France lead the way in our Rugby World Cup warm-ups Team of the Week

Planet Rugby
Add as a preferred source on Google
Rugby World Cup warm-ups TOTW image 14 August 2023.jpg

Wales full-back Liam Williams, France lock Cameron Woki, Scotland wing Kyle Steyn and England hooker Jamie George.

Following the Rugby World Cup warm-up games that took place on Saturday, we’ve had a discussion and settled on our our Team of the Week.

There were just two standout fixtures as the Test action kicked off with England claiming a narrow 19-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham.

Shortly afterwards, France sealed a thrilling 30-27 win over Scotland in a blockbuster game in Saint-Etienne, with both sides impressing us.

Rugby World Cup warm-ups Team of the Week

15 Liam Williams (Wales): Back to his best against England. He may have spilt one of the spiral bombs, but that was one of his only hiccups in a game where Williams shone under the high ball, in attack and defensively. After Leigh Halfpenny’s excellence the week before, Warren Gatland has two superb in-form veterans at full-back. France’s Thomas Ramos is unlucky to miss out after his attacking nous and kicking off the tee effectively got Les Bleus over the line against Scotland.

14 Kyle Steyn (Scotland): Player of the match in defeat to France, the winger was superb in Saint-Etienne, expertly taking his two tries. Defensively he was astute and limited the impact of the threatening Gabin Villiere. His opposite number Damian Penaud was also excellent in the same fixture.

13 Joe Roberts (Wales): A solid debut against England as the young Scarlets centre showed all the signs of a player who has a promising international career. Roberts made his mark on attack, gaining over 50 metres, and assisted a try.

12 Jonathan Danty (France): Was sharp defensively against the trickery of Finn Russell and co. while being a threat at the breakdown and with ball in hand. It wasn’t the best weekend for number 12s, with England’s Ollie Lawrence threatening when he did get the ball in space, which didn’t happen often.

11 Elliot Daly (England): All in all, it was not a great game for the England backs, but Daly did impress. His kick chase and defensive work were on point while he was a safe pair of hands under the high ball too. His booming left boot also came in handy. Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe is unfortunate to miss out.

Russell and Dupont shine

10 Finn Russell (Scotland): A full box of tricks in Saint-Etienne as he helped Scotland pick apart the France defence, scoring four tries. It was a stunning display for the mercurial fly-half, who did enough to edge Romain Ntamack for a place in the side.

9 Antoine Dupont (France): Who else? The France captain was sublime again on Saturday, playing his part in all three of Les Bleus’ tries as they pounced just before and after half-time to go into a 27-10 lead. The masterful scrum-half even kicked the air out of the ball, literally, and was furious in defence.

8 Jack Dempsey (Scotland): The former Wallaby back-row delivered an outstanding attacking performance in his team’s narrow defeat against France. Dempsey was in the thick of the action from the outset and took the fight to his opponents with several powerful carries. He eventually finished with a match-high 88 metres gained from 14 runs. His direct opponent Gregory Alldritt was next best.

7 Ben Earl (England): The Saracens tearaway made his first Test start and impressed in their narrow triumph over Wales. As expected, Earl was at the forefront of England’s onslaught at the breakdowns and he did well to slow down Wales’ ball in that department. Earl also shone on attack, gaining 46 metres from eight carries, and made eight tackles. He edges out Scotland’s Rory Darge.

6 Charles Ollivon (France): Les Bleus’ forwards laid a solid platform for their backline against the Scots and Ollivon was at the forefront of that showing with a superb effort. The Toulon stalwart was outstanding with ball in hand, and was rewarded with a try for his efforts, but also impressed on defence and with his lineout work. Meanwhile, Dan Lydiate played well for Wales.

5 Cameron Woki (France): Another Frenchman who could not be ignored after he came to the fore with an outstanding all-round performance against Scotland. The 24-year-old did his bit in the lineouts but also made an impact at the breakdowns and on defence. Apart from that, he was involved in several attacks.

Itoje catches the eye

4 Maro Itoje (England): England’s forwards flexed their muscles against Wales and Itoje was at the forefront of their come-from-behind victory. The Saracens second-row scored a well-taken try during the latter stages of that game, was prominent in the lineouts and also put in a big shift on defence, making 10 tackles. Wales’ Rhys Davies also caught the eye.

3 Uini Atonio (France): The third Frenchman in our team after he made his mark with a superb performance during a 30-minute cameo off the bench against the Scots. Atonio put in a powerful scrummaging display but was also a willing ball carrier and put his body on the line with a solid defensive shift.

2 Jamie George (England): The 32-year-old’s experience came through strongly in that victory over Wales as he impressed with a superb all-round performance. George did his bit with ball in hand as he gained 35 attacking metres from 11 carries but also shone on defence as he made 10 tackles and edges out Julien Marchand.

1 Cyril Baille (France): The Toulouse hard man was involved in a titanic scrum tussle with WP Nel in Saint-Etienne but the Frenchman gave a good account of himself in that department before leaving the field with a calf injury after 48 minutes. Baille also impressed in the execution of his other core duties, especially his defending at close quarters.

READ MORE: Who’s hot and who’s not: France and Scotland dish up a thriller, Liam Williams oozes class and Owen Farrell in hot water

England