It is derby season in the BKT United Rugby Championship and a number of players stood out as local rivalries took centre stage over the Christmas period.
Here are our picks from round 10…
15. Rhyno Smith (Benetton)
Smith scored 13 points and was a constant threat in attack as Benetton kept their top-eight hopes alive with a big win over Zebre.
The South African made five successful carries, including two line breaks, and crossed for Benetton's bonus-point try after half-time. Smith also kicked four conversions.
14. Josh Adams (Cardiff)
Wasting no time, Josh Adams goes over the line for @Cardiff_Rugby, and they take the lead for the first 4️⃣0️⃣ of this match!#BKTURC | #DRAvCAR pic.twitter.com/QXU3JMCNPd
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) December 26, 2022
Warren Gatland will be hoping the leg injury Adams suffered against the Dragons is not too serious, having impressed for Cardiff as they snatched a late win at Rodney Parade.
Despite being forced off after 55 minutes, Adams made the most metres (61) of any Cardiff player and also led the way with three line breaks.
Adams finished off a fine move for Cardiff’s second try while his chip through put Tomos Williams over.
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster)
Another brilliant performance from a player who is enjoying the best season of his career.
Ringrose shaded a brilliant battle with opposite number Antoine Frisch, shooting out of defence to prevent Munster from working the ball wide, while his leadership and communication showed why many are tipping the centre as a future Ireland international.
12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Cell C Sharks)
Janse van Rensburg was directly involved in the Sharks’ first three tries against the Emirates Lions.
The hard-carrying centre sucked in three defenders before putting Makazole Mapimpi over for the opening score, while his dummy line also attracted the Lions defence and provided Boeta Chamberlain with the space to glide over.
Janse van Rensburg beat six defenders and made four offloads, one of which led to Grant Williams’ try on 55 minutes.
11. Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks)
The Springbok crossed at either end of a one-sided derby in Durban.
Mapimpi opened the scoring inside eight minutes and showcased his football skills late on to bag a second and round off an impressive team performance.
Luke Morgan also starred for the Ospreys in their win over the 14-man Scarlets.
10. Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers)
Libbok's vision 👀 + Zas’ step 👟 = TRY TIME!@TheStormers 👏@Vodacom #URC | #STOvBUL pic.twitter.com/NHrRznpFHQ
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) December 27, 2022
Libbok was lightening with ball in hand as he created two tries and kicked 15 points in front of a 30,000-strong crowd in Cape Town.
The out-half burst through a gap in the 50th minute to spark a brilliant backline move that resulted in a try for Suleiman Hartzenberg, and three minutes later Libbok again used his pace to devastating effect in the lead-up to Leolin Zas’ bonus-point score.
9. Tomos Williams (Cardiff)
Thomas Young was named player of the match but Williams was a close second after his two-try display against the Dragons.
The scrum-half crossed either side of half-time while it was awareness that took Cardiff down the blindside in the lead-up to Josh Adams’ try.
Alessandro Garbisi also impressed for Benetton.
1. Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)
Kitshoff holds off competition from Andrew Porter and Rhys Carre to take the loosehead spot.
The Ulster-bound prop skippered the Stormers to another big win over the Vodacom Bulls and he would have opened the scoring from a driving maul but for the visitors illegally taking it to ground for a penalty try.
Solid at scrum time and explosive with ball in hand, Kitshoff will quickly become a fans’ favourite around Ravenhill.
2. Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Stewart scored two second-half tries against Connacht to take his season’s tally to seven.
The hooker’s superb offload for Rob Lyttle’s try was the highlight of a dour first half in Galway but it heated up after the restart, Stewart finding Iain Henderson and then Sam Carter at the lineout before positioning himself at the back of a powerful Ulster maul to touch down twice in nine minutes.
Special mention to Dan Sheehan, who was also back among the tries for Leinster at Thomond Park.
3. John Ryan (Munster)
The tighthead is finishing his second Munster stint with a flourish. Ryan put the squeeze on Andrew Porter at scrum time while he was in the middle of an advancing Munster maul that resulted in a penalty try shortly after the restart.
4. Niccolo Cannone (Benetton)
Italy international Cannone impressed in both attack and defence during the dominant win over Zebre.
The lock topped the tackle charts with 15 and also crossed for a try. He formed part of a dominant set-piece and spearheaded a driving maul that resulted in a try for Giacomo Nicotera.
5. Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to the veteran lock after another player-of-the-match performance in their win over Edinburgh.
The 33-year-old has his sights set on next year’s Rugby World Cup and did no chances no harm here, exhibiting power in his carrying and experience at lineout time.
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster)
O’Mahony was at his disruptive beat at the breakdown against Leinster, winning two turnovers and slowing down the visitors’ ball.
The flanker got in Leinster’s faces and continually put his body on the line during an all-action 65-minute display, only to once again end up on the losing side against their fierce rivals.
7. Scott Penny (Leinster)
Plenty of competition at openside, with Jac Morgan, Conor Oliver and Thomas Young all standing out, but it’s the hard-working Penny who takes the No 7 shirt.
The 23-year-old scored Leinster’s first try, finishing off a lovely switch play from a tap penalty, while he stepped up in defence with a lung-busting 25 tackles.
8. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff)
The last-minute loss to Cardiff was made even worse for Dragons fans by the performance of their former No 8.
Faletau has been excellent since swapping Bath for Cardiff during the summer and he scampered back to make a brilliant try-saving tackle on Ashton Hewitt during the early exchanges.
The British and Irish Lion formed part of a strong maul defence, sacking one Dragons effort on the half-hour, and he also linked up well in attack, making four offloads.
Watch live coverage of Leinster v Connacht on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on 1 January from 7pm.
