BOK WILDCARDS
Aphelele Fassi (Sharks)
Us normal folk are fuelled by food and water, this guy, though, has an insatiable hunger for counter-attacking ingenuity. The young fullback has been superb for the Sharks this season, and while it is his ability to do damage from the back that has come to be recognised as his standout qualification on his rugby resume, he is also a beast when it comes to doing those things that not too many can – like seemingly instinctively always running himself into a position to score. Then there are also those linebreaks, his work-rate, his overall game-reading ability and the fact that he can also be considered a trusted employee under the high ball.
Jaco Coetzee (Stormers)
While he has become a proper breakdown weapon for the Stormers in Super Rugby, the operations on the ground isn’t where Coetzee’s contributions start and end.
Apart from that breakdown intelligence, the versatile loose forward also easily aces tests in the overall work-rate department, too. Then there’s that skillset, his ability to play as a link or to the ball, and he can also easily get comfortable at the back of the scrum. Oh yes, when it comes to physicality, well, more often than not he gives rugby lovers more reason to use the words “power play” than a Varsity Cup final.
Ox Nche (Sharks)
Post Washington DC 2018, the loosehead prop hasn’t featured for the Boks again. He has athleticism for days, and he made the most of a big move from the Cheetahs to the Sharks by complementing it with a massive, and immediate impact, and his productions filled with passing and handling skills that could put a backline player to shame, that pace, an impressive work-rate and solid basics would certainly have been enough to have at least a few rugby fans imagining him in the green and gold again. After all, who doesn’t like seeing a prop move like that?
Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Sharks)
Notshe has taken his game to a whole new level this season, it’s a pity that he doesn’t get to continue that immediately, really.
His move from the Stormers to the Sharks has really done him the world of good, and it didn’t take long to see that the skilful loosie can really flourish under the Sharks’ style of play. And that he certainly has done. He was one of their most consistent performers prior to the competition’s suspension, and while we’ve always known what he can do with a bit of space, his abilities have become almost ruthlessly efficient in Durban.
Joseph Dweba (Cheetahs)
It will forever be a treat to see a hooker with a healthy appetite for scoring tries, but seeing Dweba do it is even better. Forget just driving-maul tries or any other hooker-standard type of five-pointer, this oke knows how to mix up his visits to the opposition’s in-goal area, from dotting down from close quarters to getting over the tryline thanks to his explosive bursts.
He was a standout in the Pro14 last year, and he picked up right where he left off in 2020. Should the former SA Schools player get a look-in, you certainly can’t question it.