Mujati stars in Saints’ emphatic win
3 Apr 2011
GARETH DUNCAN looks at the South Africans who impressed in Europe over the weekend.
Tighthead prop Brian Mujati delivered an impressive all-round performance in Northampton Saints’ 53-24 trashing of 14-man Sale Sharks. The Zimbabwean-born former Springbok powered through Sale’s defence to score one of Northampton’s eight tries and was central in his team’s dominance at scrum time and the forwards battle at the rucks.
The win boosts Saints’ play-off chances with four rounds remaining before the semi-finals. Despite suffering a five-match losing streak midway through the season, they now enjoy a five log-point advantage above fifth-placed London Irish.
In other results in England, Saffa-laden Saracens beat skipper Luke Watson, replacement hooker Pieter Dixon, scrumhalf Michael Claassens and flyhalf Butch James’s Bath 20-9 in Watford. Centre Brad Barritt, hooker Schalk Brits, No 8 Ernst Jourbet and replacement lock Mouritz Botha and prop Petrus du Plessis featured in the win that sees Sarries trail Leicester by three log points, while Bath continue their freefall down the table.
Lock Marco Wentzel and flanker Hendré Fourie’s Leeds Carnegie picked up a vital 27-22 win over Exeter Chiefs while tighthead prop Faan Rautenbach started in London Irish’s 25-12 victory over London Wasps.
In France, inside centre Frans Steyn and No 8 Jacques Cronje’s Racing Metro lost ground on table toppers Toulouse after a 26-16 defeat to wing Sam Gerber, replacement lock Rob Linde and fullback Joe Pietersen’s Bayonne. Gerber scored a try for the latter.
Toulouse rested loosehead prop Daan Human and No 8 Shaun Sowerby as they pipped centre Rudi Coetzee’s Perpignan 25-24. Flyhalf Conrad Barnard kicked 11 points in tighthead prop Gert Muller, lock Dewald Senekal and flanker Adri Badenhorst’s Agen’s 21-16 victory over Castres.
Centre Piet van Zyl and flanker Wessel Jooste’s yellow cards led to lowly Bourgoin-Jallieu’s 42-27 defeat to flanker Johan Wasserman’s Montepellier. Lock Coenie Basson’s try for the losers proved to be consolation.
Flyhalf Scott Spedding, tighthead prop Pat Barnard, flanker Gerhard Vosloo, No 8 Antonie Claassen and replacement lock Retief Uys were fielded in Brive’s 26-9 triumph against lock Cobus Grobler’s La Rochelle.
No 8 Joe van Niekerk crossed the whitewash in Toulon’s 38-10 drubbing of tighthead prop Rayno Gerber and replacement scrumhalf Noel Oelschig’s Stade Francais while Sharks-bound centre Marius Joubert’s Clermont thumped replacement prop Eduard Coetzee’s Biarritz 41-13.
In the Magners League, Ulster continued their impressive run as they edged Scarlets 20-18 to jump in to second place in the standings. Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar kicked 10 points for the victors while tighthead prop BJ Botha, lock Johann Muller, flanker Robbie Diack and No 8 Pedrie Wannenburg contributed to the win.
Loosehead prop Wian du Preez’s Munster edged hooker Richardt Strauss and replacement prop Heinke van der Merwe’s Leinster 25-24 to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 12 log points.
South African-born Canadian international wing Daniel van der Merwe started in Glasgow’s 17-16 win over wing Danwel Demas and replacement lock Quintin Geldenhuys’ Aironi. Lock Corniel van Zyl featured in Treviso’s 33-10 defeat to Newport Gwent Dragons.
13 Comments
3 Apr 2011, 21:05 pm
How old is Mujati? Could this not be a case of getting bigger, better etc up there and return to fulfil his early promise here? I seem to recall him being a seriosly good youngster up in Jhb but then fading out in CT with no real news on why that happened…I hate it when that happens, which seems to be a lot in SA.
Keep improving Brian and hopefully one of the bright boys here will pop over to have word about a contract (?)
3 Apr 2011, 21:29 pm
@Marino(Marino)-1:
I’m not sure of his age but he’s certainly young enough to have a long future ahead of him. Going north has certainly improved his game.
3 Apr 2011, 21:31 pm
I only saw the 1st half of the Saracen’s/Bath game and Butch was once again poor. Two games in a row that he’s played badly!
3 Apr 2011, 21:46 pm
mujati is 27, if PdV or SARU have any intentions of using him, then they should get him to apply for SA citizenship like Beast did, NOW!!!!!! Not 3 weeks before the tournament when Jannie duPlessis has broken down or something!
3 Apr 2011, 23:18 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-4: Mujati has played for SA.
3 Apr 2011, 23:53 pm
As Brian now lives in England, I can’t see any way he can be granted SA citizenship. I bet his file at SARU has a big red notice on the front that says Don’t even think about selecting him. We can’t afford the fallout.
4 Apr 2011, 04:11 am
@stand-off(Braders)-3:
Agreed. Can someone remind Keo of just how SHITE Butch James was in that Bath loss? This is NOT the man to “take South Africa to the World Cup”, and if I hear any more of that toss, I might actually lose my mind. Morne Steyn isn’t my favourite flyhalf, but at this point, he’s easily on par with Butch, if not consistently better.
4 Apr 2011, 04:40 am
mujati, bissy, beast…mobile powerful and massive workrate…..gurthro off the bench, no reprieve for the opposition
4 Apr 2011, 07:07 am
michael, i’m quite aware of that. That was an oversight on the part of SARU thinking that only satisfying IRB rules was the only prerequisite for Beast, Mujati & Chavanga to play for the Boks, they overlooked the country’s immigration laws. SARU would have to convince home affairs that Mujati has a ‘unique’ skill that no other SA has hence the need to naturalise him and give him a SA ID & passport.
It’s just procedure.
4 Apr 2011, 09:07 am
@flanka(flanka)-8: Correct. That’s the front row we need.
4 Apr 2011, 10:52 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-9: Don’t believe Mujati fell/falls into same category as Beast was in?
4 Apr 2011, 13:21 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-9:
Could be a bit different with Mujati.
He was in South Africa since 2003 and was on student visa and not “special skills visa” as Beast…Student visa not as ambiguous as “special skills visa” & is usually quite straight forward to achieve citizenship through that route.Have a few Zim mates who have done it in that way after studying then getting work in SA.(He studied at UJ and would have qualified through residency.)
But not sure about extent of procedure
5 Apr 2011, 07:37 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-12: when his “student visa” expired he used that loophole to jump ship to cape town thus the furore with the lions at the time! now the question is, did wp contract him on a “special skills visa” or did he apply for saffa citizenshop at that point.
if he still carries a zimbabwean passport then he is in the same wagon as tendai.
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.