TRU's International XV - Week 1

The autumn internationals began this weekend in spectacular fashion and we cast our eye over the best performers of the weekend to come up with this XV. As ever, let us know if you agree or disagree. Enjoy.

1. Jack McGrath, Ireland

McGrath may not have quite made the impact at the scrum he would’ve liked on Saturday, but he was an uncontainable force in the loose. Not only did he make 17 tackles, but he also disrupted South African mauls and rucks with an almost vicious ferocity, constantly ensuring they never had the quick or quality ball they wanted. His battle with Jannie du Plessis went back and forth at scrum time and was one of the more compelling battles in an awfully one-sided game.

2. Dylan Hartley, England

Despite the fact England and Wales both lost to their antipodean opponents this weekend, they dominated the set-piece battle. Hartley and Richard Hibbard were both vital in these efforts and though either would have made a worthy selection for this spot, Hartley sneaks in ahead of Hibbard for the slightly more telling contribution he made defensively. An honourable mention for Ross Ford, too, who put some of his well-profiled lineout issues behind him this weekend.

3. Samson Lee, Wales

Anyone who has been lamenting the decision not to include Adam Jones in Wales’ squad for the autumn may have to start rethinking their position, as Lee put in a consummate display at rugby’s coalface. Lee outplayed Australia’s James Slipper considerably, belying his young age, and was one of the bigger contributors to almost complete set-piece dominance from the northern hemisphere sides this weekend.

4. Dave Attwood, England

If you told someone with little knowledge of the game that the best lock in the world was playing at Twickenham on Saturday, chances are they would think it was Attwood, not Brodie Retallick. The Bath man significantly outplayed not only Retallick, but also Sam Whitelock, turning in a performance his newly-born daughter, though unaware at the moment, will be extremely proud of in the years to come. Along with Hartley, Attwood gave England the set-piece foundation they needed, as well as disrupting the All Blacks’ lineout with aplomb.

5. Jonny Gray, Scotland

Jonny ousts both his brother Richie and Paul O’Connell for this final spot in the engine room, both of whom would also have made worthy picks. Powerful in the loose and efficient at the set-piece, Jonny added much-deserved gloss to a very industrious performance with a try and, you would hope, cemented himself as one of the very first names on subsequent Vern Cotter team sheets.

6. Peter O’Mahony, Ireland

Though O’Mahony might not have popped up with a try like Rhys Ruddock, or pierced the South African defensive line like Jamie Heaslip, he was absolutely pivotal to Ireland’s impressive win over the Springboks. Taking on a powerful back row trio, O’Mahony outplayed them all at the breakdown. As iconic rugby images go, O’Mahony, with his legs spread wide and jackaling down over the ball, may not look entirely photogenic, but it’s an image that will have teams worried at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

7. Michael Hooper, Australia

Another typical Hooper performance, who is rapidly showing that he is the standard by which this generation of openside flankers should be measured. A tour de force at the breakdown as usual, Hooper also contributed 17 tackles and was impressive as a link man, constantly on the shoulders of Australia’s best strike runners.

8. Sergio Parisse, Italy

The talismanic Italian captain still has plenty left in the engine it seems, as he powered Italy through to a 24-13 victory over Samoa. He scored a try for the Azzurri, led them in metres carried and managed to steal three Samoan lineouts. All in all, a very nice outing for the man they will need to be firing on all cylinders at next year’s RWC.

9. Greig Laidlaw, Scotland

Laidlaw put in a beautifully balanced performance against Argentina on Saturday, displaying a perfect blend of crisp distribution and incisive snipes around the fringes. It was in this vein, clearly channelling the form of Will Genia, circa 2011, that Laidlaw set up three tries for his teammates and ultimately put them into a position from which Argentina could not catch them.

10. Jonathan Sexton, Ireland

Cool, calm and composed. This wasn’t a match where Sexton needed to put Ireland on his back and carry them to victory, but his influence and control on the game was telling, as he guided a fired-up Ireland to one of their more impressive victories in recent years. He contributed 16 points with the boot and, with the untested centre combination of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne outside of him, should be praised for his sympathetic play.

11. Teddy Thomas, France

No matter the opponents, a three-try test debut has to be celebrated. Thomas was excellent against Fiji, popping up in all the right places at all the right times, something which is a vastly underrated attribute in rugby. In Thomas, France and Philippe Saint-André have found a natural finisher whose proclivity for getting over the try line may see him even exceed Vincent Clerc’s try scoring exploits for Les Bleus.

12. Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand

It wasn’t a vintage All Blacks performance, but England’s inability to convert territory and possession into tries and their lacklustre second half showing was enough to swing the game in New Zealand’s favour. Williams was certainly one of the more impressive Kiwis and though he didn’t expose Kyle Eastmond in the way some thought he might, he was still New Zealand’s best option for breaking the gain line and getting the All Blacks on the front foot.

13. Tevita Kuridrani, Australia

When Brian O’Driscoll retired, it looked as if Conrad Smith, Jon Davies and Manu Tuilagi were ready to duke it out for the mantle of best outside centre in world rugby, but Kuridrani has snuck up on the outside with his recent form and may have left all three trailing in his wake. He scored a deserved try and pierced the Welsh defensive line with alarming regularity for Warren Gatland. He could have perhaps distributed to his wingers a little more, but was at least consistently making ground with his carries.

14. Israel Folau, Australia

Yes, cheating a little bit here by including Folau as a winger, but it was a fairly quiet weekend for wingers, whilst full-backs shone with aplomb all over Europe. He may not have the same technical ability or mental appreciation for the position as Willie le Roux or Ben Smith, but the physical tools he brings make him every bit as dangerous. His two tries were vital for Australia, who were run very close by Wales, and there can be little doubt that his presence was one of the main contributing factors to an Australian win.

15. Scott Spedding, France

As mentioned before, well performing full-backs were in no short supply this weekend, but Spedding put on a masterclass in how to play the position. He was defensively responsible against the always dangerous Fijians, but it was his work with ball in hand that was sublime, consistently taking the game to Fiji with incisive runs and perfectly measured distribution. He caused havoc amongst the Fijian defensive line and was unlucky to not grab a try or two to add polish to what was an excellent international debut. Rob Kearney, Stuart Hogg and le Roux also deserve recognition for their performances.