United Rugby Championship | Round Five | Team Of The Week
United Rugby Championship | Round Five | Team Of The Week
Discover the top performers from Round 5 of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship, including standout performances from Ox Nche and Damian Willemse
In Round Five of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship, numerous players stood out with stellar performances. This week’s "Team of the Week" lineup highlights their contributions, from powerful forwards to dynamic backs.
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Front-row dominance was a theme, with Ox Nche and Gus McCarthy leading the charge for the Sharks and Leinster, respectively. Neethling Fouché’s work rate helped the Stormers, while RG Snyman and Niccolo Cannone impressed with their physicality and skill. Cormac Izuchukwu, Rory Darge, and Taine Plumtree showcased their tenacity in the back row. Behind the pack, stars like Damian Willemse and Aphelele Fassi lit up the field, capping a weekend of brilliant rugby across the URC.
1. Ox Nche – Hollywoodbets Sharks
Back with a bang, the Springbok superstar had a mighty tussle with Scottish stalwart Zander Fagerson at scrum time. Overall, he got the better of the Warriors pack. In open play, he was highly active, with 10 carries, 6 tackles, and some very tidy work around the ruck.
2. Gus McCarthy – Leinster Rugby
The latest product of Leinster’s seemingly endless talent pipe of top-notch hookers, the former Ireland U20 Six Nations Grand Slam-winning captain is on the fast track to international rugby. Firmly dominating his Irish international opponent Dave Heffernan, McCarthy topped the carry charts for his side with 72 meters from 7 carries to go with his 17 tackles! Safe to say it was a big weekend for the 21-year-old.
3. Neethling Fouché – DHL Stormers
South African Rugby’s most underrated front row had a nip-and-tuck battle with Munster’s Jeremy Loughman at scrum time and usually came out on top. Away from the set piece, Fouché’s work rate around the park was instrumental in his team’s ability to frustrate Munster in Cape Town.
4. RG Snyman – Leinster Rugby
Leinster’s go-go-gadget man was unmarkable for the Connacht defence as he slipped a ridiculous 8 offloads during his team’s dominant win. Capping his performance with a try of his own, Snyman clearly feels at home with the men in blue.
5. Niccolo Cannone – Benetton
Italian international Cannone has been one of the key drivers in his team’s turnaround over the past two rounds. Tied as the top carrier with his brother Lorenzo against the Dragons with 11 carries, the lock was everywhere in attack for his team. Defensively, he was rock solid with 13 tackles, while at set-piece time, he dominated the line-out with 5 grabs.
6. Cormac Izuchukwu – Ulster Rugby
Arguably the most exciting forward prospect in Irish Rugby heading into the November Internationals, the Ulster utility forward dominated the Ospreys on Friday evening. Carrying the ball 10 times with 11 tackles, 3 of which were dominant.
7. Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors
Scotland’s captain went to battle with the powerful Sharks pack and held his own as his team departed with two losing bonus points in a decent return. Ending his day with 10 carries and 13 tackles, it was a busy showing from the skipper.
8. Taine Plumtree – Scarlets
From a winless team drifting from stadium to stadium in search of a win to giant killers, the Scarlets backed up their win over Cardiff in round four with a huge win over the previously undefeated Vodacom Bulls in round five. Sealing the deal with a late try, the Scarlets completed a super performance, earning some well-deserved log points. Chopping down the big Bulls’ ball carriers with ferocious intent, Plumtree completed 21 tackles (3 dominant) and a turnover in what was his best showing of the season to date.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – Leinster Rugby
At this point, we are running out of ways to describe the Leinster star who, outside of Antoine Dupont, is the best scrumhalf in the world at the moment. Having a hand in everything positive Leinster did, JGP taught Connacht’s uber-impressive youngster Ben Murphy a lesson in scrumhalf play in their head-to-head showdown.
10. Damian Willemse – DHL Stormers
This is a timely reminder that when fit, he has to feature in the Springboks’ starting XV, as the Stormer's Swiss Army knife was dominant against Munster. Closing his account with 12 carries for 59 meters with 3 offloads whilst also scoring 14 points from the boot, Willemse confirmed why he is so high up on the FloRugby top 100 player rankings.
11. Jacob Stockdale – Ulster Rugby
The human embodiment of The Hangover meme ‘We are back!”, you know what we are talking about. The Ulster winger has been in irresistible form so far this season and is now firmly a threat to James Lowe for the Ireland number 11 shirt. Not since his 2018 season when he was Guinness Six Nations player of the tournament has the winger looked so good.
12. Jamie Osborne – Leinster Rugby
There were several contenders for this position, but the Leinster youngster gets the nod for us, given his dominant showing against the incumbent Ireland inside centre Bundee Aki. Completely getting one over his international teammate, Osborne further solidified the idea that he should be the man to start in the green number 12 shirt from now on, ushering in a new era of exceptional young Irish talent to the national set-up.
13. Tom Farrell – Munster Rugby
Even in a losing cause, Munster’s new signing stood out as a top-drawer player. Topping the carries charts for his team with 14 carries whilst also scoring a try, Farrell, whilst not exactly the same as his predecessor Antoine Frisch, is the linchpin in the Munster backline. Against a desperate Stormers team, he was one of the few Munster players who had a strong outing.
14. Tom Rogers – Scarlets
Clearly, the Spanish Rugby Union will be looking into Rogers’ family trees as he put in a matador-like performance as his team tamed the Bulls at Parc Y Scarlets. Gaining 40 meters from 5 carries, Rogers scored the match-winning try late in the contest to seal a memorable evening for the men from West Wales.
15. Aphelele Fassi – Hollywoodbets Sharks
Returning to the URC with a spring in his step following a sensational international campaign with the Springboks, Fassi has taken the step from a talented club player to an undeniable international performer. Carrying the ball 13 times for 71 meters and a try, Fassi caused Glasgow all sorts of issues in a counterattack and was exceptional in defence as he covered the backfield masterfully.
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