Durban — They are not finished yet with the United Rugby Championship but Stormers wing Leolin Zas and Bulls workhorse Ruan Nortje are already among the silverware, with Zas picking up an award for the most tries in the regular season and lock Nortje earning the Ironman Award for clocking up the most playing minutes.
Zas scored 10 tries in 11 matches for the Cape side to crown a spectacular comeback season for him and he will hope for more in Saturday’s semi-final against Ulster.
The 26-year-old spent three years at the Sharks during which time he hardly played because of a series of injuries but a return home to the Fairest Cape has been just what the doctor ordered.
Interestingly, another former Shark has come spectacularly good at another team in Rhyno Smith, who scored 10 tries in a struggling Benetton team while more South Africans took a collective bronze —Marcell Coetzee (Bulls) and Seabelo Senatla (Stormers) both scored nine.
Edwill van der Merwe (Lions), Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls) and Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets) finished the season on eight apiece.
That hearty South African presence on the try-scoring ladder confirms an excellent overall showing by the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions in their country’s maiden URC.
IOL Sport