Bulls wing Cheswill Jooste was among the standout performers in the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup.
The 20-year-old scored a hat-trick of tries, made a round-high six clean breaks and gained more metres (218) than any other player as the hosts ran in eight tries in their 56-20 victory over Stade Français at Loftus.
Bulls No 8 Cameron Hanekom also impressed, making four offloads, the joint-most in the round, while flyhalf Handré Pollard scored 16 points, the same as Leinster’s Sam Prendergast and Pau’s Axel Desperes.
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Round one delivered plenty of drama across Europe and South Africa, with 109 tries scored in 12 matches.
Defending champions Bordeaux Bègles fought back to draw 36-36 with Gloucester, while the Stormers scored seven tries in their 49-12 win against the Bristol Bears in Cape Town.
Leinster launched their campaign with a 48-23 victory away to Clermont, while Connacht stunned Saracens 45-36.
The Lions suffered a 31-14 defeat to La Rochelle in an emotional encounter following the death of lock Hyron Andrews.
Top performers (Round 1)
Points: Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Axel Desperes (Pau), Handré Pollard (Bulls), George Barton (Gloucester) – 16
Carries: George Barton (Gloucester) – 19
Metres: Cheswill Jooste (Bulls) – 218
Defenders beaten: Tom Willis (Bordeaux Bègles), Théo Attissogbe (Pau) – 9
Offloads: Cameron Hanekom (Bulls), Yacouba Camara (Montpellier), Martin Blum (Stade Français) – 4
Tackles: Josh Murphy (Connacht), Olly Cracknell (Leicester) – 20
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Key stats (Round 1)
– Cheswill Jooste (Bulls) scored a joint-round-high three tries, made the most clean breaks (six) and gained the most metres (218).
– George Barton (Gloucester) made the most carries (19) and scored the joint-most points (16).
– Zack Winbush (Exeter Chiefs) scored a hat-trick, made four clean breaks and won a turnover.
– Maro Itoje (Saracens) made the joint-most dominant tackles (four) and won the joint-most turnovers (three).
– Théo Attissogbe (Pau) beat the joint-most defenders (nine), assisted a try and won a turnover.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Jooste steals Champions Cup spotlight appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Bulls wing Cheswill Jooste was among the standout performers in the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup.
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