Team of the Week: Six Nations, Round 5
Following the fifth and final round of the Six Nations Championship, we pick out the best players to make Planet Rugby’s Team of the Week.
Italy were excellent despite going down to defeat against Scotland and featured a number of superb individual displays, while Ireland and France are also well represented in the team.
Team of the Week: Six Nations, Round 5
15 Matteo Minozzi (Italy): Once again another excellent performance from the 21-year-old as he edges out Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who was excellent defensively against France. Minozzi though sparked numerous attacks in Rome and looks the real deal, claiming his fourth try of the campaign to finish joint second on that table with Jonny May. Italy will hope this kind of form continues.
14 Gael Fickou (France): Sees off Ireland wing Keith Earls here, who was a defensive rock once again. Fickou took his try so well though against Wales and beat five defenders from his ten carries, which is a brilliant return. Could he be a long-term option at 14?
13 Mathieu Bastareaud (France): Gets in our XV in successive rounds after leading by example at centre. The stand-in captain sees off Ireland’s Garry Ringrose here after dominating the collisions and being a real threat at the ruck. His revival continues.
12 Nick Grigg (Scotland): While his team were not at their best, nothing more could have been asked of Grigg as he did exactly what he has been doing in a Glasgow jersey. Such a ball of energy and power, he emptied the tank at centre, making 12 carries and 10 hits.
11 Jacob Stockdale (Ireland): A tough decision here on Elliot Daly as he stood out for England in their loss. But it’s an Irishman on the other side of the field who gets the nod here after Stockdale made it a magnificent seven tries this Six Nations. He’s since been nominated for Six Nations Player of the Championship and it’s hard to see him being deprived of the prize. An amazing campaign.
10 Tommaso Allan (Italy): Arguably the player of the round after he was named man-of-the-match in defeat to Scotland. Allan pulled the strings superbly for the Azzurri, scoring two tries and setting up another while he was faultless in defence, making 12 tackles.
9 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland): When the pressure is on, few do it better. Laidlaw once again delivered for Scotland as he knocked over a late penalty that secured victory in Rome. His return to the side earlier in the campaign really did calm the Scots and he was key on Saturday when he switched to fly-half. Conor Murray gets a mention here as do Marcello Violi and Maxime Machenaud.
8 CJ Stander (Ireland): Another tireless performance by the Ireland number eight, who made 24 carries and 15 tackles. Also scored the second try, showing pace and power to touch down after Tadhg Furlong and Bundee Aki had combined from a set-piece move. Taulupe Faletau was once again excellent in Wales’ narrow victory over France but Stander has been hugely influential and is currently the premier eight in Europe.
7 Jake Polledri (Italy): What a debut from the Gloucester flanker. Many have been calling for his inclusion throughout the championship and the back-rower showed why on Saturday following an all-action display. Polledri is incredibly strong and handed off Ryan Wilson with ease to set up Tommaso Allan’s second try. He also did the dirty work, making 12 tackles and missing none, in a performance which saw him edge out Ireland’s Dan Leavy and Scotland’s Hamish Watson.
6 Sebastian Negri (Italy): Together with Jake Polledri, these two made a massive impact against Scotland on Saturday. Negri has been superb throughout the competition and once again the Benetton flanker impressed after gaining 37 meters from 17 carries. Chris Robshaw was typically industrious for England but the Italian back-rower was the standout player for the blindside position.
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales): France dominated the second half against Wales but Jones helped repel their threat by putting in a huge defensive shift. The captain made the second most tackles of anyone in the game and carried nine times, which was more than anyone in the hosts’ pack. Iain Henderson was also impressive defensively when his side were on the back foot against England, but Jones was slightly ahead of the Irishman.
4 Dean Budd (Italy): Not too many stood out in this position, with James Ryan, Paul Gabrillagues and Cory Hill all doing some good things without really dominating, so we’ve moved Budd inside to four after an excellent display against Scotland. 17 tackles and 14 carries showed how hard he worked as Conor O’Shea’s men came so close to causing an upset. The New Zealand-born player has struggled to make an impact in the tournament, but this was a vast improvement.
3 Tadhg Furlong (Ireland): The best tighthead in the world? Even if some observers still seem to severely underrate Owen Franks for some odd reason, it would be hard to argue with that assertion. Furlong came off early against Italy and missed the Wales game as a result, but the prop was outstanding in the final two matches. His pass to Bundee Aki for CJ Stander’s try was sublime, while the Leinster man tended to make ground in the tight. Simone Ferrari had a great first half for Italy but struggled once James Bhatti came onto the field.
2 Adrien Pelissie (France): Guilhem Guirado’s absence was seen as a huge blow for Les Bleus but the Bordeaux-Begles hooker was excellent in his place. The lineout was generally solid while he was on the field and the front-rower was dynamic in the loose, making an impressive 48 metres. Stuart McInally had a big impact for Scotland when he came onto the field, but Pelissie looks a real find for Jacques Brunel.
1 Jamie Bhatti (Scotland): While the half-time front-row replacements did not wholly alter the course of the game for Gregor Townsend’s men, it certainly made a massive difference. Scotland had struggled up front in the opening period, but that was reversed after the break as Bhatti and his team-mates went to work. All in all, it’s been a pretty disappointing tournament for looseheads and that continued in the final round, but Bhatti showed up well at the Stadio Olimpico.