United Rugby Championship Team of the Season: Glasgow Warriors lead the way after triumphant campaign
Sione Tuipulotu of Glasgow Warriors, Elrigh Louw of the Bulls and Jack Crowley of Munster.
As the dust settles on another magnificent United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign, we have had a discussion and picked our Team of the Season.
After securing their maiden title by defeating the Bulls 21-16 in the final, Glasgow Warriors boast five players in our team, with four from the losing finalists featuring.
United Rugby Championship Team of the Season
15 Warrick Gelant (Stormers): The Springbok full-back returned to the Stormers after a season in France and struggled initially. However, he soon hit his straps and became a real threat with ball in hand for the 2022 champions. Gelant gave his side good attacking momentum from the back, especially during the latter rounds, and beats out fellow Bok Willie le Roux of the Bulls and Josh McKay of Glasgow Warriors.
14 Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors): The Glasgow Warriors captain played consistently well throughout his team’s victorious campaign and impressed with his excellent attacking ability and leadership skills. The Scotland flyer is blessed with plenty of pace which made him one of the tournament’s leading players for defenders beaten. Elsewhere, Munster’s Shane Daly also shone.
13 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors): This was a tough decision as the likes of Antoine Frisch of Munster and David Kriel of the Bulls also caught the eye but Tuipulotu gets the nod despite playing at inside centre. However, his fine form meant we had to find a spot for him in our team. His excellent ball carrying put the Warriors on the front foot in most of their matches while he was also solid in defence.
12 Alex Nankivell (Munster): The former Chiefs and Maori All Blacks centre was one of the best signings in the competition as he hit the ground running as soon as he joined Munster and proved a real handful with ball in hand throughout the season. Nankivell set up several try-scoring opportunities for his team-mates and was amongst the tournament’s leading players for successful carries made and turnovers won.
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls): The Bulls star is widely regarded as one of rugby union’s best attackers and he showed regularly that he can beat defenders with ease on his way over the try-line. Arendse’s brilliant attacking form saw him finishing among the frontrunners in several attacking categories as he ended up fourth for tries scored (10), joint eighth for clean breaks (17) and 20th for metres gained (645). Edges out Edwill van der Merwe of the Lions.
10 Jack Crowley (Munster): After shining during Munster’s victorious 2023 campaign, the young Ireland fly-half continued where he left off as he delivered outstanding performances during the Irish province’s run to the semi-finals. The 24-year-old showed his class with top class game management while his playmaking skills also caught the eye. Comes in ahead of Tom Jordan of the Warriors and the Bulls’ Johan Goosen.
9 John Cooney (Ulster): The veteran scrum-half showed that he still has the ability to influence the outcome of matches with his excellent skill-set and goal-kicking ability. Cooney provided a slick service to his outside backs and showed he has plenty of big match temperament when he slotted a decisive penalty in the final minutes of Ulster’s Round 17 win over Leinster. Glasgow Warriors’ George Horne was next best.
Solid-looking pack
8 Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors): Bulls youngster Cameron Hanekom had some good moments throughout the campaign but it wasn’t enough to get into our team ahead of Dempsey. The Scotland and former Australia international was at the forefront of the Warriors’ charge to the title as he made his mark with solid all-round performances. The 30-year-old was a willing ball carrier but also did his bit on defence especially during the latter rounds.
7 Elrigh Louw (Bulls): The Bulls’ forward play was of a high standard throughout the season and Louw’s contribution in that department was excellent. The 24-year-old was one of the competition’s leading ball carriers and finished fourth for successful carries (95) but also made his presence felt on defence where he was in fifth spot (198) for the season.
6 Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors): Like his team-mate and back-row partner Dempsey, Fagerson upped the ante on defence towards the latter rounds of the tournament but he also impressed with ball in hand as he gave his side good go-forward throughout their campaign. There were also strong contributions from Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Thomas Ahern (Munster) and Alessandro Izekor (Benetton).
5 Ruan Nortjé (Bulls): Another one of the Bulls contingent in our team after delivering several outstanding performances at the coalface of his side’s forward effort. The one-Test Springbok was a valuable source of lineout possession for the men from Pretoria and constantly delivered strong defensive performances. The Stormers’ Reuben van Heerden and Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist also played well.
4 Tadhg Beirne (Munster): The Ireland and British and Irish Lions international delivered several outstanding performances during Munster’s campaign as he was solid in the lineouts, was strong on attack and defence while also making a nuisance of himself at the breakdowns where he won his fair share of turnovers. Leinster’s Joe McCarthy and the Bulls’ Ruan Vermaak also caught the eye.
3 Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors): Another one of the champions’ players in our side and the Scotland international beats out the Bulls’ Springbok hard man Wilco Louw, who was also outstanding. Fagerson did well to anchor the Warriors’ scrum but he also had a work-rate on defence while also doing his bit with ball in hand.
2 Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls): Another tough call as Glasgow’s Johnny Matthews, who was the tournament’s top try-scorer, and another Bull, Akker van der Merwe also impressed but Grobbelaar deserves his spot as he was superb throughout. The 26-year-old shone as a ball carrier and also did well in the execution of his defensive duties but made his biggest impact at the breakdowns where he won his team valuable turnover possession on numerous occasions.
1 Ox Nche (Sharks): Although the Sharks were amongst the also-rans in the competition, Nche can be proud of his efforts as he delivered several outstanding displays for the men in black. The burly Springbok loosehead prop earned a reputation a one of the game’s best scrummagers at last year’s World Cup in France and continued in that vein in the URC as he dominated most of his direct opponents at the set-piece.
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