Rugby

Keo URC Boks Weekly Form Team – Round 15

Mark Keohane picks the 15 South African players who stood tallest in their respective positions in the latest United Rugby Championship action.

Published

1 week ago

19th April 2026

Keo

The Lions were rampant in crushing league leaders Glasgow in Round 15 of the URC. But how many Lions make the Keo URC Boks Weekly Form Team?

The Lions were brilliant on Saturday afternoon, the Bulls were brutal on Friday evening, the Stormers were sloppy and sunk in the wet at DHL Stadium on Saturday early afternoon and the Sharks were sub standard in losing to Jack Morgan’s Ospreys.

Individually, the Lions, 54-12 winners against Glasgow, were as good as they were as a team. The same is true of the Bulls in their 47-7 whipping of the Dragons in Newport.

The Stormers were their own worst enemies in losing and, in defeat, losing the chance to go top of the table.

The Stormers, who led Connacht 24-14 after 63 minutes, conceded three tries (19 points) in the final 15 minutes to lose 33-24.

And the Sharks, with the exception of a few high profile players and a mighty debut from 18 year-old fullback Zekhethelo Siyaya, offered more mistakes than magic.

The Sharks, who trailed 14-12 at halftime, lost 21-17, despite being in control of the match for most of the second half.

The Ospreys second half try came from an intercept, while the Sharks lost Springboks utility back Ethan Hooker to a dislocated shoulder after he scored a try. What would have irked every South African and Sharks rugby supporter is how Hooker sustained his injury.

He had already scored when the chasing Ospreys player dived onto his shoulder and back. It went unpunished, when it should have been a yellow card and a penalty for the Sharks on halfway.

The Sharks, in losing for the ninth time in 15 games, realistically won’t make the Race to Eight.

Their season highlight is doing the double over the Stormers, but they were an early season shambles under John Plumtree and his successor JP Pietersen has spent the last two months introducing new players and managing an injury list that numbers 20 players after Round 15.

The Stormers final quarter implosion, filled with individual mistakes and collective panic, was as disappointing as the Sharks in the weekend’s final South African game.

The Stormers are second in the league, the Lions fourth and the Bulls seventh in the Race to Eight.

But the Bulls on Friday night and the Lions on Saturday were pretty damn awesome.

The Lions created their own URC history in breaking into the Top 4 and winning for a fifth successive match in the league this season. They are also the 2025/26 SA Shield winners, with four victories from six matches.

The Springboks play England in the opening match of the Nations Championship on the 4th July at Ellis Park.

Keo URC Boks Weekly Form Team – ROUND 15

15. Quan Horn (Lions)

14. David Kriel (Bulls) **

13. Henco van Wyk (Lions) **

12. Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)

11. Erich Cronjé (Lions) **

10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers)

9. Morné van den Berg (Lions)

8. Francke Horn (Lions) **

7. Ruan Venter (Lions)

6. Marcell Coetzee (Bulls)

5. Ruan Nortje (Bulls)

4. Adré Smith (Stormers) **

3. Neethling Fouché (Stormers)

2. Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls)

1.Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls)

**Uncapped Bok

*Fast Fact

Quan Horn is the Lions fullback (born 2001, from Kimberley, played at Paarl Boys’ High).
Francke Horn is the Lions No 8 (born 1999, also Paarl Boys’ High).

Despite sharing the same surname and school, there is no family link between them.

It’s just one of those South African rugby coincidences: same surname, same school, same franchise, but no bloodline connection.

ROUND 15 SELECTION OPTIONS

BULLS – 15 Devon Williams, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Sergeal Petersen.

STORMERS – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Damian Willemse, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Bench: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane.

LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronjé, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Bench: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Edward Davids, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Kelly Mpeku.

SHARKS – 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Le Roux Malan, 12 André Esterhuizen (c), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Bench: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corné Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius.

*Julius was a late withdrawal pre-kick-off.