URC Team of the Week: Irish forwards impress

Leinster, Benetton and the Ospreys impressed in Round 3 of the BKT United Rugby Championship while there was another clean sweep for the South African sides.

Leinster picked up three wins from three as they ended Ulster’s winning start to the season, and a strong first quarter helped Munster to their first victory of the campaign against Zebre.

Connacht’s struggles continued in South Africa against the Bulls, with fellow South Africans the Stormers, Lions and Sharks also picking up wins.

Benetton produced one of the performances of the round as they went wild against the Scarlets, while the Ospreys put last week’s narrow loss to the Lions behind them with a clear win over Glasgow.

15. Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)

The Springbok had an instant impact on their return from the Bulls, running away for an interception try just seven minutes into their bonus points win over Connacht.

Former Sevens star Arendse went 98 yards with the ball in hand, beating three defenders.

14. Suleiman Hartzenberg (DHL Stormers)

The Junior Springbok also looked comfortable on the wing after moving from midfield to replace the injured Seabelo Senatla against Edinburgh, helping himself with two second-half tries.

Hartzenberg caught a looping pass from Chris Dean on the edge of his own 22 and ignored James Lang before sprinting down to score.

And the 19-year-old pounced for a second down in the final game to secure a bonus point for the defending champions.

13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster)

The Irish center picked up where he left off in New Zealand and it was his sublime pass that created Ryan Baird’s opening try in Belfast.

Ringrose went about his business with understated efficiency, from mobilizing the defense to some fine touches in attack, with sophisticated footwork taking Leinster through halfway through the end of the first half.

12. Marius Louw (Emirati Lions)

Louw swapped Durban for Johannesburg during the tight season and he produced his best performance yet in a Lions shirt as they took two wins from two on their Welsh tour.

The center was at the forefront as the Lions won the second-half winning-line battle against Cardiff, while he also proved a useful lock in helping PJ Botha work his way up for the second of their four tries.

11. Keelan Giles (Ospreys)

The chances of Giles making his Wales debut in next month’s Autumn Tests have dwindled further after his second salvo of two tries in the space of eight days.

Three Glasgow defenders couldn’t stop the float-toed winger from crossing into the corner for the Ospreys’ first try, while he beat four players for pace to sprint on Rhys Webb’s kick-off .

10. Tomas Albornoz (Benetton)

The Argentina international put Benetton on the path to another impressive home win by scoring their first 19 points against the Scarlets.

Albornoz faked three defenders to grab the opening try, which he converted, and he also played a key role in setting up Edoardo Padovani’s try, latching onto a loose ball before feeding his wing with a smart pass.

Albornoz racked up 88 yards with the ball in hand, making two clean breaks and beating nine defenders.

9. Zak Burger (Vodacom Bulls)

Burger scored a try in each half as the Bulls extended Connacht’s miserable start to the season.

The scrum-half shot from close after Walt Steenkamp was stopped just short of the try line, before running a nice line from support to take Ruan Nortje’s pass and land beside the posts.

Burger also provided an assist for Marcell Coetzee as the Bulls secured a third straight win. He edges out Luke McGrath, who showed excellent game management and identified boxing kicks in torrential conditions in Belfast.

1. Andrew Porter (Leinster)

Porter helped silence the Kingspan Stadium crowd with a destructive performance at the scrum, winning a penalty that earned Leinster their first visit to Ulster 22, followed by the opening try.

Leinster won three scrum penalties while Porter was on the pitch and the 26-year-old also played his part in Leinster’s line-up and mayhem game.

2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster)

The hooker crossed for his fifth try in two games as Leinster avenged last season’s home and away defeats to Ulster.

It was another 80-minute man-of-the-match performance from Sheehan, whose lineout throw was on point again, while he also popped up with some great moments on defense, which included two turnovers.

3. Keynan Knox (Munster)

Knox scored his first try in 17 months as Munster picked up their first win of the season against Zebre.

The 23-year-old was part of a Munster maul who netted three tries in the first 28 minutes, with a tight header grabbing the second after fending off Enrico Lucchin’s tackle attempt.

Special mention to veteran Brok Harris, man of the match in the Stormers’ victory over Edinburgh.

4. Lopeti Timani (Cardiff)

The Tongan international impressed on his Cardiff bow as they fell at home to the Lions.

Timani made powerful carries and would have scored on his debut with a try had it not been for a huge tackle from Sibusiso Sangweni.

The 32-year-old also topped the tackles charts with 16 as Cardiff fell to a second straight defeat.

5. Tadhg Beirne (Munster)

After a frustrating first outing at Newport last week, Beirne was back to doing what he did best against Benetton – stealing lineouts and stealing a breakdown ball.

He and Peter O’Mahony tormented Zebre on the lineout, with Munster winning eight opposing shots in the first half.

Beirne’s work on the bridge also allowed Niall Scannell to cross for his first try.

6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster)

We don’t know why Zebre hooker Giampietro Ribaldi kept throwing darts in O’Mahony’s direction, but the Munster captain certainly wasn’t complaining.

Like Beirne, it was a much better performance from O’Mahony, but he was frustrated by Munster’s failure to claim a try bonus point, with the flanker stripped of possession late when he charged towards the corner.

7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)

Van der Flier spearheaded an excellent defensive performance from Leinster as they stopped an in-form Ulster attack in Belfast.

The Irish openside led the tackle charts with 14 and frustrated Ulster on the breakdown, denying them the fastball they craved.

A good clearance gave Luke McGrath that extra second to bring his backline to life ahead of Ryan Baird’s try while Van der Flier was also at the heart of Leinster’s maul which resulted in another score for Dan Sheehan.

8. Marcell Coetzee (Vodacom Bulls)

Coetzee started the season in impressive fashion and bulldozed his way in for his second try in three games as they mastered Connacht.

Three Connacht defenders were unable to stop the former Ulster full-back from close range as he scored the Bulls’ third try in the final minute of the first half.

Coetzee was once again a major threat with the ball in hand, making nine successful runs, while making a team-high 17 tackles.


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