SA stars dominate URC player stats

The past weekend saw three South African teams secure their spots in the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals.

The Sharks lie second in a tightly contested top eight, followed by the Stormers in fourth and the Bulls in sixth.

There's only one round of fixtures remaining, and the SA outfits will be eager to finish on a high and earn a possible home semi-final.

South Africa's impressive showing is also reflected in the competition's official player statistics, with several local stars dominating respective categories.

Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok remains the leading points scorers with 139. He is followed by Connacht No 10 Jack Carty (114) and Bulls pivot Chris Smith (110). Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch is also in the top five on 108 points.

Stormers speedster Leolin Zas is the competition's top try-scorer with 10, while Bulls skipper Marcel Coetzee is second with nine touch downs. Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar and Stormers winger Seabelo Senatla have both scored eight tries apiece.

Burly Stormers No 8 Evan Roos (183) is second behind the Scarlets' Sione Kalamafoni (201) in the carries category. Here, Coetzee (163) and team-mate Elrigh Louw (161) lie fourth and fifth respectively.

There's also a successful carries category, and here Roos (119) leads the pack, while Coetzee and Louw round out the top five with 85.

Bulls playmaker Kurt-Lee Arendse, who missed their 29-17 win over Edinburgh with a broken finger, has made the most clean breaks in the competition with 21. Zas and Bulls winger Madosh Tambwe share second spot with 18 each.

Roos also shares top spot with Connacht's Mack Hansen in the defenders beaten category with 44, while Tambwe (42) and Arendse (37) are also in the top five.

Arendse leads the metres gained category