skip to main content
United Rugby Championship logo

URC team of the week: John Cooney and Dan Sheehan shine

Updated / Monday, 26 Sep 2022 07:57
John Cooney and Dan Sheehan scored a combined 50 points in round two
John Cooney and Dan Sheehan scored a combined 50 points in round two

It was another mixed weekend for the Irish provinces as Leinster and Ulster chalked up successive victories while Connacht and Munster crashed to further away losses.

Leinster registered back-to-back wins over Italian opposition, although it was much more comfortable on this occasion as Benetton were blown away at the RDS.

Ulster, meanwhile, came out on top in a 12-try thriller against the Scarlets, one of a number of high-scoring contests across round two.

The defending champions Stormers got their season up and running with a victory over Connacht and it was a clean sweep for the South African teams with the Bulls, Lions and Sharks all victorious.

15. Michael Lowry (Ulster)

The 24-year-old dazzled in attack on his Ulster return, making 104 metres with ball in hand and creating two of their seven tries away to the Scarlets.

Lowry made two clean breaks and beat five defenders, sending John Cooney under the sticks for Ulster's third try and again making the running to set up the bonus-point score for Marcus Rea.

14. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh)

The Scotland international retains his place on the wing after scoring a hat-trick in Edinburgh’s one-point defeat away to the Bulls.

Graham took the ball at pace to arc around the defence for his first try, while his second was down to quick reactions after Mark Benett’s penalty come back off the upright.

Lovely handling by Bill Mata and Henry Immelman put Graham over for his third try, the 25-year-old carrying for a total of 70 metres.

13. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors)

Tuipulotu was at his attacking best in Glasgow’s high-scoring win over Cardiff and was directly involved in three tries.

The centre’s scything break down the right flank yielded a try for full-back Cole Forbes while his strong, direct carry in front of the posts created space for Richie Gray before George Horne bagged the bonus-point try.

Tuipolotu also slotted in at first receiver on occasion, putting Jack Dempsey through a gap to tee up replacement Tom Gordon for their seventh score.

He edges out Scotland team-mate Mark Bennett, who created two tries and kicked three conversions in a man-of-the-match display against the Bulls.

12. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster)

McCloskey’s lack of Ireland caps was one of last week’s big discussion points following his display against Connacht in round one and he continued his good form in west Wales.

The centre set the tone early on with a big fend on Jonathan Davies and such was his threat with ball in hand, the Scarlets defence often backed off and gave him space to exhibit his passing skills.

A lovely ball out the back to Lowry helped create Cooney’s first try.

11. Keelan Giles (Ospreys)

Giles scored two tries in four first-half minutes against the Emirates Lions. The first was put on a platter for him by fellow wing Luke Morgan but Giles showed blistering pace and footwork for the second after a lovely break and offload by Jack Walsh.

Giles also played a major role in the Ospreys’ third try, keeping the ball alive on the touchline before weaving his way inside, where his strong clean-out created a gap for Rhys Webb to score, only for the Lions to rally late on.

10. JJ Hanrahan (Dragons)

Hanrahan haunted his former side Munster with an 18-point performance as the Dragons put their off-field problems to one side and claimed a surprise win at Rodney Parade.

The 30-year-old kept the scoreboard ticking over during the first half as the Dragons built a healthy lead, while also displaying good game management as the hosts profited from Munster errors, but opposite number Ben Healy looked like stealing his thunder when his late purple patch put the visitors in front at the interval.

We’ll forgive Hanrahan for his two late penalty misses, Rio Dyer’s brilliant individual try getting him off the hook, but he showed good experience late on when kicking to the corner to run down the clock, before slotting a three-pointer from the last kick.

9. John Cooney (Ulster)

George Horne starred for Glasgow in their big win over Cardiff but Cooney takes the No 9 shirt after his 30-point haul against the Scarlets.

The scrum-half scored two tries, seven conversions and two penalties in a crazy game as free-scoring Ulster surged to the top of the URC standings.

1. Andrew Porter (Leinster)

The Leinster forwards stole the show at the RDS on Friday and Porter was involved in four of Leinster’s opening five tries before departing on 53 minutes.

The loosehead formed part of a dominant Leinster maul that resulted in a trio of tries for Dan Sheehan, while a big clean-out at a ruck presented his side with the quick ball they needed to put Josh van der Flier over in the corner for the bonus-point score.

Leinster also had the edge at scrum time, with Porter enjoying a good tussle against fellow international Simone Ferrari.

2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster)

A four-try performance from Sheehan against Benetton as the 24-year-old picked up where he left off in New Zealand.

Three of his tries came off the back of driving mauls, with Sheehan finding Ross Molony at the lineout on each occasion.

Sheehan’s darts were excellent all evening while he also made a major impact in the loose in a stand-out 53-minute display.

3. Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks)

Du Toit made seven carries and ten tackles, the most of any Sharks player against Zebre before being replaced on the hour mark.

He edges out Zander Fagerson who was among the tryscorers for Glasgow.

4. Ross Molony (Leinster)

Molony was a late inclusion in the Leinster starting line-up after James Ryan was ruled out but the lack of preparation time didn’t bother him.

The lock excelled in the lineout all evening and spearheaded a dominant Leinster maul that ripped through the Benetton defence.

He also made a team-leading ten tackles while Sheehan’s second try came after a strong carry from Molony that sucked in the Benetton defence.

5. Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers)

Sin-binning aside, Orie was at the forefront as the Stormers pack laid the platform for victory over Connacht.

The 29-year-old led the tackle charts with 17 while he also impressed at lineout time, which included an excellent catch at the death in the lead-up to the Stormers’ bonus-point try.

Ulster captain Alan O’Connor also deserves a mention after scoring a try and making 13 tackles.

6. Hacjivah Dayimani (DHL Stormers)

The flanker was a constant threat out wide against Connacht, scoring one try and having a hand in Andre-Hugo Venter’s superb team try.

Dayimani carried for 52 metres in Stellenbosch, which included two clean breaks, and were it not for an unselfish pass out wide towards Angelo Davids he would have had two tries to his name.

7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)

Van der Flier bagged the bonus-point try against Benetton and it was no more than the flanker deserved after an impressive all-round display.

The openside formed part of a ruthless Leinster defence that constantly knocked Benetton back behind the gainline, and he also shone in attack with eight big carries and a couple of offloads.

8. Evan Roos (DHL Stormers)

The inaugural URC players’ player of the season was at his rampaging best early on against Connacht, ripping through the visiting defence and using Mack Hansen as a speedbump on his way to scoring the game’s opening try.

More stories on

Read Next