Team of the Week: Six Nations, Round Five

Adam Kyriacou
Add as a preferred source on Google

With the dust having settled on Round Five of the Six Nations, we take a look back over the weekend’s matches to select our Team of the Week.

Ireland lead the way with six players in the team after their outstanding win over England, with Wales, France and Scotland making up the rest of the side.

Team of the Week: Six Nations, Round Five

15 Brice Dulin (France): Tough on his opposite number in Paris, Liam Williams, who put in a typically strong shift for Wales while Hugo Keenan once again impressed for Ireland. But player of the match Dulin gets the nod here after finishing with a whopping 154 metres with ball in hand on a solid night that culminated with a moment he will never forget long after he’s hung up his boots. That run-in late on was one to savour for France’s full-back.

14 Keith Earls (Ireland): A try from the training ground got Ireland moving against England as a superb line-out play sent Earls racing over. He still had plenty of work to do but boy did he finish well and was unlucky not to have a second score later on when his brilliant finish was chalked off because of a Cian Healy knock-on. Mentions go to livewire Scotland wing Darcy Graham and the outstanding Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales but Earls edges this.

13 Huw Jones (Scotland): One of the performances of the round and it was especially pleasing to see as Jones has struggled in recent years to hit the heights he set during his early international career. On Saturday against Italy he cut loose with ball in hand and looked back to his best as he racked up an incredible 217 metres. Could he make a late push for the Lions squad? France’s Virimi Vakatawa and Wales centre George North also played well.

12 Robbie Henshaw (Ireland): We had to find a spot for Henshaw after his player-of-the-match showing in midfield for Ireland. He gets in ahead of Gael Fickou (France) and Sam Johnson (Scotland) and we think he’s now done enough to be a British & Irish Lions starter, if the series goes ahead. Henshaw’s consistency of performance cannot be underplayed and he was solid again in an Irish midfield that dominated their opposite numbers. A quality centre.

11 Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland): 192 metres and two tries for the giant wing as he enjoyed his run-out against Italy at Murrayfield. He’s such a unique back whose speed and power make him a handful for opposition defences, with the Azzurri unable to keep him contained on Saturday. Josh Adams performed well for Wales but Van der Merwe was well out in front in our thinking as his try in each half was almost made into a hat-trick but for a knock-on.

10 Dan Biggar (Wales): Doubts had been made about both Biggar and Johnny Sexton‘s form heading into the tournament but both have silenced their doubters as the Six Nations has worn on. Sexton relished leading Ireland to victory over England while Biggar was unlucky to finish on the losing side in Paris. While Matthieu Jalibert and Romain Ntamack did well in their spells on the field, Biggar’s 20-point haul that included a try sees him get the nod.

9 Conor Murray (Ireland): Speaking of receiving criticism, Irish scrum-half Murray was another to prove that class is permanent as he enjoyed his game in front of a dominant Irish pack on Saturday. Scott Steele took his chance with both hands in a try-scoring performance against Italy, but we go for Murray here as his combination with Sexton, which was largely on the front foot, saw Ireland make all the right decisions as they eased to a 32-18 win.

8 Jack Conan (Ireland): The Leinsterman came into Ireland’s starting line-up for their clash with England in Dublin and hit the ground running with an excellent all-round performance. He impressed with some strong carries on attack but also did well on defence and finished with nine tackles made, with his assist at the back of a line-out for Earls’ try also catching the eye. France’s consistent performer, Gregory Alldritt, was the next best number eight.

7 Hamish Watson (Scotland): The Edinburgh man put in another outstanding performance at the coalface of Scotland’s forward effort against Italy at Murrayfield. As usual, the 29-year-old’s breakdown work was immense and he had a busy shift on attack where he finished with 83 metres gained from an impressive 14 carries. Elsewhere, Ireland flanker Josh van der Flier and Tom Curry of England also caught the eye in their direct duel in Dublin.

6 Charles Ollivon (France): A stunning late show from France sealed a memorable win and their captain deserves plenty of credit as he played a big part in getting his side over the line. He ran hard for the full 80 minutes and eventually finished with 49 metres from 14 carries which included one clean break, a defender beaten, an offload and a crucial try in the dying moments. He also shone on defence with 20 hits and beats out Ireland’s CJ Stander.

5 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales): The veteran second-row missed out on becoming the first Welshman to win four Six Nations Grand Slams in heartbreaking fashion in Paris but he should be happy with his own performance, which was excellent. The 35-year-old won his fair share of lineout balls, was a willing ball carrier but his biggest contribution was on defence where he finished with 17 tackles completed.

4 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland): The Munsterman wore the number five jersey against England but makes our team as the front lock after another superb shift for the men from the Emerald Isle. After shining on the blindside flank against Scotland in Round Four, Beirne was shifted to the second-row but his change in position did not affect his play as he was one of Ireland’s standout performers. Did well in the lineouts and made a big impact on defence where he made 10 hits.

3 Tadhg Furlong (Ireland): The 28-year-old has impressed since putting his injury troubles behind him and continued with his fine form as Ireland put England to the sword at the Aviva Stadium. The Leinsterman did well as a ball carrier and stood up in the scrums and comes in ahead of Scotland’s Zander Fagerson, who was solid against Italy.

2 David Cherry (Scotland): Got his chance at international level due to injuries to Scotland’s regular hookers, Fraser Brown and Stuart McInally, and after starting on the replacements bench in their first three Six Nations Tests, he was included in the starting line-up against Italy. Cherry grabbed his chance as he scored two well-taken tries and was a constant threat on attack, gaining 37 metres from seven carries. Beats out Ken Owens of Wales.

1 Wyn Jones (Wales): The forward exchanges were often brutal in Paris and the Scarlets man was in the thick of the action during a 77-minute stint on the field. During that time, the 29-year-old came to the fore with an excellent scrummaging performance but also put his body on the line in defence and finished with 10 tackles made.

 

England