SA Players Team of the Week - Round 13

 Jaco Kriel over Coetzee and Sithole over Skosan

 And Jantjies over Catrikilis 

 Shezza
I do not use bench players in my team of the week - if Jantjies started he definitely would have qualified.
I really hesitated between Marcel Coetzee and Jaco Kriel and am prepared  to make the necessary change to my team.  However to my mind the following should play a role in my decision - hence my change of opinion on that score :
Coetzee0/000/3/1628050014/00/020/0
Kriel1/050/4/1122012116/12/000/0
Skosan was put under tremendous pressure by the Highlanders and peppered with high kicks and he came out on top of all challenges.   The fact that Skosan faced one of the  two of the most successful wings in Super 15 - played a role in my decision in that case.     

 Brycy - after scoring the highest points of any center in the competition for weeks on end - De Allende performed under-par this weekend.  Was very disappointed in him - should have brought in young Vorster this week.    

...lucky JDV will be back in time for the RWC team photo to replace him then..  

 You must be hoping against hope in this case.  It is beginning to look like SA now has better centers than New Zealand in De Allende and Vorster.      

 ...not so clevermike beg to differ mate, the highest point scoring midfeilders are playing for NZ teams...Naholo and Savea come off their wings and and get heavily involved in the midfield ...that's what makes our wingers so much superior to anything you've got...if you could emulate that then you might be on to something...

 I must say Jantjies played really well when he came on for the Lions against the Landers. Well played Lions coaching Team.

 hakwa
I am surprised by Ackerman as a coach - he was a well-known druggy when he was still playing rugby and not really an inspirational leader.   He took a team of unknown rookies and has had a very good record for such a team this year.  
The Lions Super 15 team last year struggled financially and when Emirates took over the bulk of their sponsorship this year - Ackerman used the money to increase the benefits of the players and you see only minimal losses of good younger players leaving the Lions despite the fact that the market in Japan and Europe should be wide open for some of the very promising youngsters like Whiteley, Tecklenburg, Jaco Kriel and Vorster.
In any event the time when the Lions was constantly the wooden spoonists in Super 15 is clearly gone and one can only see future improvement in the team.  For that they should thank Ackerman.
One wonders what is going to happen to the Stormers when their mentally-deficient coach leave them this year?           

By all accounts the brains behind the Lions side is the assistant coach.......Swys de Bruin

 Brycy
I am talking of centers here - not wings.  Looks to me that the NZ wings had to perform as wings as well as cover for the under-par NZ centers.  

 Rico Gear is playing well for the Chiefs. Maybe the sight of Hansen in the stands had something to do with that.