Team of the Week: Cream of the Super Rugby crop
With impressive wins over the Waratahs and Bulls, the Lions and Cheetahs have three players each in our XV.
The Chiefs lead the way with four players in our selection. Other teams represented in our XV are the Waratahs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes.
Our back three consists of Nehe Milner-Skudder, Waisake Naholo and James Lowe, while in the midfield Nico Lee and Rohan Janse van Rensburg impressed our selectors.
Beauden Barrett gets the nod at flyhalf and at scrumhalf we have Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
In the pack, we have an all-Springbok back row with Warren Whiteley, Teboho Mohoje and Jaco Kriel. In the tight five we have Brodie Retallick and Dominic Bird in the second row and in the front row, we have Owen Franks, Tolu Latu and Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Team of the Week - Round Two:
15 - Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes)
Scored a hat-trick of tries in his first match back in Super Rugby.
Bubbling under: Sarel Marais (Stormers)
14 - Waisake Naholo (Highlanders)
He got his team over the advantage line on numerous occasions with some strong carries. The big wing also scored two great tries against the Crusaders.
Bubbling under: Vince Aso (Hurricanes)
13 - Nico Lee (Cheetahs)
The youngster was a star in the midfield. He gave the Bulls plenty of problems when he had ball in hand and he was rock solid in the tackle as well.
Bubbling under: Samu Kerevi (Reds)
12 - Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Lions)
He played his heart out once again and scored two brilliant tries in the win over the Waratahs. He is certainly one of the best players South Africa has at the moment.
Bubbling under: Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes)
11 - James Lowe (Chiefs)
The Blues were chasing shadows when this man had the ball. He will be a great loss when he leaves for Leinster later this year.
Bubbling under: Julian Savea (Hurricanes)
10 - Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes)
The pivot gave his backline plenty of good ball on attack. He also put in a few good tackles as well.
Bubbling under: Aaron Cruden (Chiefs)
9 - Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs)
His distribution to his backline was impeccable and he took a lot of pressure off Aaron Cruden with some great decisions.
Bubbling under: Ross Cronje (Lions)
8 - Warren Whiteley (Lions)
The captain put in another workmanlike performance across the field against the Waratahs and he scored a try as well.
Bubbling under: Michael Leitch (Chiefs)
7 - Teboho Mohoje (Cheetahs)
He was part of a dynamic loose trio that shined against the Bulls. He also crossed the whitewash twice in an entertaining game.
Bubbling under: Lachlan Boshier (Chiefs)
6 - Jaco Kriel (Lions)
The Springbok carried the ball like a demon against the Waratahs. He was also a brick wall on defence as well.
Bubbling under: Uzair Cassiem (Cheetahs)
5 - Brodie Retallick (Chiefs)
He dominated the line-outs against the Blues and his workrate around the park was massive.
Bubbling under: Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)
4 - Dominic Bird (Chiefs)
He was a colossus in the physical exchanges showed some neat touches out wide as well.
Bubbling under: Guido Petti Pagadizaval (Jaguares)
3 - Owen Franks (Crusaders)
He showed his All Black pedigree against the Highlanders with a number of strong carries in open play.
Bubbling under: Johannes Coetzee (Cheetahs)
2 - Tolu Latu (Waratahs)
The hooker was a menace at the breakdowns and gave the Lions plenty of problem in that area.
Bubbling under: Agustin Creevy (Jaguares)
1 - Retshegofaditswe Nché (Cheetahs)
The prop was brilliant in open play once again and he was solid in the scrums as well.
Bubbling under: Dylan Smith (Lions)
Our individual selections:
Jan de Koning XV: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 James Lowe, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Dylan Smith.
Paul Dobson XV: 15 Sarel Marais, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 James Lowe, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Warren Fortune XV: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Vince Aso, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 James Lowe, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Tauriq Ebrahim XV: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Vince Aso, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 James Lowe, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Teboho Mahoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Previous selection:
Team of the Week - Round One: 15 Joaquín Tuculet (Jaguares), 14 Vince Aso (Hurricanes), 13 Rieko Ioane (Blues), 12 Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes), 11 James Lowe (Chiefs), 10 Ihaia West (Blues), 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (Jaguares), 8 Leonardo Senatore (Jaguares), 7 Ardie Savea (Hurricanes), 6 Scott Fardy (Brumbies), 5 Michael Fatialofa (Hurricanes), 4 Rory Arnold (Brumbies), 3 Wilco Louw (Stormers), 2 Hika Elliot (Chiefs), 1 JC Janse van Rensburg (Stormers).
@rugby365com