URC best SA players that impressed me 23 March

What a round for SA teams. All four unions won. The sharks finally stood up and manage to beat ulster with some grit and determination, except for some coach killers with stupid 50/50 passes. 

Ethan Hooker was my player of the match. If he keeps this up we could be looking at our future bok 12. His work rate and speed was phenomenal. He has a nice size to him and can play direct when needs to. We need to look after this kid. 

The lions blew the doors off in Connacht. Playing with 14 men for most of the game and manage to make it look effortless. Number of players put their hands up. Nohamba had a quiet game but still scored. Horn seems to be the player to watch for. Then, JC pretorious ridiculous pass to set his outside backs away. The lions played well as a team. 

Stormers, got to see Roos getting back to his best. Speed and go forward, great at mixing it up. Willemse had a sublime game and wonder whether Gelant is even worth having in the team. Great to see Simelane at 13 for the stormers. So many line breaks. Hartzenberg got 3 tries, not bad. 

The bulls had to work really hard in Wales, but the experience came through with Willie pulling the strings with great passes and kicks. Bulls look like a difficult team. Really like the looks of Gumede, another sharks reject that is showing his true value. 

Arendse, what a player. So dangerous with ball in hand. Really curious to know how many meters he got. 

I hope this run continues, looks like a good break and hopefully we can have more teams finish in the top 8. Europe, watch put

Interesting times ahead...only 2 log points between 5th place Stormers and 10th place. Ospreys another 3 points down....11 teams with a realistic chance of making home quarters.  Benetton...https://www.unitedrugby.com/clubs/leinster

12 rounds completed and another cracker of a season final 6 rounds stretch..

Arendse’s numbers yesterday. Eight runs, 4 clean breaks, 10 defenders beaten, 2 offloads….133 metres.  More dangerous than a green mamba!

That pass from Roos that lead to the oppo try...haha i watched it in slow-mo about twenty times. 

He had a nice game, but that pass was hilarious. You could see what he was trying to do...but nobody on his team, nor the stadium, or anywhere else on earth, was on the same page.

lol Moz, Arendse is incapable of playing badly. His instincts are ridiculously accurate. You can tell that he doesn't have to think about what to do. He kinda lives in flow-state 24/7.

"The term “flow state” describes a mental state in which a person is completely focused on a single task or activity. They are directing all of their attention toward the task, and they do not experience many thoughts about themselves or their performance."

Agree on Arendse, he is like a hawk, ready to pounce

What a player

Just watched some highlights of Duane, what a player. Always Mr consistent, he brought, power, size, pace and skill. Fantastic on the ground and won so many balls for us. Don't think we will see another 8 like him and probably our greatest 8 in a line of so many great 8s that played for SA. 

Wiese is good in tight hard games when you don't have a lot of space. He is a hard bugger and probably what we need. I like Roos, but he needs some torque. Feels a bit light for me when he goes on the drive. Frankie Horn reminds me of uncle Fester. 

Then we have Cameron Hannekom that came from nowhere. Wonder what will happen with Dyamani given how well he is playing for the Stormers but not test quality. Great when the game opens up. Gumede seems more hardened and can hold his own. I wonder whether he should be shifted to 6 as Kolisi replacement. 

Great to see our Loose forward conveyor belt, but just need to get world beaters on the park. I'm still concerned a bit at 6. 

Pepsi is a good player, but needs to step up a bit more and be involved in more battles on the ground. 

The only guy I recall owning Ox was Tupou in the RC in 2021. At 5’ 10”  and 300lbs he is low enough to the ground so Ox couldn’t get under him.

"Duane - Not a linking 8, has 2x WCs to his name."

Sorry to differ Plum, but that's nonsense...the perception is there because  of how he was ordered to play for the Boks...he's the most complete 8 we ever had... in my top 10 Boks of all time...with Eben, Habana and Gerber...and Arendse might be forcing his way in too.

‘ He literally relies on his power to make an impact with ball in hand and in the tackle 

He will never attack space He will never try step a player You won’t see him join the line as a link player, you won’t see deft touches, soft hands, great lines or angles taken’

Geez Dave you have him confused with Dud Allende.

The Boks are in a tricky spot where a lot of the top players are not at retirement age, but will be at the next WC. Kitshoff, Malherbe, Eben, Mostert, Kolisi, Faf, Am, DDA... Willie is likely gone already.

Marx, Kwagga, and Kriel might still be there.

The point is, the Boks basically have to change the entire pack. I hope they do because, outliers aside, most 35-36 year-olds don't perform as well as 28-30 year-olds. And I think Roos might be vital to the transition.

The other argument for Roos playing on the side of the scrum is that he would easily slot into the role that PSDT performs for the Boks. He's more compact and faster than PSDT, so would likely get hits in that fraction sooner. I also give him a 10/10 for aggression. The man has that Viking berserker thing going on. He is a big guy, but not massive, making him more apt as a roaming tackler/assassin than the taller and more lanky PSDT.

Tell me where I'm wrong here, Dave...

a) Roos has distribution and tackling skills that match Siya's.

b) Roos is very obviously capable of carrying out PSDT's role.

"Show me where Duane does the stuff you spoke about above. lol stepping and deft touches. You've got more rugby jargon in your head than brain."

Plum, go watch the Wales match in 2015 RWC...winning try offload...Scalla was also a great linking player, but allmoat never for the Bokke...we (Rassie and Meyer before him) don't like flair from loosies...Skinstat would probably not  have been given a shot under them.

...fair enough...I prefer Roos to play 8...Wiese can remain second choice...