Six Nations: Team of Round Three
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.
Now that the dust has settled across Europe, Planet Rugby thought it was only right to dish out some praise to the Six Nations stars of Round Three.
It was a weekend that will be remembered for France relinquishing their Grand Slam bragging rights as a dogged-like England did for them.
A score from Ben Foden was the difference in the end on Saturday as Martin Johnson's side enjoy a week off before facing Scotland and then Ireland.
Round Three kicked-off in Rome where the Stadio Flaminio was expecting a big effort from the Azzurri. They did not disappoint and had it not been for some stray goal-kicking, Italy might have made head coach Warren Gatland that bit more uncomfortable in the Welsh hot-seat. The visitors did claim a championship victory, but only just.
Sunday offered a fixture between two sides who were rightly nervous going into the third weekend, Scotland and Ireland. Ronan O'Gara was key to the Emerald Isle as they edged past their hosts by 21 points to 18 at Murrayfield, with their tries from Jamie Heaslip and new half-back pairing Eoin Reddan and O'Gara.
Update done…let's see who earned their PR stripes.
15 Ben Foden (England) – Northampton's full-back took his third Test try expertly after reacting to a loose ball and he stood up to everything thrown at him in defence.
14 Chris Ashton (England) – Despite not adding to his six championship tries on Saturday, he was a constant threat and will be kicking himself that his swan-dive was in vain.
13 Mike Tindall (England) – Our third English back gave arguably his best showing for the Red Rose in recent years. He used his physicality to top effect and led by example.
12 Alberto Sgarbi (Italy) – It was an all-action performance from the Treviso centre at the Stadio Flaminio. He gets the nod ahead of Jamie Roberts and Shontayne Hape, just.
11 Max Evans (Scotland) – There's little wonder why Castres were so keen to tie in this back. Along with Richie Gray, Evans has been a standout player for Scotland this year.
10 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) – He has his critics that is for sure, but Munster number ten O'Gara silenced a few of them at Murrayfield with a try and three conversions on Sunday.
9 Mike Phillips (Wales) – Fabio Semenzato did well against the Osprey but was bumped off in such a way in Rome that will live long in the memory of Phillips. Typically bullish.
8 Sergio Parisse (Italy) – Immense is one word that can be associated with the Azzurri skipper. After this showing, it's hard to argue that he couldn't walk into any line-up.
7 Sam Warburton (Wales) – Cardiff Blues' up-and-comer is continuing to mature in the Wales number seven jersey and was his usual busy self against a tough Italian back-row.
6 Sean O'Brien (Ireland) – Leinster's bulldozing flanker put in yet another great display for his country. He was real handful for the Scots and will be for Wales and England.
5 Tom Palmer (England) – A mammoth game from the second-row, who proved a real handful for France in the tight whilst being also a thorn in the side of Dimitri Yachvili.
4 Richie Gray (Scotland) – His stock continues to rise while the talk of him being a future British & Irish Lion also gathers pace. Gray was his usual busy self at Murrayfield.
3 Dan Cole (England) – Leicester colleague Martin Castrogiovanni pushed Cole all the way in selection for our line-up but the Englishman's effort against Thomas Domingo pips it.
2 Matthew Rees (Wales) – Credit to Dylan Hartley and William Servat for their respective performances at Twickenham. However, we have gone for Rees for an all-action day.
1 Cian Healy (Ireland) – It was a good day for the Irish loosehead as he just about got the better of Moray Low and added to his set-piece with a strong run that made metres.