Premiership Team of the Week: Nick Easter picks ‘exceptional’ England star, Bristol’s ‘force of nature’ and the signing of the season so far
Following a breathless and high-scoring round of the Gallagher Premiership, former England and Harlequins number eight Nick Easter brings us his Team of the Week.
Easter’s Championship side, Chinnor, recorded another victory to maintain their second-place position on the table but he also had one eye on the weekend’s top flight action.
Here’s the XV he selected after Round Three of the Premiership, in association with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby.
Premiership Team of the Week
15 Marcus Smith (Harlequins): I couldn’t believe the quality of full-back play this weekend – so many shone in victory or defeat. I could have picked any of George Furbank, Elliot Daly, Max Malins, Freddie Steward, Josh Hodge, Joe Carpenter, George Barton or Sam Harris and felt I’d picked the right man, but Marcus was exceptional in defeat, with ‘Furbs’ not so far behind him.
14 Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks): A two-try effort for a guy who tends to go under the radar but has all the attributes. A shout out for Sarries’ Tobias Elliott who looks a real prospect, and England’s Tommy Freeman who again created a lot for others.
13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears): Another position where I am simply spoilt for choice with Alex Lozowski and Ollie Lawrence both really impressing me. But big Benhard is a force of nature either side of the ball and I am sure Steve Borthwick will be counting the days until he’s English-qualified.
12 Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints): A classy display from a really underrated player who has all the attributes, including a powerful defensive game. Bath’s Will Butt impressed for the third week in a row whilst Seb Atkinson is having another banging start to his season for Gloucester.
11 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints): He is absolutely electric and has that ability to seek the ball in places he can hurt teams. Sale’s Arron Reed needs a mention for some incredible tackle work, whilst Ollie Hassell-Collins crossed for Tigers too.
10 Fin Smith (Northampton Saints): Tough on Fergus Burke who was absolutely marvellous once again. Sarries have recruited well in grabbing this fly-half who is also eligible for both England and Scotland. Rob du Preez was back to 10 for Sale in George Ford’s absence and slotted in as if he’d never been away, but once again Fin shone in every aspect of Saints’ play.
9 Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby): If there’s a better Premiership signing than this fella I am yet to see him. Superb. With Alex Mitchell looking doubtful for the November Tests, Harry Randall’s impressive form for Bristol is warming for the selectors. A word too for Gus Warr, who was influential for Sale Sharks.
The forwards
8 Tom Willis (Saracens): I really tossed a coin between Tom and Sam Graham at Northampton Saints. Both men are similar brawny abrasive players but Willis’ hard yards are a key component of the Sarries back-row these days.
7 Ben Earl (Saracens): Again, absolutely spoilt for choice with Santiago Grondona having a brilliant afternoon for Bristol as both opensides grabbed a brace of tries. The Bears haven’t yet seen the best of Grondona but it’s clear from the weekend that the Puma is something very special, whilst Earl was yet again in perpetual motion at the StoneX.
6 Steven Luatua (Bristol Bears): If you want to know why Bath struggled with their driving mauls look no further than Luatua who defended them like a boss. His opposite number Ted Hill was unfortunate to have a try chalked off in a bizarre call by the officials whilst Andy Onyeama-Christie yet again put in a big performance off the bench when Theo McFarland went off early.
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers): It’s great to see big Chess back up and running. He was massive in the Tigers’ win up in Newcastle. Joe Batley, a man I coached at Worcester Warriors, can’t be that far from an England call-up and was again brilliant in every aspect of play.
4 George Martin (Leicester Tigers): Like his locking partner, Martin put in a mammoth display of bump and grind for Tigers. James Dun is my runner-up as he did all the hard work for Bristol in their shock win at the Rec.
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath Rugby): It wasn’t to be for the Tank but he was Bath’s leading tackler and carrier as he went hammer and tongs at Ellis Genge. Max Lahiff has had his critics but he was solid against Beno Obano, whilst Asher Opoku-Fordjour did well for Sale as he was tested against one of the best, the returning Val Rapava Ruskin.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks): Another really difficult choice with Bristol’s Gabriel Oghre having a wonderful outing at the Rec for Bristol. But LCD’s brace of tries were crucial in a four-point game up in Sale and it’s great that the former Lion is back roaring. Curtis Langdon, who is one of my assistant coaches at Chinnor, also gets a shout-out, just to stop him from sledging me in training next week about selection.
1 Rhys Carre (Saracens): Nobody has ever doubted his ability with ball in hand and his passing to set up Elliot’s try was out of the top drawer. One of the more interesting Tigers signings has been Nicky Smith who again impressed me in their win in Newcastle, whilst Bristol’s Genge again left nothing in the tank in the match against Bath.
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