SA XV of the 2015 Super rugby season

[TRF_stormer2010]

So, since we are just about at the end of the season lets put forward our XVs shall we and nominate a MVP.

I'll put down who my considerations are where I feel there are multiple options.

1 Kitshoff
2 Sadly I've been underwhelmed on the whole. I suppose it'll have to be post-captaincy Bismarck
3 Koch / Malherbe / Van der Merwe / Rdelinghuys, no shortage of class here!!
4 Etzebeth even if he hasn't been 2012 Etzebeth has still been a bit ahead of the pack
5 Du Toit despite playing less than half a season did enough to get in for my money
6 Coetzee / Kriel
7 Burger / Kolisi / Tecklenburg / Botha / Labuschagne / Du Plessis / Prinsloo all in there - no clear cut stand outs but a raft of quality
8 Whiteley though I'll still back Vermeulen in tighter games.. I'd move Whiteley to 7 to accommodate Vermeulen at test level as I feel Whiteley just can't be left out!
9 Reinach was owning prior to injury and De Klerk took over when he got his chances again.
10 Lambie gets my vote for his early season efforts and Jantjies thereafter when he got back in similar to the Reinach / De Klerk situation. Pollard has worryingly dropped off somewhat after a blistering start to the season.
11 Basson / Leyds.. a bit of a dissapointing season for our wingers. No suprises the SA top try scorers have been loose forwards and Reinach.
12 De Allende, along with Kriel and the Stormers props gets my nod for MVP
13 Mapoe / Vorster / Venter a bit worrying that our top centers have been non-Bokke
14 Combrinck / Hendricks / Hougaard all solid though nowhere near as instrumental as opposition wingers
15 Kriel though same with Pollard it seems as if he isn't playing his natural game of late- Ludeke?

 

[TRF_heineken]

Okay, let me have a go too...

1. Steven Kitshoff (Stormers) / Schalk van der Merwe (Lions)
2. Bismarck Du Plessis (Sharks) / Robbie Coetzee (Lions)
3. Frans Malherbe (Stormers) / Vincent Koch (Stormers) / Julian Redelinghuys (Lions)
4. Eben Etzebeth (Stormers) / Jacques Du Plessis (Bulls)
5. Victor Matfield (Bulls) / Franco Mostert (Lions)
6. Jaco Kriel (Lions) / Marcel Coetzee
7. Schalk Burger (Stormers) / Willem Alberts (Sharks) / Lappies Labuschagne (Bulls)
8. Warren Whiteley (Lions) / Duane Vermeulen (Stormers)
9. Cobus Reinach (Sharks) / Faf De Klerk (Lions)
10. Handre Pollard (Bulls) / Elton Jantjies (Lions)
11. Bjorn Basson (Bulls) / Dyllon Leyds (Stormers)
12. Damien De Allende (Stormers) / Burger Odendaal (Bulls)
13. Harold Vorster (Lions) / Lionel Mapoe (Lions) / Juan De Jongh (Stormers)
14. Ruan Combrinck (Lions) / Francois Hougaard (Bulls)
15. Jesse Kriel (Bulls) / Cheslin Kolbe (Stormers)

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I think it's fair to say there aren't many surprises. In a few positions it's diffilcult to pick just 1 player though.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Rob Houwing's thoughts:

15. Jesse Kriel (Bulls)In a largely grim year for South African back play, the arrival of the 21-year-old as a fullback force to be reckoned with was a welcome tonic. For metres made (1,232m), he was second only to the trumpeted Waratahs No 15 Israel Folau.
14. Ruan Combrinck (Lions)
A constructive presence for the Jo'burgers all season, he ran some clever lines and proved both elusive on attack and industrious on defence.
13. Francois Venter (Cheetahs)
Lionel Mapoe and the versatile Harold Vorster of the Lions often did well in No 13 shirts too, but this 24-year-old former Bulls player was something of an unsung hero for his untiring service to the Cheetahs' cause.
12. Damian de Allende (Stormers)
Filling the difficult void left by Jean de Villiers this season, De Allende was both a clever schemer and stout physical presence at inside centre. Still some rough edges, but featured encouragingly in several of the competition's key attack-related stats.
11. Cheslin Kolbe (Stormers)
OK, this is cheating a little because he played primarily at fullback, but the diminutive – yet eternally gutsy – flier and lethal stepper is an adaptable back-three presence and frequently showed game-splitting qualities when given the opportunity.
10. Elton Jantjies (Lions)
He faded a little, I thought, in the Lions' decisive closing encounter with the Stormers, but otherwise a rejuvenated Jantjies pulled excellent strings for months in this channel for the surprise packages from the Big Smoke. The oft-maligned Demetri Catrakilis (Stormers) was good at ... well, what he is good at, meanwhile.
9. Faf de Klerk (Lions)
A season of significant strides for this tenacious little fellow: snappy service, excellent linking and darting in offensive play ... and some Joost-like courage in bringing down rampaging big units. All noticed by Heyneke Meyer, it seems.
8. Warren Whiteley (Lions, capt)
With due respect to established superstar down south Duane Vermeulen, who else could possibly head these troops this year? The lanky Lions dynamo was a standout both for leadership and own playing energy; burnout just never arrived for him despite observers' growing fears it might. Runaway top tackler in the competition with a monster 231 hits.
7. Schalk Burger (Stormers)
I just felt his constant, gargantuan work-rate and abundant competitive juices were sometimes taken for granted. The man who nearly died is most certainly back!
6. Jaco Kriel (Lions)
We need to doff our caps also to the Cheetahs' open-sider Boom Prinsloo, but here was probably the most exciting, turbo-charged forward runner of all the South Africans on display this year.
5. Franco Mostert (Lions)
A bit of a salute to veteran Marco Wentzel for the way he ruled the skies and accepted the emergency Sharks captaincy mantle, but this guy was the diesel engine that never ran out of juice for the Lions. A true, no-frills warrior.
4. Eben Etzebeth (Stormers)
The Springbok has begun reproducing his best form at a good time, with RWC 2015 looming ever-larger. Invaluable component of a ruthless tight five at Newlands, and some lethal ball-in-hand surges against the Lions two Saturdays back.
3. Frans Malherbe (Stormers)
Good challenges from men like squad-mate Vincent Koch and the Lions' Julian Redelinghuys, but the barrel-chested Malherbe may well have forced himself into the starting tighthead jersey for the Boks.
2. Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)
Maybe we should write off the problematic first few weeks, when this tough scrapper lost his marbles discipline-wise and then the Sharks' leadership. Back as rank-and-filer, produced vintage best levels of play in the closing weeks, culminating in a fitting Kings Park finale.
1. Steven Kitshoff (Stormers)
Seems like a Stormers "veteran" at 23, but in his last of five seasons for the franchise before he heads for Bordeaux, he was simply tremendous – both as destructive scrummager and fierce ball-carrier.
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