Chris Robshaw’s Six Nations Team of the Week: Ben Earl the standout but Italy’s super six dominate
Former England captain Chris Robshaw picks his Six Nations Team of the Week.
After a thrilling round of this year’s Six Nations where the tournament delivered some epic matches, Planet Rugby’s James While sat down with former England and Harlequins captain Chris Robshaw to select his Team of the Week.
We have teamed up with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to cover the 2024 Six Nations, previewing and reviewing the entire tournament.
Without further ado, here are Robshaw’s choices for the Team of the Week.
Six Nations Team of the Week, Round Four
15 George Furbank (England): Furbank’s ability to get pace into a backline is something England have craved and I’m thoroughly enjoying his ambition, especially the way he can act as a second receiver when required. Ange Capuozzo also impressed me in the Azzurri win against Scotland whilst Hugo Keenan was his usual outstanding self for Ireland.
14 Louis Lynagh (Italy): Whilst I was delighted to see my old Quins pal score on debut for the Azzurri, there’s part of me that wishes it was in white rather than blue! He will be a great asset for Italy and showed his nose for the line. From the Cardiff stands France’s Damian Penuad looked to be playing rugby at a different pace to anyone else on the pitch. Lethal. Tommy Freeman also had a great outing for England and his new found physicality is an important asset in test rugby.
13 Juan Ignacio Brex (Italy): I absolutely love the work of the world class Benetton centre. He’s the glue in the Italian backline, rock solid in defence but one of the quickest decision makers around when it comes to continuity in attack and his try was the start of the Italian fightback in Rome. Gael Fickou continued his great work in attack but he’ll be furious regarding some of the defensive howlers of his French midfield defence, whilst Henry Slade was outstanding for England.
Tough call at 12
12 Ollie Lawrence (England): Both of the centres at Twickenham had massive games and it was hard to choose, but Lawrence’s understanding with George Ford is getting better by the moment. Bundee Aki was easily Ireland’s most threatening carrier, with Tommaso Menoncello also shining alongside Brex for Italy. Those two are developing an absolutely Test standard partnership for the Azzurri and are as good as any combination around. Lastly, 20-year-old Nicolas Depoortere showed that he’s France’s future in a really assured outing in Cardiff.
11 James Lowe (Ireland): There really isn’t a more industrious and complete left winger in the Northern Hemisphere right now and again Lowe fused brilliant clearing and kicking with elusive running, crossing over for yet another brace of tries. France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey is unlucky not to get the nod after an impressive outing that saw him challenge Wales time after time.
10 Paolo Garbisi (Italy): Garbisi‘s improvement over the last two seasons has seen him become a very rounded Test 10 and he’s said to be loving working with Dan Biggar at Toulon. I simply don’t understand why George Ford was criticised in some quarters since he was the man that pulled all the strings against Ireland with some exceptional positional intelligence, whilst Thomas Ramos fused attacking brilliance with defensive howlers in a fun outing in Cardiff.
Opinion: Marcus Smith drop-goal ‘did more than win a rugby match’ as Six Nations blown wide open
9 Nolann le Garrec (France): With Alex Mitchell and Martin Page-Relo both shining for England and Italy respectively, I almost tossed a coin between these three players but Le Garrec was the architect of everything that France did well in Cardiff. And you simply have to love that reverse pass, even though I’m sure my heart might just have been in my mouth for a moment had I been his skipper!
8 Ben Earl (England): Simply immense. Once again Earl made a mockery of those that continually doubt his ability to play at eight with the performance of the weekend. The points of difference he brings to the position far outweigh any other concerns about size and he just gets better and better. He’s my player of the round without a doubt. Gregory Alldritt led from the front for France with his battering ram work at the gainline a feature of his play once again, whilst Ross Vintcent put in a big shift for the Azzurri.
📣👏 @BenEarlba appreciation post
Another bulldozing performance from the @Saracens man topped off with another of those trademark reaches over the line 💪#ENGvIRE | #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/fVDQqiDF3g
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 11, 2024
7 Michele Lamaro (Italy): The epitome of the word ‘dogged’. He was a perpetual thorn in the Scottish side as he hammered 29 tackles in a wonderful personal outing. Wales’ Tommy Reffell is the one man Warren Gatland can rely on at the moment and his breakdown work was heroic all afternoon as he tried manfully to stem the French tide.
6 Sebastian Negri (Italy): Another close run selection as Ollie Chessum really adapted well to life on the flank and looks to be the man to fill Courtney Lawes’ size 12s. But Negri is one of those guys you have to continually double team in the tackle as he’s so powerful. Despite a rare missed tackle in Cardiff, Francois Cros didn’t make one more error all match in another brilliant disruptive display from the Toulouse star, whilst Gatland might be quietly pleased with the way Dafydd Jenkins adapted to his positional switch.
5 Federico Ruzza (Italy): A mature performance from Ruzza that again underlined his reliability in the lineout and around the park. France’s Romain Taofifenua made a key intervention to charge down Gareth Davies and score for France as Les Bleus’ bench had a magnificent impact.
4 George Martin (England): When Martin came onto the scene, people at Leicester were telling me he’s a different level of tough – and that’s praise indeed coming from the people at Tigers, a team noted for abrasion. His tackle on Tadhg Beirne almost folded the Irishman in half! Thibaud Flament was brilliant for France and they’re really missed his athleticism around the fringes.
Front-row impact
3 Georges-Henri Colombe (France): I was always going to pick a French tighthead as their scrum simply destroyed Wales all afternoon. Uini Atonio was brilliant for 50 minutes but Colombe grabbed a try, a turnover and tackled like a demon in a really impressive outing. The old war horse and reluctant podcaster Dan Cole again demonstrated why he’s the best tighthead in England as he gave Andrew Porter a stern test.
2 Jamie George (England): George is someone I’ve known for years and is one of the most likable men in the game. He’s embracing captaincy from a point of his own maturity as a player and that really shows in how much he appears to be enjoying the role. Giacomo Nicotera is as solid as you like every time he puts on an Italian shirt and I was pleased to see Julien Marchand return for France after his injury issues.
1 Cyril Baille (France): Baille was his usual powerhouse self in both scrummage and carry as he and Atonio dismantled the Welsh tight effort in a world class display from both. Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman is a folk hero for his team and his ability to get onto the scoreboard is a feature of his powerful game.
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