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Heineken Cup: Team of Round Four

17th December 2012 12:14

George Kruis for Saracens

In the mix: George Kruis

Now that the dust has settled in the Heineken Cup, it's time to dish out the kudos for outstanding showings in Round Four of the Heineken Cup.

So without further ado, here comes our offering - be sure to send in your own 15-1 team line-ups.

15 Simon Zebo (Munster) - His early switch to full-back when Felix Jones departed the action injured means Zebo gets the nod at 15. He was assured with and without the ball and showed he looks set for many more caps in the Irish jersey.

14 Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier) - After being on the bench in Round 3, the former Ulster wing certainly made a point from the off this week as he carried for 125 metres against Cardiff Blues.

13 Andrew Bishop (Ospreys) - One of the most underrated players in Europe was his usual unflappable self for the Ospreys. His combination with Ashley Beck worked well against Gael Fickou and Yann David and he fully deserved the victory.

12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont) - We were very impressed by Brad Barritt, who carried his form from Twickenham to Watford, but it was Fofana's line-breaking in Dublin that caught our eye as the try-scorer was elecrtic alongside Aurélien Rougerie. A message to Philippe Saint-Andre ahead of the Six Nations Championship?

11 Eli Walker (Ospreys) - A moment of magic from Walker put the Welsh region in the driving seat against Toulouse as they stunned their visitors. His general game elsewhere was top notch so we went for him over Toulon wing David Smith, who also had a field day.

10 Frederic Michalak (Toulon) - 20 points in a classy showing as the French giants dominated Sale in a one-sided game. Michalak was given the fly-half jersey ahead of a benched Jonny Wilkinson and more than stepped up to the plate in a classy performance.

9 Morgan Parra (Clermont) - The fiercest battle this week came at scrum-half where Nico Matawalu, Dimitri Yachvili, Richard Wigglesworth, Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Kahn Fotuali'i all pressed their case. But in the end Parra got the nod for a top clash effort.

8 Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier) - Joe Van Niekerk grabbed a brace in Toulon's rout of Sale, but Beattie gets the nod for his impressive 111 metres made against the Cardiff Blues, with a try to his name as well.

7 James Scaysbrook (Exeter Chiefs) - Man of the Match in Exeter's first ever Heineken Cup win at Sandy Park, Scaysbrook was his typically aggressive self, racking up tackles and scoring one his side's three tries.

6 George Kruis (Saracens) - The young Saracen was another Man of the Match winner, this time in his side's gritty victory in Watford over Munster. Highly rated within the Saracens set-up, the 22-year old was excellent at the lineout. Credit to the Ospreys' Ryan Jones.

5 George Robson (Harlequins) - The Premiership champions lineout guru was at it again against a hapless Zebre, orchestrating the home pack to a seven-try victory.

4 Nathan Hines (Clermont) - Another strong showing from the veteran that keeps his name firmly in the Lions spotlight. Abrasive and physical, Hines caused his former side Leinster plenty of problems.

3 Matt Stevens (Saracens) - Nine tackles for the former England prop typified Saracens defensive effort against Munster on Sunday, securing his spot at tighthead.

2 Dimitri Szarzewski (Racing Métro) - Beating out fellow countryman Benjamin Kayser for the hooker shirt, Szarzewski has in fine form at Murrayfield against Edinburgh in a dour game, with 65 metres made and 12 tackles to his name. Credit also to Cardiff hooker Rhys Williams for an impressive 18 tackles against Montpellier.

1 Ryan Bevington (Ospreys) - Part of an exceptional performance from the Ospreys pack against four-time champions Toulouse, Bevington was industrious in the loose and gave the French opposition trouble at the scrum.

Comments

Iyhel says...

@ramm83: well without him it would have been 76¿0...

Posted 21:19 19th December 2012

ramm83 says...

@lyhel: You'd have to question if he can do the job with that scoreline...

Posted 12:39 18th December 2012

jontheref says...

Surprised Hibberd didn't get in, considering it was his first game back, he was immense.

Also agree about gray, to play well in a poor team is a lot more difficult than starring with stars.

Posted 08:54 18th December 2012

Iyhel says...

@ramm83: Gray would be in my team any day; he was one of the very few Sharks that tried to do the job.

Posted 20:25 17th December 2012

carpelone says...

Looks like the writer only saw Ospreys' and Saracens' matches.

Posted 17:43 17th December 2012

jestnation says...

Kruis looks like a bit of a monster.

If the lions end up picking one or two from the England second/back row this Summer I'd love to see how he fared on a tour to Argentina

Posted 17:08 17th December 2012

NHsaints says...

Manoa was better than Robson by a country mile! And PDJ was a heck of alot better than Matt Stevens...all stevens did was make some tackles and not collapse his side of the scrum on every put in...which for him I admit is impressive.

Posted 16:28 17th December 2012

TVaddict says...

I'd of had Manoa over Robson, but otherwise pretty good selection.

@Saint_Andre91

Although it was a great performance to be fair it was a victory over Sale, the weakest team in the premiership at the moment (only managed 1 victory so far).

Posted 16:05 17th December 2012

northampton_lad says...

samu manoa should definitely have made it!

Posted 15:33 17th December 2012

GCP_jones says...

@Saint_Andre91

Boudjellal ....Will probarly go out and buy the other 14 no doubt.

Posted 15:02 17th December 2012

ArmchairGeneral says...

Some good players but hardly a world beating 15... I'd like to see a bit more science going into the selection criteria and see if this bit of fun can start picking the best with a method to fine tune. Like the economists Big Mac index on "Burganomics".

Posted 14:51 17th December 2012

Saint_Andre91 says...

And more surprinsingly, only one from Toulon ;-)

Posted 13:12 17th December 2012

ramm83 says...

What? No Sale players...?

Posted 12:45 17th December 2012

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