If I have to select a team based on performances this past weekend - it would look like this:-
15 Willie le Roux
14 Ruan Combrinck
13 Francois Venter
12 Damian de Allende
11 Francois Hougaard
10 Handre Pollard
9 Cobus Reinach
8 Warren Whitely
7 Pieter Labushagne
6 Jaco Kriel
5 Pieter-Steph du Toit
4 Franco Mostert
3 Frans Malherbe
2 Adriaan Strauss
1 Steven Kitshoff
There was not much to choose between Willie le Roux and Jesse Kriel - but Le Roux was massive against the Blues.
At 14 I had to choose between Johnny Kotze and Ruan Combrinck - Hard choice, but I think Combrinck took it by the thinnest of margins
At 13 - Francois Venter was the key to frustrate the Blues backline attacks and he had a very good defensive game. None of the 13's showed much in attacking play - none was better than Venter - so he is my choice for the week.
Vermeulen had a very quiet game - same as the previous week - so Whiteley was the obvious choice.
The decision between Labuschagne and Bothma was slight. Labuschagne is a better ball protector and recoverer of balls and substantially superior in defense - while Bothma caught the eye carrying balls. On an all-round basis Labuschagne is the better player.
I rarely would pick a bench player - but Malherbe was so superior to all the other SA props that I made an exception to the rule. Marcell v an der Merwe also caught the eye - but he was defense and scrumming wise not on par with Malherbe. Mention to be made that the first two scrums of Malherbe led to penalties for the Stormers.
