Six Nations Team of the Week: Ireland dominate as ‘magnificent’ McCloskey shares top gong while ‘spiky’ Welsh feature
Ireland's Stuart McCloskey, Wales' Dewi Lake, and France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Now that the dust has settled on a Six Nations weekend that saw Ireland stun England, Wales go close against Scotland and France win again against Italy, here’s our Team of the Week.
The backs
15 Jamie Osborne (Ireland): A commanding presence in a vital aerial battle gets Osborne the shirt as he crossed for Ireland’s final try in a deeply impressive outing. France’s Theo Attissogbe made his first start at 15 for Les Bleus in Lille and didn’t disappoint, Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn made 80 metres with ball in hand, whilst Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit continued his carrying dominance for the tournament without getting on the scoreboard, although neither he, nor Gabe Hamer-Webb will enjoy the replay of Darcy Graham’s match-turning try.
14 Robert Baloucoune (Ireland): A try, three turnovers grabbed, brilliant in the air and a rock in defence means the young Irishman grabs our right wing spot. Kyle Steyn grabbed a try, eight defenders beaten, two clean breaks and 75 metres made all add up to a huge contribution for the Scottish wing. France will be pleased to have capped the youngster from Toulon, Gael Drean, who made a very impressive debut, grabbing a try from a meticulous Thomas Ramos cross-kick.
13 Emilien Gailleton (France): Scored one and made another, as he added to the emerging depth chart France possesses in the centres. Garry Ringrose was a defensive rock for Ireland in their memorable outing, whilst Tommaso Menoncello was one of Italy’s key attacking threats in Lille despite the result. England’s Ollie Lawrence was one of the few men to come out of the Twickenham humbling marginally in credit, scoring a try but needs to focus on his defensive efforts in Round Four.
12 Stuart McCloskey (Ireland): Our joint Player of the Round as the Ulsterman delivered a massive shift both sides of the ball for Ireland. His carrying and distribution were magnificent, but he’ll never forget chasing Marcus Smith down over 60 metres, a testimony to his desire and fitness. Wales’ Joe Hawkins took a step forward in his international career, against an excellent showing from his opposite number, Sione Tuipulotu.
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France): Ridiculous. Scored in the third minute to make it eight on the bounce in Six Nations Tests and worked his backside off in every aspect of the game. Darcy Graham pushed him all the way though, showing huge awareness off the bench to grab a match-turning try to see off the gallant Welsh performance in Cardiff.
France land timely blows to floor Italy in Six Nations as Grand Slam dream remains on track
10 Finn Russell (Scotland): He combined with Graham to make that killer blow to Welsh hopes and had yet another outstanding game in both kicking and distribution. Ireland’s Jack Crowley managed to get some pace and cohesion to a backline that’s misfired for much of the competition. Thomas Ramos showed his eccentric approach to the ten shirt as he came into the position at the last minute after Matthieu Jalibert pulled up with a calf strain.
9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland): The heartbeat of Ireland’s performance and he shares our Player of the Round award with his teammate McCloskey. Mind you, given Antoine Dupont‘s brilliance against Italy, he needed to produce his very best – and that’s exactly what Andy Farrell got from one of his most trusted lieutenants.
The forwards
8 Caelan Doris (Ireland): Probably Doris’ best performance for his country in a couple of seasons as he was magnificent both sides of the ball. 20 tackles, 11 carries for 48 metres, and a couple of turnovers gets him the shirt. Wales’ Aaron Wainwright left nothing on the Cardiff turf, as he snared 21 tackles, beat three defenders, and carried a round topping 21 times but still finished on the losing side. France’s Anthony Jelonch is a big steam-powered locomotive, but he’s the man that holds the French gainline effort together, despite never grabbing the headlines.
7 Alex Mann (Wales): Memorably described by a teammate as the most ‘Chip Alley’ person he’d ever met, the spiky Cardiff boy gave everything despite the defeat, having a superb battle with Rory Darge, our runner-up. Mann’s two turnovers, 13 carries and 17 tackles points to an all-round display of quality. Josh van der Flier looked a man rejuvenated at Twickenham, whilst France’s Oscar Jegou again added to his growing reputation, as did Charles Ollivon when he replaced Jegou on France’s right flank.
6 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland): A suffocating presence in all the dark arts stuff, Beirne gave the English lineout a lot of headaches as well as making 18 tackles and grabbing a crucial turnover. France got great value out of their six (left flank) shirt as both Francois Cros and Lenny Nouchi shone, whilst James Botham is also unlucky to miss out as he gave everything for Wales.
5 Emmanuel Meafou (France): There’s little doubt that Fabien Galthie wanted to test how deep the big man could go in a Test match and he delivered a powerhouse display, puncturing with every carry and grabbing a try. Ireland’s James Ryan gave England a lot of headaches on their home turf, whilst Italy’s Andrea Zambonin continues to impress us.
4 Thibaud Flament (France): A massive return to Test action from the Stade Toulousian star as he returned from some family-focused time. He looked all the better for his break as he carried, harried and disrupted in a high-quality outing. Wales’ Dafydd Jenkins is our runner-up, a real captain’s knock and a welcome return to his best form.
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3 Simone Ferrari (Italy): The big tighthead gets our pick for the third consecutive round as he continues his blistering form, firstly seeing Jean-Baptiste Gros off, and then giving Rodrigue Neti a torrid time as France’s scrum issues again held them back. If one Englishman needs a shout-out, then it’s Joe Heyes, a man who never stopped for England and delivered a near faultless performance.
2 Dewi Lake (Wales): If anyone ever wondered how much meaning the Welsh shirt carries for those that wear it, simply watch Lake banging out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau before kick off with tears flowing as wide and fast as the River Taff outside. A real leader, and someone that Wales need to cherish. He’s special. Dan Sheehan grabbed a try for Ireland, whilst Julien Marchand was faultless in lineout and loose until he took a painful blow from the friendly fire of the behemoth Meafou in a maul.
1 Rhys Carre (Wales): The huge man lived up to his name with 10 thundering carries, a try and a turnover. However, we were very close to picking Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman, who made a killer scrum intervention for a Scots penalty to take the game out of Wales’ grasp. Finally, a word for Danilo Fischetti, a man that surely must be the best loosehead outside of South Africa and a man who delivered another high-quality performance in the rather attractive new red change shirt of Italy.