Johannesburg – Stormers centre Dan du Plessis has been selected in the United Rugby Championship’s Elite XV, a statement revealed on Thursday.
Du Plessis, along with midfield partner Ruhan Nel have arguably been the best centre combination from the South African teams this season.
Earlier this week, while speaking to IOL about his stellar partnership with Nel, Du Plessis revealed that, “I get a lot of confidence from him and hopefully he gets from me as well.
“His personality on the field gives the other guys in the backline confidence, especially on defence with the way he goes for reads and the way he communicates. It helps me a lot.
“Our structure allows for freedom. It is difficult to explain, but we (the backline players) go hand-in-hand. The structure allows for guys to fill in at any position when needed.”
Du Plessis is one of four South Africans in the Elite XV, and is joined by Stormers teammate and captain Steven Kitschoff, who is tipped as a possible candidate for the Springbok captaincy in the absence of Siya Kolisi. Scrumhalf Grant Williams of the Sharks and Bulls back-three maestro Kurt-Lee Arendse are the other two SA players.
Ireland, meanwhile, have the most players in the URC’s best team of the season with six, followed by SA. Two players from Scotland also made the cut – the same amount as Italy. The Welsh franchises, none of which made the playoffs, have a solitary representative in lock Vaea Fafita of Scarlets.
URC Elite XV: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), 14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Daniel du Plessis (Stormers), 11 Simone Gesi (Zebre), 10 Ross Byrne (Leinster), 9 Grant Williams (Sharks); 8 Gavin Coombes (Munster), 7 Scott Penny (Leinster), 6 Vaea Fifita (Scarlets), 5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton), 4 Niall Murray (Connacht), 3 Finlay Bealham (Connacht), 2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster), 1 Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)
IOL Sport
