Team of the Week: Autumn Nations Cup, Round Four

Colin Newboult

Now that the dust has settled on the final round of the Autumn Nations Cup, we have gone through the action to pick the best players from the games.

Despite succumbing in the final, France have the most representatives after their inexperienced side produced an excellent display against the odds. Ireland are the next best with four, while Fiji, Wales and tournament winners England have two apiece.

Autumn Nations Cup Team of the Week

15 Brice Dulin (France): Another classy performance from the La Rochelle man, who adds to France’s depth at full-back. Anthony Bouthier and Thomas Ramos have impressed for Les Bleus this year, but Dulin could quite easily overtake them after his efforts over the past two games. The 30-year-old has been very assured under the high ball, a threat on the counter-attack and has also kicked well, which means that he takes the position from Scotland’s Stuart Hogg.

14 Gabin Villiere (France): A difficult call to leave out the excellent Fijian Josua Tuisova but we just had to get this outstanding Frenchman in the team. Villiere showed glimpses of his potential against Italy, scoring a stunning individual try, but displayed his all-round class on Sunday. He had a lot of work to do defensively but did it superbly, catching high balls with ease, reading the game well when under pressure and turning over ball at the breakdown. Villiere also works supremely hard in attack and is very much pushing his case for regular involvement in the squad.

13 Robbie Henshaw (Ireland): It was refreshing to see George North playing well after a couple of years struggling for form, but Henshaw was typically excellent for Ireland on Saturday. Scotland tested the hosts in the opening 30 minutes but the centre was solid defensively before he came alive with ball in hand. The Leinsterman played a significant role in Keith Earls’ first try, tapping the ball back from Johnny Sexton’s kick, and continued to be industrious in the second half.

12 Jonathan Davies (Wales): A late call-up following Johnny Williams’ injury but Davies produced the goods once again, helping Wales to a much-needed victory over Italy. The centre hasn’t been in the type of scintillating form we’re accustomed to seeing but he rarely plays badly and is very efficient in every area. Davies is a classy operator and his experience was vital in a backline that contained so many young players.

11 Nemani Nadolo (Fiji): The return of the big man, and didn’t he enjoy it? After a concerning few weeks for the Pacific Islanders, which saw 29 members of the group test positive for Covid-19, it was wonderful to see Fiji play on the biggest stage once again. Considering they didn’t have too much time to train together, the Flying Fijians were excellent in the victory over Georgia and Nadolo was unsurprisingly prominent. The gargantuan wing scored a hat-trick and lit up the occasion on Saturday as he got the nod over Ireland’s Keith Earls and Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe.

10 Matthieu Jalibert (France): There was a return to form for Johnny Sexton as Ireland beat Scotland, while we were impressed with some of Callum Sheedy’s touches, but Jalibert produced a classy display against England in the final. He set up the first try with a searing break and controlled most of the match with expert decision-making and accurate kicking. He unfortunately departed after clutching his right knee and we’re hopeful it isn’t too serious after the fly-half suffered terrible problems with the left one back in 2018.

9 Conor Murray (Ireland): Like long-time half-back partner Sexton, this was much better from Murray. Although it isn’t quite there yet for the Munster player, he controlled the game superbly on Saturday and often took the right decisions from the base of the ruck. Elsewhere, Stephen Varney was lively for Italy and is another talented youngster that can hopefully help alter their fortunes going forward.

8 Taulupe Faletau (Wales): There were several contenders for this position, with Billy Vunipola outstanding for England and producing his best international display for a couple of years, while Ireland’s Caelan Doris was excellent and showed that he is settling nicely into Test rugby, but Faletau was simply world-class for Wales. He has all the skills and those deft touches on the gain line created tries for scrum-half duo Kieran Hardy and Gareth Davies. The number eight then displayed his pace and wider passing range by breaking down the left and sending back-row colleague Justin Tipuric across the whitewash.

7 Peter O’Mahony (Ireland): This was a very tight call as Tipuric was magnificent for Wales, but O’Mahony was utterly brilliant as Ireland ended their year in fine fashion against Scotland. The flanker is always superb in the lineout and at the breakdown but he contributed in other areas as well, often popping up in the wider channels. He set up Earls’ second try with a well-timed pass and almost scored himself. It was an outstanding effort but his foot just grazed the line. However, he did enough to see off the threat of Tipuric, France’s Anthony Jelonch, Fiji’s Mesulame Kunavula and Georgia’s Beka Saghinadze.

6 Cameron Woki (France): In 2018, the back-row consistently disrupted the lineout as France U20s defeated England’s age-grade side in the world final, and he repeated the trick at senior level on Sunday. The Red Rose had real trouble in containing Woki, with the Bordeaux-Begles star dominating in the air. He was also good at the breakdown, carried well and defended excellently. Opposite number at Twickenham Tom Curry is a very different type of player but stood up well throughout, despite his team’s struggles. He didn’t, however, exert the type of influence Woki had on the match.

5 Kilian Geraci (France): We talked up the Lyon second-row before the encounter and he justified the praise by producing an excellent display in the 22-19 defeat. Geraci did his core duties well, whether it be at the lineout or in the scrum, while he was also impressive around the park. The 21-year-old is a powerful carrier and very athletic, which makes him effective in both the tight and loose. Meanwhile in Dublin, Jonny Gray put himself about but it wasn’t enough as Ireland eventually got on top physically.

4 Maro Itoje (England): Perhaps not as brilliant as the previous couple of weeks, while he had issues in getting to grips with Woki at the lineout, but Itoje was still a huge presence. The Red Rose second-row also has incredible fitness levels and his energy was vital as the game moved into extra time. It was his chase and effort at the breakdown which won the penalty and allowed Owen Farrell to kick the points that saw them claim the title.

3 Andrew Porter (Ireland): There were good performances from England’s Kyle Sinckler and his replacement Will Stuart, who dominated in the scrum after coming on and added plenty in the loose, but Porter was the standout. He gave Scotland’s excellent loosehead Rory Sutherland a number of problems and lasted 74 minutes before being taken off. An impressive shift from the tighthead, who has become a vital player in the absence of Tadhg Furlong.

2 Sam Matavesi (Fiji): Set-piece has been a consistent problem for the Fijians over the years, and indeed, a lot of their issues at the previous World Cup stemmed from a struggling lineout and scrum, but Matavesi helped set a stable platform against Georgia. The hooker’s throwing was on point and, as a result, it allowed their talented backline to thrive. Elsewhere, Luke Cowan-Dickie was another of England’s bench players to make an impact, scoring the try which sent the match into extra time.

1 Joe Marler (England): Talking of England’s replacements, Marler takes his position in the XV after an excellent effort after coming on to the field in the final. Ellis Genge had the better of Dorian Aldegheri in the first half but the Harlequins prop upped the ante at the set-piece, dominating France’s reserve Uini Atonio. The loosehead was similarly superb in defence, putting in several big hits as the Red Rose gradually took control of the encounter in the latter stages.