Following another thrilling campaign in the United Rugby Championship, which concluded with Leinster’s victory over the Bulls in the final, here is the Planet Rugby Team of the Season.
The finalists are unsurprisingly well-represented with six players from those two sides included, but Glasgow Warriors join them on three nominations, so without further ado, here is the XV.
Team of the Season
15 Quan Horn (Lions): An ever-present for the Johannesburg outfit due to his speed, balance and footwork, both on counter-attack and during phase play. Horn was exceptional all season despite the Lions’ struggles as he continues to knock on the international door. Horn sees off the threat of Edinburgh’s Wes Goosen, who was next best.
14 Tommy O’Brien (Leinster): A difficult choice as Sebastian Cancelliere and Canan Moodie shone for Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls respectively, but O’Brien had a remarkable second half of the year for the Irish giants. Leinster may well be stacked with internationals, but O’Brien has arguably been their best performer this season following some stunning displays. There is no doubt he will be getting his Ireland bow soon.
13 Tom Farrell (Munster): From Leinster’s best performer to Munster’s with Farrell making the 13 shirt his own since moving from Connacht. The centre has arguably been the signing of the season and was a key reason why the Irish province managed to reach the play-offs. Henco van Wyk also enjoyed a fine, albeit injury-interrupted, campaign for the Lions.
12 Jordie Barrett (Leinster): The All Blacks star only played eight URC matches, but his impact was such that he had to be included. Barrett quickly became a focal point in that Leinster midfield and was exceptional in every match he played for Leo Cullen’s. Finished the season with a superb try in Leinster’s victory over the Bulls in the final to edge ahead of the Sharks’ Andre Esterhuizen. Additionally, Leinster’s Jamie Osborne was superb whether featuring in the midfield and at full-back.
Springboks cap beckons
11 Ethan Hooker (Sharks): There was plenty of competition on this wing as well with Glasgow’s Kyle Steyn and the Scarlets’ Blair Murray challenging for the slot but Hooker was comfortably the Sharks’ best player all season. Strong in contact and quick in both feet and mind, it won’t be long before he makes his Springboks bow. Edinburgh’s Darcy Graham was also unlucky not to crack the team.
10 Tom Jordan (Glasgow Warriors): For pure consistency, Dan Edwards of the Ospreys and Edinburgh’s Ross Thompson were the standouts at 10, but Jordan is a special player and shone every time he played there. The Scotland star also regularly featured in the 12 shirt, but he had to be in our team at fly-half. Stormers’ rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was excellent when fit.
9 George Horne (Glasgow Warriors): Jordan, like he has done throughout the season, combines with Horne at half-back. It was unfortunate that the 30-year-old’s worst game of the year came in the semi-final against Leinster, but he was otherwise outstanding. The Scotland international is renowned for his work around the fringes and support lines, but he also showed great control with his kicking game and was metronomic off the tee to take the place from the Lions’ Morne van den Berg and Munster’s Craig Casey.
8 Cameron Hanekom (Bulls): It would not have made a difference to the end result, but Jake White certainly missed the number eight’s presence in the final. On both sides of the ball, Hanekom was exceptional all season. The back-rower is a big ball carrier but is also excellent defensively as he makes his tackles and wins turnovers at the breakdown. Henco Venter was superb for Glasgow while Leinster duo Jack Conan and Max Deegan always impressed when selected, but Hanekom was an easy selection.
7 Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors): Has gone from strength-to-strength this season and was named Scotland co-captain in the Six Nations as a result of his fine form for Glasgow. Darge was a beast at the breakdown throughout the campaign, while he was also physical in the carry to deservedly take his spot at openside.
Ex-All Black shines
6 Vaea Fifita (Scarlets): The former All Black has been an outstanding addition to the Welsh region’s ranks since joining in 2022 and he arguably enjoyed his best season for the Scarlets. Fifita duly gets in ahead of Wales’ tearaway Jac Morgan thanks to his athleticism and power in the loose, and his rugby smarts in the tighter exchanges.
5 Ruben van Heerden (Stormers): We could have picked another Scarlets player here in Sam Lousi but Van Heerden was a key man for the Stormers throughout the campaign. The Cape Town outfit had a plethora of injuries, but Van Heerden was a mainstay in that pack and held it all together when it could have crumbled. Bulls’ skipper Ruan Nortje was excellent on the side of the scrum and in the middle of the pack as was rookie JF van Heerden. Lastly, Tadhg Beirne deserves a mention for his efforts.
4 RG Snyman (Leinster): In terms of impact, no player made a bigger one when on the field. Leinster always rotate due to the depth of their squad while Snyman didn’t always start, but he was always sublime when stepping onto the pitch. The Springboks star does all his core duties but it was his power and off-loading skills which provided a point of difference in Leinster’s run to the title. Back to Pretoria again and Cobus Wiese was outstanding in first season back in South Africa which has earned him a call-up to the Boks squad but Snyman was too good to overlook.
3 Wilco Louw (Bulls): A genuinely remarkable season from the tighthead, who was easily the most destructive scrummager in the competition. It didn’t go quite as Louw would have liked in the final, but that should not detract from his brilliance during the rest of the campaign. He made world-class looseheads, such as Ox Nche, look like amateurs.
2 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets): It was very tempting to go with an all-Bulls front-row, with Johan Grobbelaar having another fine year for the Pretoria outfit and was ably assisted by Akker van der Merwe, but it’s the Scarlets’ Van der Merwe who gets the nod after starring all season. His form is such that he has been named in the Springboks squad ahead of the mid-year series, which is very well deserved.
1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls): Although Gerhard Steenekamp was the Bulls’ first choice loosehead and would have got in had it not been for injury, Wessels stepped into his shoes and did just as good a job. When you add in that he also played hooker on occasion, it shows just what a talent the 24-year-old. Elsewhere, Pierre Schoeman and Boan Venter were impressive for Edinburgh but they were someway behind the Bulls duo.
