How was a South African tighthead prop not chosen because the No 3 within the United Rugby Championship 2025/26 season Elite XV? Whenever you consider South African rugby’s largest power, it’s with these carrying Nos 1 and Nos 3.
An Irishman, in Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson acquired the nod at No 3.
Insanity.
Clarkson began eight of 11 matches within the URC and averaged 49 minutes a match. Leinster misplaced 4 of these 11 matches.
South African props
The standard of No 3s in South Africa is unmatched within the URC, once you assess the deserves of the tightheads of the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers.
Wilco Louw is the plain standout for the Bulls.
Louw began 10 of 11 URC matches this season.
Then there’s Neethling Fouche for the Stormers and Vincent Koch (12 matches) of the Sharks.
Fouche began 12 of 14 matches within the URC this season.
The Lions’ Asenathi Ntlabakanye was very good this season, however missed the previous couple of matches after being suspended for taking weight reduction treatment authorized by a health care provider, however on the prohibited checklist for rugby gamers.
Ntlabakanye began 13 of 14 URC matches.
The Bulls, Stormers and Sharks scrum had been comfortably one of the best three scrums within the competitors this season.
Bulls
Wilco Louw
Francois Klopper
Mornay Smith
Lions
Sharks
Stormers
Neethling Fouché
Zachary Porthen
Sazi Sandi
*Frans Malherbe (Stormers) and Trevor Nyakane (Sharks) missed the URC with harm. Each are Springboks World Cup winners.
URC ELITE XV – 15 Quan Horn (Lions), 14 Werner Kok (Ulster), 13 Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), 11 Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors), 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), 9 Embrose Papier (Bulls), 8 Evan Roos (Stormers), 7 Ruan Venter (Lions), 6 Cian Prendergast (Connacht), 5 Cobus Wiese (Bulls), 4 Darragh Murray (Connacht), 3 Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), 2 Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls), 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu (Stormers).
Of the South African tightheads enjoying for abroad golf equipment, Thomas du Toit (Tub) and Carlü Sadie (Bordeaux) have been immense.
Sadie began in all eight of Bordeaux’s Investec Champions Cup matches. He’s a part of Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus’s nationwide alignment camp.
Du Toit, who leaves Tub for South Africa’s Sharks, took three class wins on the membership’s finish of season awards.
Du Toit’s worth to Tub and the Boks is his high quality as a tighthead prop and loosehead prop.
South Africa’s loosehead prop shares are as spectacular with Sharks’ Ox Nche, Bulls’ Gerhardt Steenekamp and Stormers Ntuthuko Mchunu the main trio within the nation.
