United Rugby Championship Team of the Week: Munster lead the way after Leinster upset but six other teams also represented

Liam Heagney
United Rugby Championship Team of the Week: Munster lead the way after Leinster upset but six other teams also represented

Ulster's Werner Kok, Bulls' Sebastian de Klerk and Munster's Gavin Coombes

Here is the Planet Rugby Team of the Week for Round Four following another excellent weekend of United Rugby Championship (URC) action.

After lighting up the new URC season with their splendid upsetting of Leinster in Dublin, Munster lead the way with five picks in our side. Ulster are next best on three, followed by the Bulls and Glasgow on two apiece.

URC Team of the Week, Round Four

15 Michael Lowry (Ulster): Shout-outs to Willie le Roux for his excellent first half Bulls try at Connacht and to Edinburgh’s Wes Goosen’s for his perfectly-timed try assists to carve open Benetton, but we’re going for the wee Irishman who was pivotal in his team’s statement win in Durban. His deft handling was crucial in scoring and then creating first half tries and while his small stature is often criticised, it worked in his favour here as the Sharks were left with second half yellow and red cards for ill-judged tackles on him.

14 Werner Kok (Ulster): Darcy Graham came up with two well-finished Edinburgh tries in their runaway home success against Italian opposition, but Round Four very much belonged to away teams as six of the eight matches were won by the visitors. Alex Nankivell deserves plenty of pats on the back for his role off the bench as an early replacement in Munster’s win at Leinster. James Lowe? It was more a case of James Who, such was Nankivell’s impact. Kok, though, gets this berth for what he did back in South Africa at Kings Park. There was chutzpah in the way he took the fight to his old team, scoring Ulster’s second try for good measure, and his belief in not taking a backward step was inspiring.

13 Tom Farrell (Munster): The recently turned 32-year-old is having the time of his life at the minute. He consistently produces the goods for Munster and was at it again on Saturday in Dublin against an outclassed Leinster. Farrell’s hunger in the carry was obvious all the way through, none more so when exhibiting fantastic skills for a superb first half try and then in the play that secured a penalty try. The uncapped midfielder’s display has been used to criticise the lop-sidedness in Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad towards Leinster and his belated call-up on Monday was richly deserved.

12 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow): Andre Esterhuizen was a fleeting bright spot for the infuriating Sharks while Dan Kelly was another of the heroes crucial to Munster’s sweet ambush of Leinster, but British and Irish Lions tourist Tuipulotu fits this shirt snuggly. It is often the case that several players return from the quadrennial tour and begin the new club season terribly, but the midfielder has fitted back in at the Warriors without a hitch as Ospreys found to their cost at the weekend. Take a look at his lovely deception in the creation of a Kyle Steyn try.

11 Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls): Jacob Stockdale deserves a mention for his seamless transition from a Round Three full-back to the Ulster wing, confident play that has been rewarded with his Ireland call, but our preference this week is for the South African flyer. De Klerk wasn’t on the scoresheet at Connacht but his link play was exemplary in getting his team their victory. All three of his try assists were beauties, a masterclass in when to give to perfect score-creating passes.

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10 Jack Crowley (Munster): Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had his box of tricks open in the Stormers’ convincing win at Zebre. Check out his finish on 46 minutes and his delicious assist 12 minutes later. However, we can’t look beyond Crowley, the 25-year-old Irishman, and his influence in his team’s seminal derby win at Leinster. The fixture had been hyped as a head-to-head with Sam Prendergast but the duel never caught fire, such was the dominance of Crowley who is now a shoo-in for the Ireland No.10 jersey against the All Blacks on November 1.

9 Jamie Dobie (Glasgow): We must doff the cap to Nathan Doak for his all-round Ulster contribution at Sharks and also give much kudos to rookie Ethan Coughlan for the vibrancy of his Munster play at Leinster, including his jaw-dropping intercept and run from his own 22-metre line to score. But the position this week goes to Scottish international Dobie for the game-defining alertness he demonstrated for the Warriors. Ospreys away at Bridgend in difficult conditions was a tricky assignment, but the scrum-half made the win look easy with two very different looking tries and then coming within a fingertip of a hat-trick that no one would have begrudged.

The forwards

8 Gavin Coombes (Munster): Stormers’ Evan Roos, Bulls’ Jeandre Rudolph and Edinburgh’s Marcus Bradbury were all genuine contenders, such was the calibre of their Round Four play, but a player only originally chosen as a sub at the weekend swoops in given what the performance could mean long-term for his career. Coombes’ face certainly doesn’t fit for Ireland head coach Farrell despite his club consistency and it would have hurt conceding the No.8 shirt to the up and coming Brian Gleeson for Croke Park, but the 28-year-old expertly took his opportunity when sent on as a first half sub. Such was the quality effort he produced, the cheer of the evening was sparked by his fist pump to the travelling fans when heading to the sideline following his irrelevant yellow card. Sweet, sweet redemption.

7 Nick Timoney (Ulster): How this top notch operator had just four Test caps is quite the riddle but he is in the latest Ireland squad and the nuisance he demonstrated at the Sharks showed exactly why. When it came to defending and drawing a line in the South African sand, the 30-year-old was to the fore and his conviction in the tackle coaxed those around him to reach greater heights. Ulster would have buckled in challenging situations in the not so distant past, but Timoney’s grand form is emblematic of their new-found determination not to roll over.

6 Tadhg Beirne (Munster): It’s incredible to think that this diamond in the rough was so unappreciated by Leinster as a youngster that he had to go to Scarlets in Wales to demonstrate his worth. Of course, he is now firmly the business in the colours of Ireland and the British and Irish Lions, but the destruction he did to Leinster on Saturday was a sharp reminder that for all the kisses and bouquets about the player development pathway in Dublin, they don’t always get it right. Beirne was class, but he wasn’t the only blindside to catch the eye as Alex Mann was boss for Cardiff at Dragons.

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5 Reinhardt Ludwig (Bulls): We have already saluted the South African side’s success in Galway with the selection of De Klerk on the wing, but wins away from home are always build on defiance up front and the franchise’s new skipper was immense in leading his forwards. Three of them – including Ludwig – registered tackle counts of 20-plus. That was treasured body on the line determination.

4 Fineen Wycherley (Munster): It’s hard to believe that this ‘youngster’ is now 27, but it has been a long road to his juncture where he is now a must-pick under new coach Clayton McMillan. Check out his previous appearance stats – he has been considered a bench option on too many occasions but maybe now he is set to come into his prime. What he did at Leinster, topping the Munster tackle count and not giving a fig about the vaunted reputation of the opposition pack, was easy on the eye.

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3 Zachary Porthen (Stormers): We could have easily given this to Tadhg Furlong, given the dominance Leinster had over Munster in the scrum, the only facet of play they bossed in the Irish derby. However, we have gone for the 21-year-old who learned on Monday, less than 48 hours after making his first URC career start, that he had been called up by the Springboks for their upcoming European tour. Skipper of the 2024 Junior Boks, his 67 minutes in Parma at the weekend highlighted he is now primed to step on the accelerator and go places quickly.

2 Morne Brandon (Lions): The front-rower’s URC career consists of just 12 runs as a sub and zero starts at the age of 24 – and he only played 18 minutes in Johannesburg against Scarlets, but what he did in that limited time was crucial in nailing victory for his team. Their 16-6 lead wasn’t convincing and they looked set for a shaky period having lost a player to a yellow card. That was the cue, though, for Brandon to show his value, scoring two tries. He was first rewarded for running a canny support line off his scrum-half to canter over and he next sniped over from maul. Well played.

1 Ox Nche (Sharks): Andrew Porter was a shout despite Leinster’s capitulation; their scrummaging did stand out and Porter helped in that after his early call from the bench. But the continued consistency of Nche gets him in this Round Four team. For whatever reason (we suspect it might be that coach John Plumtree simply isn’t up to the task of running a star-studded team), the Sharks struggle to get the best out of their Springboks, but the loosehead is different gravy when it comes to putting in an acceptable shift week after week. He did it again against Ulster despite the loss.

READ MORE: Sharks to ‘take a look in the mirror’ as under pressure John Plumtree pinpoints key problem against Ulster

Bulls Jack Crowley Tadhg Beirne

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