Team of the Week: Rugby Championship, Round Four

Editor

With the dust having settled on Round Four of the Rugby Championship, we’ve studied the action to pick our standout players from the weekend.

After their epic win over New Zealand in Wellington, South Africa lead the way with eight representatives in our side while Argentina contribute five players and the All Blacks and Wallabies one each.

Rugby Championship: Team of Round Four

15 Willie le Roux (South Africa): Drew the defender and timed the pass expertly to set up Aphiwe Dyantyi’s first try before following that up with an intercept try shortly afterwards in a game-changing 10 minutes for the Springboks. Joined the line to good effect for his seven carries. A much-improved performance from last weekend by the Wasps full-back. Comes in ahead of the Wallabies’ Dane Haylett-Petty and Pumas’ Emiliano Boffelli.

14 Aphiwe Dyanti (South Africa): The Lions winger was in scintillating form on the weekend, bagging two tries and producing a try-saving tackle on All Black captain Kieran Read. Showed a fantastic step off his left foot to cut inside for his second try. Too good to leave out, so he shifts to the right wing despite having played on the left. Beats out the Wallabies’ Israel Folau and Pumas’ Bautista Delguy, both of whom scored excellent tries.

13 Reece Hodge (Australia): The versatile back was a creative force for his side, coming away with two try assists as he showed plenty of vision, especially to find Genia for the first. Got the Wallabies out of trouble regularly with his accurate tactical kicking game. Has managed to fill the void left by the absence of injured duo Samu Kerevi and Tevita Kuridrani.

12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (Argentina): Produced a fantastic offload while falling to the floor to set up Nicolas Sanchez’ try as he showcased that rare ability to get the hands free in the tackle on more than one occasion. Was one of his team’s top tacklers, making 11 hits in total on the day. Comes in ahead of the Boks’ Damian de Allende, who was stout on defence and hard-running on attack.

11 Rieko Ioane (New Zealand): Unfortunate to be on the losing side as he made five clean breaks while beating six defenders. His run down the blindside for his second try was simply world class as he managed to keep himself within the field of play despite all odds. Similar to Folau’s score in the other match. Meanwhile, Ramiro Moyano also impressed, beating a match-high eight defenders against the Wallabies.

10 Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina): An excellent game from the fly-half, who scored one try after taking an excellent line, but was unfortunately denied another when Ramiro Moyano’s foot was deemed to be in touch. Sanchez was once again a threat with ball in hand, running for 26 metres, while the pivot also made seven tackles in defence. There were not too many players that stood out in this position, with Kurtley Beale and Beauden Barrett both underwhelming, but Handre Pollard did his bit for South Africa.

9 Faf de Klerk (South Africa): The Sale Sharks player must be horrible to play against, particularly for opposing scrum-halves, and he gave Aaron Smith little respite. Although De Klerk missed a few tackles, he also made nine and put pressure on Smith as the All Blacks struggled to get front-foot ball for much of the contest. Elsewhere, Gonzalo Bertranou was impressive for Argentina and had a slightly more effective game in attack, but the South African’s energy set the tone for the Springboks and earns him the position.

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8 Warren Whiteley (South Africa): Not a particularly destructive ball-carrier but the number eight is an intelligent player, covers the ground well and, as a result, was absolutely monumental on Saturday. Whiteley was simply superb in defence against New Zealand, making 20 tackles in all, with one in particular standing out as the Lions man showed impressive athleticism to track down TJ Perenara and prevent the replacement scrum-half from scoring.

7 Marcos Kremer (Argentina): Starting to reproduce his early season form from the Jaguares’ Super Rugby campaign following another excellent display. Kremer was a prominent and effective ball-carrier in traffic, running for 23 metres in total, and also did his duty defensively by making 10 tackles as Argentina secured a landmark win. Along with Pablo Matera and Javier Ortega Desio, they are a fine back-row trio and it made a difference against an Australia team that have struggled to find the right players to complement David Pocock and Michael Hooper. Kremer’s selection is tough on Siya Kolisi, who produced a captain’s performance, but Kremer deserves his spot.

6 Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa): Played at seven but, as is South Africa’s wont, he featured as a blindside flanker and the Stormers’ back-five forward brilliantly led their defensive effort. Was in tears at the final whistle and you can see why after a performance which saw him give his all – mentally and physically – to the cause. Topped the tackle charts alongside team-mate Franco Mostert on 24 and also carried well when given the chance, making 18 metres from five surges. Argentina’s Pablo Matera was very much in contention after his barnstorming display on the Gold Coast but Du Toit epitomised the Springboks’ efforts.

5 Tomas Lavanini (Argentina): The Pumas hardman finished off a superb shift against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast by making the match-winning tackle on Israel Folau in that Test’s dying moments. After spending plenty of time on the sidelines in previous seasons due to ill-discipline, Lavanini has cleaned up his act in recent times and his game has shown remarkable improvement. Gave his all in the tight exchanges on Saturday and was particularly impressive on defence, making 11 tackles.

4 Franco Mostert (South Africa): South Africa’s entire pack deserve credit for taking the fight to the world champions’ forwards but some Boks deserve special praise and Mostert is one of them. Although not one of the biggest locks in the Test arena, Mostert put his body on the line in Wellington and emptied the tank during a hard-working 80-minute shift. Led the way on defence for South Africa with a joint team-high 24 tackles and beats out Guido Petti, who also played well for Argentina.

3 Frans Malherbe (South Africa): The Stormers stalwart delivered a superb all-round performance in Wellington which has helped him cement the number three spot in the Springboks’ starting line-up. Malherbe was solid in the scrums but also carried well and finished with 21 metres gained which included one clean break and a defender beaten. Also did his bit defensively and finished with an impressive 12 hits in that department.

2 Malcolm Marx (South Africa): Returned to South Africa’s run-on side and was at the forefront of all that was good about his team’s forward effort against the All Blacks. The 24-year-old showed great mobility around the park but also knuckled down to do the hard work at the coalface of the Boks’ forward effort. Eventually gained 18 metres on attack and crossed for a deserved try off the back of a lineout maul. Marx also impressed on defence with seven tackles. Argentina’s captain Agustin Creevy was next best.

1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Argentina): This was a difficult decision as Steven Kitshoff also caught the eye in the Springboks’ superb triumph over the All Blacks but the Puma gets the nod after a fine effort against the Wallabies. Came to the fore with an impressive scrummaging display but also shone on defence and finished with eight tackles.