the world in 2024, and to be honest, it isn’t all that close. Doris was playing a different game to the other players at Croke Park as he dragged his team over the line with a performance for the ages. Whilst Munster’s eighth man Gavin Coombes gave a good account of himself, Doris showed there are levels to this game and was simply superb for the full eighty.
9. Gareth Davies – Scarlets
There is life in the old boy yet! Bagging a second successive two-try performance, the Welsh international was the difference for his team as they exacted revenge on Cardiff for their round two loss at home. This result got the Scarlets out of the winless column in a morale-boosting performance for the men from Llanelli.
10. Jacob Umaga – Benetton
Samoa will be counting down the days until the Benetton flyhalf from one of rugby’s greatest families becomes eligible for them. Nearing four years removed from his lone England appearance, the son of Mike Umaga (Tana’s brother) was impervious as his side claimed the first win of the season. Kicking his goals, releasing his backline and defending like a trojan, Umaga was utterly sublime in round four.
11. Harri Millard – Cardiff
Racing away like a fine stallion on derby day, the Cardiff winger netted two tries in an effort that oh so nearly got his team home for what would’ve been a season sweep of their bitter rivals. Alas, it was not to be for the Welsh capital side, but this does not detract from what was a mighty effort from the winger.
12. Jamie Osborne – Leinster Rugby
You know you’re good when the biggest question mark is not if you should be in the team but who do we drop to accommodate you. Given the injury to Robbie Henshaw, Leinster’s brains trust did not have to make the decision this week but the reality of the situation is that Osborne is so good that he is almost certainly the future in the position for both Leinster and Ireland going forward. Of course, he can play just about any position from 12 through to 15, but the 6’4” powerhouse brings a dynamism inside the centre that not even the great Bundee Aki or Henshaw can match at this stage.
13. Huw Jones – Glasgow Warriors
Two tries, yup, that sounds about right for Huw Jones against Zebre. In short, anyone who did not see the free-roaming centre having a big showing against one of the weaker teams in the league clearly doesn’t watch enough Warriors rugby. Hitting that sweet spot in his career where he is in his physical and mental prime, the Scottish centre has risen to the ranks of a top three player in his position in the world.
14. Kurt Lee Arendse
Not to be lazy but what was written about Jones above is pretty much exactly what we could write for the Springbok flyer. While Arendse’s try-scoring prowess is what will garner headlines, few perhaps appreciate that his defensive capabilities are his biggest asset. Alongside fellow Bok winger Cheslin Kolbe, the Bulls star is the best proponent and pulls off a cover defence with his pace and accuracy, creating a deadly combination for opposition attackers.
15. Rhyno Smith – Benetton
A truly underappreciated player in an era where the big names hog the headlines, the former Blitzbokke has been truly exceptional since moving to Italy in 2021. Whether it is from the kicking tee, general play or leadership, Smith has proven that despite Benetton’s big-time signings in the back three, he remains the linchpin that holds it all together.
URC Standings Table After Round 4
Rank | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Pts Differential | Bonus | Points |
1 | Leinster Rugby | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 54 | 74 | 4 | 20 |
2 | Glasgow Warriors | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 146 | 69 | 77 | 4 | 16 |
3 | Emirates Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 62 | 51 | 2 | 14 |
4 | Vodacom Bulls | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 56 | 42 | 2 | 14 |
5 | Connacht Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 120 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
6 | Cardiff Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 101 | 109 | -8 | 4 | 12 |
7 | Munster Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 103 | 101 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
8 | Ulster Rugby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 128 | -33 | 2 | 10 |
9 | Edinburgh Rugby | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 106 | 117 | -11 | 4 | 8 |
10 | Scarlets | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 87 | -4 | 1 | 7 |
11 | Dragons RFC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 111 | -33 | 3 | 7 |
12 | Benetton Rugby | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 107 | -34 | 1 | 7 |
13 | Ospreys | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 77 | 99 | -22 | 2 | 6 |
14 | Hollywoodbets Sharks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 104 | -31 | 2 | 6 |
15 | Zebre Parma | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 124 | -57 | 2 | 6 |
16 | DHL Stormers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 80 | -13 | 1 | 5 |
URC Rugby Schedule For Round 5 Fixtures
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URC Rugby Fixtures Friday, Oct. 18
URC Rugby Fixtures Saturday, Oct. 19
- 8:30 a.m. ET - Zebre Parma vs Lions
- 10:45 a.m. ET - Sharks vs Glasgow Warriors
- 1:00 p.m. ET - DHL Stormers vs Munster
- 1:15 p.m. ET - Edinburgh vs Cardiff
- 3:35 p.m. ET - Dragons vs Benetton
- 3:35 p.m. ET - Connacht vs Leinster
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