Latest news with #HencovanWyk
The South African
29-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
SA Rugby Criticises Sharks; Springboks Shine on Awards List
Springboks have the ideal problem of being inundated with rising stars, recently highlighted by the URC's Next-Gen Player of the Season Award list. Of the sixteen nominees, six are South African, of which four have earned Springbok caps: Henco van Wyk, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Andre-Hugo Venter, Cameron Hanekom, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Andre-Hugo Venter, and Quan Horn. Rassie Erasmus will undoubtedly be considering each player for the upcoming winter tests. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer views the proposed Club World Cup as a way of forcing 'SA teams to take the Champions Cup seriously,' suggesting his opinion to resemble a growing trend that South Africa's club contingent prioritise the URC. Bulls, Sharks, and Stormers have become renowned for resting starting players for the Champions Cup, a tournament neither of the sides managed to eclipse five points after four games, albeit all qualifying for the URC knockout rounds, finishing second, third and fifth. Springboks' Erasmus may like the thought of South Africa's club contingent being more competitive against norther hemisphere outfits, but there's a long way to go before the Club World Cup can be announced. 'The financial aspect is something that still needs to be figured out. At this stage, only projections have been made, but if accurate, the Club World Cup could be financially beneficial,' the SA Rugby boss revealed 'Officially, no structures have been put in place yet, and no broadcasting rights or sponsorships have been sold. So the financial impact will only be determined in the future.' 'The announcement is somewhat premature, with a lot of detail outstanding, and we don't have all the answers yet.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Henco van Wyk returns for Lions in Ospreys URC season finale
Henco van Wyk Ace outside centre Henco van Wyk returns to the Lions team against the Ospreys. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix The Lions welcome back star centre Henco van Wyk for Saturday's visit of the Ospreys in their last United Rugby Championship match of the season after he had missed last weekend's loss to the Scarlets due to illness. There is also a start in the flyhalf jersey for Lubabalo Dobela, who had a fine cameo last weekend, reading the game well and showing great hands in the offload. His inclusion from the start by coach Ivan van Rooyen on Friday may suggest a more expansive, running game from the Joburg side, with the more conservative Kade Wolhuter making way. Scrumhalf Nico Steyn continues to cover for injured Springbok Morné van den Berg, and will be responsible for securing quality ball for an exciting Lions backline, where Quan Horn has been in sparkling form at fullback. Strong ball-carrier and scrummager Juan Schoeman also returns to the starting XV, while flank Ruan Venter will again fill in at lock in the injury-enforced absence of Darrien Landsberg. Hooker Morné Brandon and loose forward WJ Steenekamp bolster the options on the bench. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The match will also mark the final one in a Lions jersey for Edwill van der Merwe, who starts on the left wing, and centre Marius Louw. Speedster Van der Merwe is bound for the Sharks in Durban, while Louw is heading to the Sale Sharks in England. Both players will be hoping for a fitting send-off. The Lions will be bidding to end their URC campaign on a high after bowing out of playoff contention with a whimper. They have won only one of their last three home games in the run-in, against Connacht, and will be seeking a consolation victory against an Ospreys side that have often been their bogey team. The Welsh visitors, who are also out of the playoff picture, will be looking to bounce back from last weekend's 29-10 loss to the Sharks in Durban. Kick-off on Saturday is at 5.15pm. Lions Team 15 Quan Horn 14 Richard Kriel 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Bronson Mills 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Lubablo Dobela 9 Nico Steyn 8 Jarod Cairns 7 Renzo du Plessis 6 JC Pretorius 5 Ruan Delport 4 Ruan Venter 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 Jaco Visagie (captain) 1 Juan Schoeman. Bench: 16 Morné Brandon 17 SJ Kotze 18 RF Schoeman 19 Izan Esterhuizen 20 WJ Steeenkamp 21 Layton Horn 22 Marius Louw 23 Kelly Mpeku.
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Scarlets defeat Lions 32-19, dashing slender play-off aspirations
Ace outside centre Henco van Wyk was a late withdrawal from the Lions team to face the Scarlets on Sunday afternoon. The Lions' slim play-off hopes were dealt a fatal blow with a hard-fought 32-19 loss against Scarlets in their United Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park on Sunday afternoon. The Joburg side was hit by the late withdrawal of star centre Henco van Wyk, who was replaced by Rynhardt Jonker. Youngster Kelly Mpeku took Jonker's place on the bench. The home side started tentatively, with neither side able to land any telling early blows. Scarlets lock Sam Lousi was shown yellow for head-to-head contact in the tackle. Jonker was able to make a strong break off a ball to the tail of the line-out, but a failure to get numbers to the breakdown proved costly for the home side. Errors were starting to creep into Lions play and they were pinged for an infringement at the breakdown. The Welsh side kicked the penalty into touch and worked the ball over to the left for Blair Murray to throw a dummy to the Lions defence before scoring. Sam Costelow kicked the conversion (7-0). The try seemed to have woken the Lions from their slumber as they moved the ball through the hands. But the Scarlets' rush defence continually forced them back behind the gain line. Hooker and skipper Jaco Visagie then attempted an audacious chip and chase inside the Scarlets 22 but the away side broke and chased a kick of their own from No 8 Taine Plumtree. Fullback Quan Horn had to scramble to clear for the Lions. The fullback was instrumental in a Lions break down the right wing, as was prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, and the result was a penalty to the home side. They kicked for touch and were camped on the Scarlets tryline but the visitors were able to cope with the crash ball until JC Pretorious was held up over the line to concede possession. Lions winger Richard Kriel's break down the right was once again undone by failure to protect the ball at the breakdown. It would be an issue for the home side throughout the first half.
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Bok flank Venter to pack down at lock for Lions against Scarlets
The coach has stuck with the exciting midfield pairing of Bronson Mills and Henco van Wyk. Regular Lions flank Ruan Venter (No 7) has shifted to lock for the URC match against Scarlets this weekend. Picture: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has welcomed back Springbok forward Ruan Venter to his team for the United Rugby Championship match against Scarlets at Ellis Park on Sunday, with kick off at 3pm. Venter though, who earned his only Bok cap to date last season, will play in the lock position on Sunday rather than in his more familiar blindside flank role. Exciting scrumhalf Nico Steyn will wear the No 9 jersey in place of the injured Morne van den Berg, while rookie Layton Horn will be his backup. In the absence of Francke Horn, hooker Jaco Visagie will again lead the side from hooker. Van Rooyen has also opted to stick with the midfield pairing of youngster Bronson Mills and Henco van Wyk, while Kade Wolhuter will continue at flyhalf. 'We want to win last two games' The Lions go into the match on the back of a good win against Connacht, but find themselves down in 13th position on the points table with 35 points. Scarlets are seventh with 43 points, having won one more game so far than the Lions (8-7). For the Lions to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, and the top eight, they will have to win this weekend and also beat Ospreys next week, with bonus points, and hope some other results go their way. Defence coach Jaque Fourie though said the team were not looking at the log or the permutations. 'We are not worried about permutations; we want to win the last two games with five points,' said Fourie. 'Scarlets are a quality outfit; they have come a long way this season and we can't think it's going to be an easy game. We need to rock up on Sunday and the following week too. They have shown (Ospreys) that they are probably our bogey team in the last few years.' Lions: Quan Horn, Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Bronson Mills, Edwill van der Merwe, Kade Wolhuter, Nico Steyn, Jarod Cairns, Renzo du Plessis, JC Pretorius, Ruan Delport, Ruan Venter, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Jaco Visagie (capt), Morgan Naude. Bench: PJ Botha, SJ Kotze, RF Schoeman, Darrien Landsberg, Sibabalo Qoma, Layton Horn, Lubabalo Dobela, Rynhardt Jonker
The Citizen
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
URC result: Kicking Kade snaps Lions' winless streak
Next up, the Lions host the Scarlets, while Connacht return to Galway to face Edinburgh after a winless tour in South Africa. Shane Jennings of Connacht is tackled by Bronson Mills and Henco van Wyk of Emirates Lions during the United Rugby Championship match between Emirates Lions and Connacht at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile via Getty Images. The Lions kept their slender playoff hopes alive, pulling out of a five-match slump in the URC with a win over Connacht at Ellis Park on Saturday. Flyhalf Kade Wolhuter starred with the boot, scoring 11 points to guide the Lions to a vital 26-7 win in Johannesburg. After surviving an early spell of Connacht possession, the Lions struck first when flanker Renzo du Plessis powered over for the opening try. Wolhuter added two penalties to give the hosts an 11-0 at half time. Poor handling and discipline from both sides disrupted the flow of the match, with few long phases. Wolhuter extended the Lions' lead early in the second half, slotting his third penalty to make it 14-0. However, Du Plessis was soon sent to the sin bin for cynical play, offering Connacht a lifeline. The visitors thought they had capitalised through hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin, but his try was chalked off for obstruction. Edwill van der Merwe had a try disallowed after Henco van Wyk was penalised for a high tackle in the build-up. It was JC Pretorius who got the Lions' second, swan-diving under the posts in the fourth quarter. Connacht grabbed a late consolation through replacement prop Eoin de Buitlear, but Van der Merwe had the final say, chasing down a loose ball in extra time to seal a much-needed 26-7 Lions victory. Next up, the Lions host the Scarlets, while Connacht return to Galway to face Edinburgh after a winless tour in South Africa. This story was first published on It is republished here with permission.
