FloRugby's BKT URC Round 3 Team Of The Week: New Faces And Dominante Stars
FloRugby's BKT URC Round 3 Team Of The Week: New Faces And Dominante Stars
Munster, Ulster and the Stormers stay unbeaten, as standout performers light up Round 3 of the BKT United Rugby Championship FloRugby Team of the Week.
Three rounds in, the BKT URC has started to take shape, and so have the early power lines.
The DHL Stormers, Munster and Ulster stand alone as the only unbeaten sides left, each carving out its identity in very different ways.
The Stormers are setting the tempo for everyone else, producing a clinical 34-0 shutout of Scarlets in Llanelli that looked as effortless as it was ruthless.
Their defense strangled everything in front of them, their maul chewed meters and their discipline barely wavered.
Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu’s all-action cameo, a try, two conversions, a penalty and even a yellow card summed up the South Africans’ blend of power and expression.
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Munster had to dig far deeper.
It's 20-19 win over Edinburgh was pure grit, a game that looked gone until the closing stretch when Michael Milne barreled through for his second score and Fineen Wycherley powered over for the winner.
It was messy, imperfect and precisely the kind of game the former champions needed ahead of their massive derby clash with Leinster in Round 4.
Up north, Ulster made the most significant statement of all.
A 28-7 demolition of the Bulls in Belfast was a reminder that Ulster belongs in the title conversation.
The pack mauled, smashed and bullied the South Africans into submission, with Iain Henderson and Cormac Izuchukwu leading a performance Richie Murphy rightly called “incredible."
Elsewhere, Leinster rediscovered its rhythm in a 31-5 win over the Sharks, powered by returning British and Irish Lions.
Glasgow’s seven-try destruction of Dragons confirmed the Warriors' attacking bite, while Cardiff edged Connacht in a scrap only settled by teenage winger Tom Bowen’s interception.
Benetton, meanwhile, looks like a side growing into something serious, as Louis Lynagh’s four-try masterclass underlined.
Round 3 wasn’t about surprise results; it was about statements. And this week’s FloRugby Team of the Week belongs to those who didn’t just play well, but dictated the terms of battle.
1. Michael Milne – Munster Rugby
Munster asked for the go-ahead, and Milne delivered it with interest.
He had two thunderous close-range tries, nine carries and 13 tackles, plus a turnover won, while anchoring a scrum that steadied Munster during the yellow-card chaos.
His acceleration through contact changed the mood in Cork and kept Edinburgh pinned in the red zone.
At the international level, the Irish loosehead role behind Andrew Porter now is a straight shootout between three young options in Milne, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy.
2. Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby
A try from the maul and 14 tackles tell you he kept swinging in a narrow defeat.
Ashman’s throwing stayed true under pressure, and he added 30 meters with the ball in hand across the round, one of Edinburgh’s few consistent gain line dents.
The Edinburgh hooker edges Ulster's Rob Herring and Ospreys' Dewi Lake.
3. Tadhg Furlong – Leinster Rugby
Six tackles, clean touches in the build to multiple line breaks and a composed day on the set piece dial.
Furlong’s footwork before contact bought Leinster an extra pass on several phases and helped stretch the Sharks until the dam broke.
While the stats don't jump off the chart, the Lions' tighthead's impact on Leinster was significant following their challenges in the opening two rounds.
4. Iain Henderson – Ulster Rugby
He had 17 tackles and two turnovers won, while calling the line-out with calm authority.
Henderson’s body position in contact was textbook, and his defensive reads shut down the Bulls’ favored narrow channels.
Captaincy by example on a night that asked for it, in what was a throwback performance for the Ulster stalwart.
5. Cormac Izuchukwu – Ulster Rugby
Izuchukwu had try, 11 carries, a line break and three line-outs won.
His stride ate meters in transition, and his aerial work blunted the Bulls’ chase.
He added five tackles and energy that never dipped; his efforts were rewarded with a try, which at the time, appeared to lead to a nasty ankle roll. Fortunately, it didn't remove him from the action.
6. David McCann – Ulster Rugby
Fifteen tackles and double-digit carries framed a complete blindside shift.
McCann’s soft hands in the Izuchukwu try sequence were pivotal, and his scramble defense erased two promising Bulls launches.
Slotting in as a modern equivalent to Stephen Ferris/Marcell Coetzee, the 25-year-old is a key enforcer for this burgeoning Ulster pack.
7. Ben Jason Dixon – DHL Stormers
The heartbeat of a suffocating road win.
Dixon had 15 tackles without a miss, eight line-outs won and repeat efforts that starved Scarlets of any rhythm.
His tackler clearouts kept the Stormers’ tempo high and their scoreboard ticking.
Adding a wide dimension to the Stormers pack, Dixon's ability to win one-on-one kick contestables is a huge weapon for his side.
8. Alun Lawrence – Cardiff Rugby
Lawrence had 24 tackles and 21 carries in a trench fight that demanded stamina and steel.
Lawrence held up ball carriers on the line, then kept pounding at the other end.
He displayed leadership through work rate as Cardiff closed a nervy finish in a match that was on a knife-edge for the full 80 minutes.
9. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors
Horne had two tries and the spark for Glasgow’s surge in what was a major bounce back, a week removed from a second-half performance away to Benetton that left a lot to be desired.
Ten tackles underline his bite without the ball, while a turnover won and crisp service kept the Dragons on skates.
It was about his pace, deception and the final touch when it mattered.
10. Harry Byrne – Leinster Rugby
Game control personified, the highly touted younger Byrne brother proved that when fit and firing, he is a genuine option for Leinster at out-half.
He moved the Sharks around the Aviva with a varied kicking game, connected cleanly with his centers and kept Leinster connected through multi-phase play.
Three carries and seven tackles backed up the management with some key physicality in the No. 10 channel.
11. Ignacio Mendy – Benetton Rugby
The round’s most devastating runner, the Argentine international, was on fire for his side.
He had two try assists, 201 meters made, 12 defenders beaten and four line breaks.
Mendy repeatedly won the backfield chess match, then turned small edges into big gains as the Lions unraveled.
12. Stuart McCloskey – Ulster Rugby
McCloskey scored the opener and drew defenders all night.
His five tackles, dominant carries and constant decoy value created clean pictures for Ulster’s strike plays.
The platform for Doak and company to play front foot.
13. Tom Farrell – Munster Rugby
Farrell had 13 carries, two line breaks and a turnover won in a game that needed calm heads.
Farrell’s angles were sharp, his footwork beat the first tackler and his defensive spacing helped stall Edinburgh’s shape.
While his age profile counts against him, on form alone, he is a contender for Andy Farrell's upcoming Ireland squad.
14. Louis Lynagh – Benetton Rugby
Four tries is ruthless finishing, the detail was even better.
Lynagh had one turnover won, 140 meters made and two line breaks, plus tireless tracking on kicks.
He read the last pass like a veteran and punished every misread.
While his younger brother Tom has garnered headlines of late for the Wallabies, Louis is becoming a near-certain starter for Italy come November.
15. Cam Winnett – Cardiff Rugby
Winnett had 16 carries for 24 meters, two offloads and a turnover won.
His aerial control and counter choices were mature beyond his years, and his tempo changes helped Cardiff out of heavy traffic in the closing minutes.
Under immense pressure from Connacht's continual box kicking, Winnett defused most bombs coming his way.
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