nternational Team of the Week: In-form Springboks forward ‘on another level’ as Beauden Barrett loses out in ‘tight call’ for fly-half slot
After a thrilling weekend of Test rugby, here is your Planet Rugby Team of the Week, with some tough selection calls all over the board.
England and South Africa lead the way with three nominations each following their victories over Argentina and Italy respectively while the All Blacks, Wallabies and Fiji are next best with two apiece.
International Team of the Week
15 Theo Attissogbe (France): Made his mark in the Six Nations and then impressed on Saturday despite being moved from wing to full-back. Attissogbe showed his attacking skills by making the break for Mickael Guillard’s try but it was his basics, particularly under the high ball, which impressed the most. Damian Willemse made an impressive Test return for the Springboks but it was not enough to displace the Frenchman.
14 Will Jordan (New Zealand): Ireland’s Tommy O’Brien and Tom Roebuck of England also managed to touch down twice each, but Jordan was at his classy best in Dunedin. An injury to Sevu Reece forced him to move over to the right wing but it did not affect his performance as the speedster continued his incredible try-scoring record. It now stands at 40 in just 42 matches.
13 Len Ikitau (Australia): He started at 12 for the Wallabies but Ikitau has played plenty at 13 and deserves his place in the team after a very effective outing on both sides of the ball against Fiji. Jesse Kriel, the Springboks captain for the Italy Test, is perhaps unlucky to miss out but the Australian was once again in excellent form for his country.
Fijian magic
12 Josua Tuisova (Fiji): Was utterly destructive for the Flying Fijians. Often used off first phase ball, Tuisova always made it over the gain line with it taking more than one tackler to bring him to ground. Damian de Allende (South Africa) and Gael Fickou (France) were also physical and abrasive, but the rampaging Fijian was absolutely superb.
11 Jiuta Wainiqolo (Fiji): Showed what he has been doing for Toulon over the past few seasons by tearing the Wallabies apart. Set up the try of the weekend with a remarkable run which displayed his wonderful pace, balance and skill set. Gabin Villiere is unfortunate after being utterly outstanding on both sides of the ball for France against the All Blacks, but we couldn’t ignore the brilliance of Wainiqolo.
10 George Ford (England): Had a shaky start but absolutely ran the show against Argentina in the second period once his team-mates sorted out their discipline. Controlled the match with his boot but also assisted Freddie Steward’s try and played a key role in Roebuck’s brace. It was a tight call between Ford and New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett, but the English playmaker gets the nod after showing touches of genius to go along with his control.
9 Morne van den Berg (South Africa): Rassie Erasmus may have just found his long-term scrum-half as Van den Berg followed a fine display against the Barbarians last weekend with another superb outing, this time against Italy. There will be sterner challenges to come for him, particularly in the Rugby Championship, but he looks to have found his game at international level after initially struggling. Ireland’s Craig Casey was next best.
8 Tom Willis (England): A barnstorming performance from the number eight, who simply refused to be stopped when carrying the ball. Willis consistently swatted aside Argentinian defenders, while he also impressed defensively, winning a couple of key turnovers. There were some outstanding displays at the base with Guillard (France), Jasper Wiese (South Africa) and Gavin Coombes (Ireland) all impressing, but Willis deservedly takes his place in the team.
