Premiership Team of the Week: Topsy Ojo picks ‘immense’ England star and ‘a lot of love for Newcastle’
With Round Five done and dusted, we’re joined by a true Premiership legend, former England wing Topsy Ojo, a man who scored 85 tries in 301 club appearances for London Irish.
“Another high-scoring round with loads of action for all,” Ojo said in review of the round.
“Overall, a very entertaining weekend and the Premiership looks in rude health. A lot of love for Newcastle – I’m delighted that they’ve got over the line and that win was a long time coming so I know they’ll be celebrating that up at Kingston Park.
“Credit to Saracens for staying in the fight against Harlequins, with Alex Lozowski showing his mettle to nail that last kick – apt timing with Test selection up for grabs. Steve Borthwick will also be delighted at the form of the Saints players coming into the Test window.”
Here’s the XV that Ojo has selected after Round Five, in association with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby.
eToro Premiership Team of the Week
15 Elliot Daly (Saracens): An immense day at the back for the veteran full-back to give the England selectors a timely reminder of his skills. Freddie Steward was also impressive for the Tigers in their win against Gloucester.
14 Rodrigo Isgro (Harlequins): The result may not have fallen the way of his team, but Isgro showed all the attributes of a classy sevens specialist, dominating the aerial battle. Tommy Freeman spent a lot of time at 13 against the Sharks but grabbed his early try on the wing.
13 Alex Lozowski (Saracens): Three big performances at 13 this weekend, with Max Llewellyn grabbing a hat-trick in defeat for Gloucester and Ollie Lawrence shining once again for Bath Rugby.
12 Sammy Arnold (Newcastle Falcons): A classy display by the Irish international got the Falcons their first win in two seasons. Luke Northmore and Will Butt enjoyed a cracking head-to-head in the Harlequins v Bath match as Northmore looked to further his England claims.
11 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints): Two tries from the Saints flyer just keeps out Bristol’s Gabriel Ibitoye. Both looked almost unstoppable with ball in hand as they underlined the options England have on the left wing.
10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins): A very tough pick with Ethan Grayson also shining for Newcastle Falcons as he drove them to that memorable win with an important drop goal. But Smith gets the nod, with his outside-of-the-boot kick for Isgro’s second try an absolute highlight of the weekend.
9 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears): A wonderful example of putting pace on the game from nine by Randall in defeat. Ben Spencer also delivered a majestic display of control from the base of the scrum once again from Spencer as his aerial game helped Bath to a thrilling win over Quins.
Michael Cheika reveals how Leicester Tigers crucially gave Handre Pollard a greater ‘platform’
The pack
8 Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons): A massive shift from one of England’s forgotten men as Chick battered to 93 metres with ball in hand. Harsh on Fitz Harding who scored a rare hat-trick from eight as he once again demonstrated his incredible engine.
7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby): What you see is what you get with big Sam and he clattered the Quins all afternoon, with one spectacular hit on Marcus Smith. Tom Pearson won his battle with the Curry brothers against Sale, a big statement from the Saints’ man.
6 Guy Pepper (Bath): Picked tactically at six to nullify Quins’ jackal threat, Pepper delivered a classy display and just keeps out Leicester Tigers’ Hanro Liebenberg, who had another great day at the coalface in overcoming Gloucester.
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers): Chessum’s physicality has really moved up a notch in recent times and his all-action display was at the heart of the Gloucester defeat. Joe Launchbury put in an enormous shift in defeat for Quins as he reminded all of us of his Test quality.
4 Joe Batley (Bristol Bears): An absolutely massive shift from uncapped lock in defeat. He’s put in some big performances recently and surely England will take a look at him before too long? Charlie Ewels was as abrasive as you like in Bath’s win over Saracens demonstrating his incredible work-rate.
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath): Is this prop the best recent overseas signing in the Premiership? A try and a scrum penalty at the end demonstrated his massive impact once again. Tigers’ Joe Heyes and Dan Cole gave them great go-forward from the tighthead jersey too.
2 Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons): Another double try-scoring performance from an exceptionally mobile young hooker as he impressed once again. The old war-horse Julian Montoya was a key cog in the Tigers wheel, really contributing to a famous Leicester win.
1 Francois van Wyk (Bath Rugby): Like teammate du Toit, Van Wyk’s try-scoring impact was an absolutely key focus in Bath’s win at the Stoop. His opposite number Fin Baxter showed his prowess as he looks to nail down the England starting shirt in the Autumn Tests.
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