Six Nations: Team of Round One

Now that the dust has settled across Europe, Planet Rugby thought it was only right to dish out a bit of praise to the stars of Round One.

Now that the dust has settled across Europe, Planet Rugby thought it was only right to dish out a dose of praise to the Six Nations stars of Round One.

It was an entertaining first weekend of the 2011 Championship, with the last Friday night fixture starting things off before Saturday's double bill.

That aforementioned game at the Millennium Stadium was a cracker and after a second viewing this morning, England's away victory showed real progress. Gone it seems are the days of false dawns, too much kicking, Brian Moore moaning about too much kicking, Martin Johnson banging tables and other stuff like that.

Next for the Red Rose is a three-game run in London before they travel to Ireland for what may – but probably won't be – a Grand Slam decider.

France might have something to say about that though as their brute strength and speed up front, and ample nous out wide to have their own Slam argument. Les Bleus have six names in this XV while their Saturday opponents Scotland have a couple, which could easily have been three or four but for a certain Welsh lock and French wing. Italy's scrum effort against Ireland is rewarded as we see a Tigers favourite get the nod while an English quintet fills the remaining holes.

Update done…let's see who earned their PR stripes.

15 Ben Foden (England) – When both he and Chris Ashton play well, Saints and England seem to win. Foden's flashes of brilliance and a good fend always kept Wales guessing.

14 Chris Ashton (England) – Some are only just talking about him possessing some of the best support lines in the game but those who followed him at Wigan Warriors and more recently Northampton know his worth when it counts. Two more tries for England.

13 Joe Ansbro (Scotland) – Lancashire representative Ansbro must be pinching himself. His metre-making ability against France was a massive plus for coach Andy Robinson.

12 Maxime Mermoz (France) – He only played 45 minutes but it was a stellar performance. It is a massive shame for the Championship and France that he now requires surgery.

11 Maxime M̩dard (France) РMax Evans was electric for Scotland as his centre tendancies saw him come off his wing to find work. M̩dard though was the official man-of-the-match.

10 Toby Flood (England) – Tests are won by moments of vision and clinical actions. Flood showed both when spotting numbers 1 and 3 in the Welsh defensive line to set up Ashton.

9 Ben Youngs (England) – Scrum-half was a problem in this selection as few really shone. However, a second look at Friday's game showed Youngs making many right calls.

8 Imanol Harinordoquy (France) – A few would say this is a hard call on Sergio Parisse in his Six Nations comeback but there was nothing ordinary about Harinordoquy on Saturday.

7 Thierry Dusautoir (France) – His battle with John Barclay was one to savour and he just about came out on top. France missed 25 tackles but you can be sure Dusautoir made his.

6 Tom Wood (England) – Such was his strong debut that captain Mike Tindall is already likening him to Richard Hill! Wood was a strong line-out option and ball carrier throughout.

5 Bradley Davies (Wales) – A tad harsh to leave out Scotland captain Al Kellock after his try and general bullish game, but Davies was just too strong a runner in red to leave him out.

4 Richie Gray (Scotland) – French fans even warmed to the youngster as they applauded him when replaced late on. Gray is already being touted as a 2013 British and Irish Lion.

3 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) – Ireland struggled to cope in the scrum at times as Rory Best popped up on numerous occasions courtesy of Castro's power. He edges Dan Cole.

2 William Servat (France) – A line-out success rate in the late 90s and a showing of real sturdiness elsewhere, Servat continues to prove that he is Europe's number one #2.

1 Thomas Domingo (France) – Quickly becoming indispensable to this Les Bleus line-up, Domingo's raw power and squat frame makes him a real handful in the loose.

By Adam Kyriacou