Saffas hit ground running in Premiership

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SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the South African players who featured for their respective clubs in the English Premiership this past weekend.

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– The Exeter Chiefs consolidated their place at the top of the table with a comfortable 26-13 victory over the Leicester Tigers. Loose forwards Jannes Kirsten and Don Armand were on duty for the Chiefs, while centre Jaco Taute and lock Hanro Liebenberg did service for the Tigers.

– Lock Sebastian de Chaves and his London Irish teammates slumped to a 34-17 defeat at the hands of Bath at The Rec on Saturday.

– The Bristol Bears continued their fine performance in the Premiership season with a hard-fought 16-12 triumph over Saracens. Ex-Stormers duo Vincent Koch (tighthead prop) and Michael Rhodes (flank) featured for the relegation-bound Sarries.

– Wasps outlasted the Northampton Saints to claim a deserved 34-21 win away at Franklin’s Gardens. Loosehead prop Francois van Wyk and lock Dave Ribbans, who scored a try, were part of Saints’ playing personnel.

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– Gloucester thumped the 14-men Worcester Warriors 44-15. Ruan Ackermann started for the winning side, who scored seven tries. Wing Scott van Breda, scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, lock Anton Bresler and prop Nick Schonert made the Warriors’ run-on XV, while compatriots Richard Palframan, GJ van Velze, Cornell du Preez and Francois Venter were used as impact players off the bench. Hougaard performed well, with six kicks out of hand, 55 passes, eight carries, three defenders beaten, two clean breaks, one try assist, eight tackles and three turnovers.

– Harlequins, with Stephan Lewies and Simon Kerrod in their starting lineup, stunned the Sale Sharks 16-10. Lewies made four carries over three metres, three passes, eight tackles, two turnovers and secured eight lineout wins across the 80 minutes he played. Meanwhile, Sale had Faf de Klerk, Coenie Oosthuizen, Akker van der Merwe, Lood de Jager, Jono Ross and the Du Preez brothers Rob, Jean-Luc and Dan in their run-on XV. De Jager was on the field for the duration of the match and made six carries over 14m, four tackles, one turnover and 10 lineout wins. And despite the result, Sale captain Ross also made a few telling contributions, including 13 carries, 26 run metres, two defenders beaten, one clean break, 10 tackles, one turnover and three lineout steals.


Photo: Getty Images

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SA Rugby magazine