After the Ospreys’ historic win over the DHL Stormers last week, the opposition gets no easier as they look to Round 16 of the BKT URC.
Up step the Vodacom Bulls, and on that, here is this week’s Ones to Watch.
Kurt-Lee Arendse
In three words? Cheslin Kolbe reincarnate. If you asked former South African assistant coach, Felix Jones, to describe him in two, he’d say the ultimate warrior.
Jones isn’t on his own when when it comes to plaudits for Arendse, in Chasing the Sun 2, his team mates were full of praise for the man who’s “always in the right place at the right time”.
A lethal finisher, who could side step you in a phone box, the winger/fullback can create an opportunity from nothing. KLA is one of the fastest players in World Rugby, if he gets a gap, he’ll punish you.
Cameron Hanekom
Hanekom has been making the news in South Africa and Wales for different reasons. In Wales, Hanekom has been identified as being Welsh-qualified, but Bulls Director of Rugby, Jake White, quickly shut down this speculation, stating that his long term future was in South Africa.
In South Africa however, the young back rower has been hitting the headlines for his performances. In his first game in the BKT URC against the Scarlets, Hanekom put in a POTM performance and has only got better as he’s been exposed to more first team rugby.
A threat on both sides of the ball, Hanekom’s work on defence has placed him 5th in the league for turnovers this season.
Akker van der Merwe
An unsung hero in the Bulls pack, van der Merwe has been a constant try threat, benefitting from the Bulls set piece success this season.
The hooker is second for tries score in the BKT URC this season and is one of just two players to have averaged over a try per 80 minutes this season (including players to have played 400+ minutes).
van der Merwe is a relentless ball carrier, boasting a 75% gain-line success rate, making him number one in this category amongst players with 50+ carries.