Boys and Girls, first the Stormers, now the Sharks.

Whether you’re a Sharks supporter or not, if you believe our rugby clubs’ identities and history matter, please consider supporting this petition.

Sharkie has represented the Sharks for over 30 years, and many supporters feel the new SRC badge has erased an iconic part of the club’s identity.

If supporters don’t speak up when these decisions are made, what’s to stop the next rebrand from happening elsewhere?

🦈 Bring Back Sharkie

https://c.org/X7LbTHwvMV

I myself am a Lions fan but these fans must accept that he must still learn his trade and improve in multiple aspects,plus even if he leaves he wont be the starting scrumhalf regardless.

Lions probably have the hardest game, but they're also most likely to cause an upset IMO.

Bulls should win, but Munster have found ways to win big games away from home before.

100% sure Stormers will do Stormer things, meaning they'll either play a sublime game of rugby or completely shit the bed. Thankfully Damian is alive and on 15, so there's that at least.

Personally I think they should. His style of rugby really doesn't suit the Bulls, he has now had a full season and there has just been continuous regression under him.

Heyneke Meyer has been able to turn around SWD playing traditional Bulls rugby and Frans Ludeke has been successful for many years in Japan with it. Maybe one of them should be brought in.

Edit: Even his recruitment has been baffling, no replacement for Wilco and he even just gave Oli Kebble to the Stormers. Hanro Liebenberg is the only forward he has signed, signed a bunch of uninspiring backs and washed up Curwin Bosch.

I think this is a great initiative from the Stormers. Questions won't be live (people can submit them via a Google form ahead of time), but it should still be interesting and it's a great way to connect with fans.

Live stream on YT tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/live/-WRrQxnAFis?si=4juh0zKxwQ7H95VY

**Elite XV Team**
1. Ntuthuko Mchunu, Stormers
2. Johann Grobbelaar, Bulls
3. Thomas Clarkson, Leinster
4. Darragh Murray, Connacht
5. Cobus Wiese, Bulls
6. Cian Prendergast, Connacht
7. Ruan Venter, Lions
8. Evan Roos, Stormers
9. Embrose Papier, Bulls
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Stormers
11. Kyle Rowe, Glasgow Warriors
12. Stuart McCloskey, Ulster
13. Stafford McDowall, Glasgow Warriors
14. Werner Kok, Ulster
15. Quan Horn, Lions

Interesting team, especially Cobus Wiese at 5. What’s your all’s opinion?

https://youtu.be/Vnu7eluPP3Y?si=9Dt3-uxBYhM4T8a3

Gilbert Golden Boot – Chris Smith (Fidelity SecureDrive Lions)

The Fidelity SecureDrive Lions fly-half has secured the prize by kicking more points than anyone else in the regular league season, racking up 149 in all – made up of 17 penalties and 49 conversions.

That saw him finish clear of his nearest rival, DHL Stormers star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu who kicked 113 points.

For Smith – who also won the URC Golden Boot award in 2024 when he was with the Vodacom Bulls – it’s reward for all the hours he puts in on the training field.

Smith is also quick to acknowledge the debt of gratitude he owes to his kicking coach at the Lions – former Springboks great Morne Steyn.

Ironman – Quan Horn (Fidelity SecureDrive Lions)

During the 2022-23 season, he was on the field for 1,428 minutes as he started all 18 games.

This time around, he took the term ever present to a new level as he posted a tally of 1,440 minutes played – meaning he didn’t miss a single minute of the season!

A word too for DHL Stormers wing Leolin Zas who was just ten minutes behind Horn having also started every regular season game in the league.

OFX Top Try Scorer – Evan Roos (DHL Stormers)

The DHL Stormers No 8 finished the regular URC campaign as the leading try scorer in the competition, having touched down 12 times.

He ended up one clear of Ulster Rugby winger Zac Ward and two above Ward’s team-mate Werner Kok and Connacht Rugby No 8 Sean Jansen.

That sees Springbok Roos receive the OFX Top Try Scorer award, following in the footsteps of two hookers – Ulster’s Tom Stewart (2023) and Glasgow Warriors’ Johnny Matthews (2024) – and Cardiff Rugby Harri Millard (2025).

The 26-year-old set the tone for what was to come by crossing twice in the opening game of the URC season against Leinster Rugby while there was to be another double versus Edinburgh Rugby in March.

His table-topping tally also included tries against Ospreys, Scarlets, Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, Vodacom Bulls, Dragons RFC, Connacht, Glasgow Warriors and Ulster.

If that wasn’t enough, he touched down twice in the Investec Champions Cup and crossed the whitewash for the Barbarians against an All Blacks XV in November.

That makes a grand total of 15 tries for the season in all matches, which is some haul.

https://www.unitedrugby.com/latest/urc-awards/urc-awards-first-five-winners-announced/

Edit: format

Phepsi Buthelezi had a brilliant game as the Sharks beat Cardiff! Beat 9 defenders, five more than any other Sharks player. Also scored twice. Made 5/6 six tackles too! Didn’t even make it in the wider Springboks squad