Gelant shines bright among SA Stars in URC Stat Stakes

Stormers fullback Warrick Gelant leads a strong South African presence in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship stat attack across several categories. Bulls’ No 8 Cameron Hanekom is the pick of the SA forwards.

Points Machine

Sharks flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse is in red-hot form with 118 points, second only to Scarlets’ Ioan Lloyd. Hot on their heels is Stormers youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who rounds out the top five with 85 points, proving his growing value to the Cape side.

Electric Breakers

Stormers speedster Leolin Zas is joint-second in clean breaks with 21, just one behind leader Simone Gesi of Zebre Parma. Zas has once again shown he’s one of the most dangerous finishers in the competition.

Beating Defenders for Fun

Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks) and Quan Horn (Lions) are third and fourth respectively in defenders beaten, with 52 and 51. Their blend of power and footwork has been a handful for defences all season long.

Metres and Momentum

Stormers fullback Warrick Gelant ranks fifth for metres gained with 804, and he also cracks the top five for offloads (33) and carries (193) — underlining his all-round attacking influence. Cameron Hanekom joins him in the offload charts with 22, while RG Snyman sits second with 35, showing his sharp handling isn’t just for lineouts.

Breakdown Brilliance

Lions flanker JC Pretorius leads the league in turnovers won with a massive 24 — six clear of his nearest rivals. He’s become one of the most effective poachers in the URC this season.

Vincent Tshituka has been a lineout menace this season, leading the URC with the most lineout steals, underlining his value as a defensive disruptor for the Sharks.

Kicking Contributions

Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier is third in kicks in play (123), while Lions No 9 Morne van den Berg is close behind with 120. Quan Horn also features in fifth for kick metres (3,506), proving his value as a territorial weapon from the back.

Conversions’ King

Hendrikse again leads the way here, slotting 30 conversions — more than any other player this season.

This weekend is the final round of league play and with three South African teams, the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers guaranteed a play-off place, and the Bulls and Sharks confirmed as hosting two of the four quarter-finals.

STAT ATTACK: URC TOP 100