RWC XV of Week 2

The second week of the Rugby World Cup has come and gone and plenty of players took the opportunities afforded them to press their claims RWC glory.

The likes of Santiago Cordero, Simon Zebo, WP Nel and Sam Warburton were all excellent, but none of them could quite crack our XV. Take a look below and see if you agree with our selections.

15. Brice Dulin, France

Dulin was a more than capable deputy for Scott Spedding on Wednesday, providing two assists and carving his way through the Romanian defence. It’s unlikely to have been enough to displace Spedding in France’s preferred XV, but it was certainly an eye-catching performance.

14. Nehe Milner-Skudder, New Zealand

The winger was in sublime form against Namibia during the midweek games, not just scoring two tries himself, but also setting up Codie Taylor’s late score with a magnificent pass. Milner-Skudder’s dancing feet and deceptive strength were too much for the Namibian defence to contain and he helped spark a solid win for the All Blacks.

13. Ciaran Hearn, Canada

Hearn’s performance went a little under-the-radar on Saturday due to Italy stealing a late win and the other, more high profile games on that day, but the centre turned in a performance of the highest quality. He set up a spectacular DTH van der Merwe try with his support work and constantly broke the Italian gain line with angles back against the grain.

12. Damian de Allende, South Africa

The selection of de Allende gave the South African midfield a contrasting threat that it simply didn’t have in their loss to Japan. With Jean de Villiers running hard on the outside, de Allende’s subtle footwork at 12 brought big rewards for the Springboks, who looked threatening throughout their game against Samoa.

11. JP Pietersen, South Africa

Lwazi Mvovo was unlucky to be dropped from the South Africa side that lost to Japan, but Pietersen took his opportunity with both hands. The Sharks winger grabbed himself a hat-trick against Samoa, defended solidly and was excellent in the air, doing just enough to see off competition from Santiago Cordero for this spot.

10. Dan Biggar, Wales

Biggar put in an incredibly impressive performance on Saturday night that saw him kick 23 of Wales’ 28 points, all the while guiding them to one of the most memorable victories in Welsh rugby history. His opposite number, Owen Farrell, was also effective, but so much of the praise for that remarkable win needs to be laid at the feet of Biggar.

9. Ben Youngs, England

The scrum-half was the heartbeat of an England side which looked to be on their way to a win over arch-rivals Wales. His departure early in the second half, after picking up a knock late in the first half, helped swing momentum in the game and ultimately contributed to England’s capitulation.

1. Mihai Lazar, Romania

Lazar had Uini Atonio in all sorts of trouble during Romania’s midweek game with France and showed that technique, not size, is the bread and butter of any front row forward.

2. Codie Taylor, New Zealand

There had been concerns about the depth of New Zealand’s hooker pool once Kevin Mealamu retires, but in Taylor they have found someone who can not only provide a solid backup option to Dane Coles, but who can also eventually challenge Coles for the starting spot. Taylor was excellent in the loose against Namibia and did everything that was required of him at set-piece.

3. Dan Cole, England

It was heartbreak at Twickenham for England, but if there was one positive to hang their hat on, it was that Cole looked at somewhere close to his best in the scrum. He gave away some costly penalties at the breakdown, but more than balanced the ledger in the scrum by eeking out two penalties from Gethin Jenkins and generally giving the Welshman a torrid time all game long.

4. Tjiuee Uanivi, Namibia

The lock ruled the skies during Namibia’s 58-14 loss to New Zealand and helped lay a platform for Namibia’s very limited attacking opportunities. His contract with Brive finished at the end of last season, so Uanivi is auditioning for potential teams with every performance.

5. Tomás Lavanini, Argentina

With Mariano Galarza serving a nine-week ban for making contact with the eye area, Argentina needed one of their back-up locks to step up and Lavanini did just that. In addition to his try, Lavanini was also a brute force clearing out the contact area and helped keep the Argentine lineout running smoothly.

6. Schalk Burger, South Africa

Another Burger, Jacques deserves a big shot out here but Schalk who was moved from eight to the flank to accommodate the return of Duane Vermeulen and with a lot of the carrying workload shouldered by Vermeulen, Burger was able to go to work at the breakdown. Whether he was latching onto the ball or powering through would-be ruckers, Burger was brutally efficient.

7. Sean McMahon, Australia

Sitting behind David Pocock and Michael Hooper in the Australian pecking order, the young flanker made the most of a rare opportunity to play, grabbing two tries against Uruguay and domineering at the contact area.

8. Amanaki Mafi, Japan

The Cherry Blossoms were going toe-to-toe with Scotland while Mafi was on the pitch, but when the dynamic back rower went down with an injury, the tired Japanese side struggled to maintain their momentum. Mafi was breaking tackles with abandon last Wednesday and the positive news for Japan is that he should be fit for the rest of their RWC games.