Team of the Week: Rugby World Cup, Round Two

Add as a preferred source on Google

With the dust having settled on the second round of the Rugby World Cup, we have gone through the action and picked the standout players.

Scotland made a late push for inclusions and have two players named but it’s Japan, Wales and England dominating our line-up. Make sure to leave your comments at the bottom of the page with your own team.

Team of the Week: Rugby World Cup, Round Two

15 Stuart Hogg (Scotland) Telusa Veainu was down as our full-back after his two-try effort against Argentina. However, the performance of Hogg in Monday’s much-improved victory over Samoa earns him our 15 jersey. He controlled things from the back for Gregor Townsend’s men with dangerous running, a brilliant boot and strong leadership as Scotland responded from that opening loss in style.

14 Sean Maitland (Scotland): Another late inclusion that sees a Scot edge an islander is Maitland, who takes the position over Samoa back Alapati Leiua. Leiua was excellent last Tuesday as he crossed twice against Russia but was anonymous against Scotland in their second fixture. Maitland, meanwhile, was busy throughout in Kobe, opening the try-scoring in the game and almost had a second but for a dangerous knee slide.

13 Jonathan Davies (Wales): An excellent performance from the Welsh centre as he showed all his Test match qualities to help the Welsh see off Australia. He just knows how to perform on the biggest of stages and had a good day in the midfield on Sunday. Juan Manuel Cat impressed for Uruguay on Wednesday but Davies was solid as a rock as Wales moved top of Pool D with a vital 29-25 victory.

12 Samu Kerevi (Australia): Joining Davies in the centres is one of his opponents in Tokyo, Kerevi. Such a destructive operator in midfield, the Wallaby was regularly the outlet for Australia with 16 carries resulting in 98 metres. Kerevi was unlucky to be penalised for leading with the forearm on what was an otherwise outstanding day at the office. Of course he would have swapped all that for a win.

11 Joe Cokanasiga (England): Makazole Mapimpi and Josh Adams really stood out for South Africa and Wales respectively but, for his two-try shift against USA, we have opted for Cokanasiga. The England wing once again showed how lethal he can be on a rugby field as he pierced through the Eagles defence on several occasions. England will hope he builds in confidence and performance over the coming games.

10 George Ford (England): Our second Englishman was Ford after a strong outing as captain. He led from the front and got the ball rolling for his side when he crossed for a try and backed that up with slick distribution and organising as England cruised. Mentions must go to Australia replacement Matt Toomua, Uruguay fly-half Felipe Berchesi and the outstanding Yu Tamura of Japan.

9 Gareth Davies (Wales): He’s done it before and Australia were next to feel the pain of seeing Davies racing to the try-line after intercepting a loose pass. He capitalised on Will Genia’s sluggishness at the base and made him pay, picking up a try that ultimately proved vital in the context of the game. A mention goes to Uruguay’s Santiago Arata after he impressed against Fiji on Wednesday.

8 Kazuki Himeno (Japan): Players who came close were Otari Giorgadze (Georgia), Schalk Brits (South Africa) and Braam Steyn (Italy), with all three putting in solid performances. Himeno, though, was a cut above as he caused Ireland numerous problems. Japan’s back-row has certainly stood up and been counted thus far and, if they are to progress in this tournament, Himeno is a key player.

7 Jake Polledri (Italy): A shirt that was very much up for grabs as Michael Hooper and Justin Tipuric both put in excellent showings in Tokyo while Pieter Labuschagne impressed for Japan against Ireland. Polledri, however, was named player of the game against Canada after making 15 carries for 109 metres that included beating 14 defenders. Jamie Ritchie also shone for Scotland on Monday.

6 Michael Leitch (Japan): Came off the bench for the injured Amanaki Mafi and helped inspire the superb Brave Blossoms to a victory that gives their qualification hopes a big shot in the arm. It was surprising to see Leitch on the bench against Ireland but he, of course, didn’t let that affect his showing. Sebastian Negri and Aaron Wainwright earn mentions after good games for Italy and Wales respectively.

5 Lood de Jager (South Africa): Dean Budd and Jonny Gray stood out for Italy and Scotland respectively, but the performance from De Jager against Namibia sees him edge this battle. When facing a minnow such as Namibia, it’s usually expected that the backs grab the headlines. However, it was De Jager picking up the player of the match award for a tireless shift that laid the foundations.

4 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales): Marked a momentous day for him personally with a typical Alun Wyn shift. We ran out of superlatives for Jones a long time ago as he continues to churn out top class game after top class game. Wales’ most capped player was superb.

3 Levan Chilachava (Georgia): The tighthead made a significant impact after coming on the field against Wales and followed that up with an excellent display versus Uruguay on Sunday. Chilachava was superb in the set-piece, regularly sending his opposition loosehead in reverse, while he was a constant threat at the breakdown. Was rewarded for his efforts with a try before he was taken off in the second half.

2 Shota Horie (Japan): It is not often that a front-rower which has scored a hat-trick is ousted but that’s the case with Julian Montoya. The Argentinian hooker enjoyed a fine game against Tonga, touching down three times, but Horie was outstanding for the Brave Blossoms and was deservedly named man of the match for his display. It was an all-action effort from the 33-year-old, who was solid in the set-piece and simply ubiquitous in the loose. Horie carried hard, running for 21 metres, and defended superbly after making 17 of his 18 tackle attempts.

1 Keita Inagaki (Japan): England’s Ellis Genge made a huge impact after coming on for Joe Marler with one particularly memorable run which set up Cokanasiga’s second try, but we’ve gone for Japan’s loosehead, who produced a stunning effort. Against one of the best tightheads in the world, Tadhg Furlong, Inagaki created a stable platform in the set-piece and even helped his team win one against the head by sending the Irish prop into reverse. In the loose, the 29-year-old was equally effective, making 11 carries with ball in hand and 12 hits in defence.

[jwplayer J7GufUDH-yceS9uXa]

Features