Winning sides rewarded in our Rugby World Cup warm-ups Team of the Week

Dylan Coetzee
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Split image with Wales star Jac Morgan, Scotland's Blair Kinghorn and All Black Samipeni Finau.

Split image with Wales star Jac Morgan, Scotland's Blair Kinghorn and All Black Samipeni Finau.

The weekend played host to a great deal of Test rugby from the Bledisloe II to Pacific Nations Cup to the Summer Nations Series.

Planet Rugby has selected a team of the week from the action consisting of players from across the board in what was a blockbuster weekend for rugby fans.

Team of the week

15 Blair Kinghorn (Scotland): The full-back delivered an outstanding performance where he combined well with Finn Russell on attack, scoring a try and running 178 metres with ball in hand. It is just the kind of outing he needed after the surprise retirement of Stuart Hogg. Will Jordan deserves mention for his efforts in the 15 shirt against Australia.

14 Canan Moodie (South Africa): It was a weekend to be a right wing with Scot Darcy Graham and Frenchman Louis Bielle-Biarrey shining for their countries. However, it was the young Springbok who stood out with a stunning outing in Buenos Aires. He scored off a crosskick, beat defenders regularly and showed off his aerial prowess. A stunning Test from the 20-year-old.

13 George North (Wales): The veteran is ageing like a fine wine. North managed to get across the line for the try that put the game beyond England’s reach. As is typical to him, the experienced utility back went flat out for his side and provided balance to the backline.

12 Samu Kerevi (Australia): A tough decision to leave out Springbok Andre Esterhuizen but the Wallaby provided some much needed momentum with ball in hand throughout Bledisloe II. He was starting to look like his world-class best but will be sidelined with a wrist injury.

11 Leicester Fainga’anuku (New Zealand): At his rampaging best against the Wallabies. The exciting wing makes a habit of popping up where he needs to and made good metres in a thrilling clash in Dunedin.

10 Sam Costelow (Wales): The young fly-half had a really impressive performance against England and was a key factor in the win. His game looked neat and tidy while his cross kick for the first try was pinpoint. Have Wales found their 10? Elsewhere, All Black Richie Mo’unga had a solid late cameo that included a match-winning kick.

9 Craig Casey (Ireland): The scrum-half was a livewire and kept the Italian defenders honest when he was on the field. The rest of his game was sound as he delivered a solid performance for Andy Farrell’s men. Meanwhile, Frank Lomani of Fiji shone when he came on against Japan.

Forwards

8 Aaron Wainwright (Wales): Much like his skipper and back-row partner, Wainwright was a colossus for Wales in a memorable win. He showed tremendous character throughout with some brilliant carries. His offload in the build-up to the first try was a key play. The Welshman’s efforts were enough to keep the ever-present All Black Ardie Savea out of our team.

7 Jac Morgan (Wales): It was a truly inspired performance by the loose forward who stood up in a big way in his first Test captaining his country. He was absolutely everywhere and played a big hand in the first try whilst also defending like a man possessed. Massive shift from one of the best players this week, with Caelan Doris also impressing.

6 Samipeni Finau (New Zealand): It was a busy debut for the flank who typically works hard. That was the case again and his consistently hard carries eventually rewarded him with a try. Wallaby Tom Hooper also looked good whilst Argentina Pablo Matera was once again a stand-out for his team.

5 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand): The veteran replied to Scott Barrett’s display from a week ago with a stunning performance, underlining his quality in the game. He was absolutely everywhere and operated the line-out with aplomb. His form will be very encouraging for Ian Foster.

4 Cameron Woki (France): The Frenchman looked really good against Scotland. He was busy on both sides of the ball whilst also being influential in the line-out and maul. Woki was deservedly rewarded with a try. Springbok Jean Kleyn continued his good form in green and gold in the clash against Argentina.

3 Thomas du Toit (South Africa): The front-row had a brilliant scrummaging performance in Buenos Aires whilst also committing himself throughout on both sides of the ball. It was the kind of effort that could keep the versatile prop in the running to make the Rugby World Cup squad. Welshman Henry Thomas also had a good outing in his Test debut for the country after switching his allegiance from England.

2 Pierre Bougarit (France): The La Rochelle hooker had a solid performance for his side as he was neat in the line-out and fierce in broken play. He made all his tackles and carried frequently whilst winning a turnover as well.

1 Angus Bell (Australia): The Wallabies star backed up his sparkling effort last week with another top performance underlining his status as first-choice loosehead for his team. The mobile prop adds so much dynamism to Australia’s front-row and will be a big player going forward. Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman also had a notable outing.

READ MORE: All the Rugby World Cup warm-up fixtures and results

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