TRU's Aviva Premiership XV Team Of The Week

Round 12 of the Aviva Premiership offered up some fascinating contests, not least the ding-dong battle between Exeter and Gloucester at Sandy Park or the exhibition of expansive rugby that Northampton and Newcastle put on at Franklin’s Gardens.

As ever, let us know what you think of our Team of the Week. Who did we miss out? Who didn’t deserve their spot in the XV? Have your say below or on twitter.

1. Alex Waller, Northampton Saints
The Saint narrowly edges out Mako Vunipola, who continues to impress following his return from injury. The Northampton set-piece struggled against Newcastle, but Waller did a very nice job on Kieran Brookes, who it’s rumoured could be joining Waller at Franklin’s Gardens next season, replacing the Toulon-bound Salesi Ma’afu. Two further honourable mentions are due for Marcos Ayerza and Simon McIntyre, both of whom also excelled this weekend.

2. Scott Lawson, Newcastle Falcons
A key part of Newcastle’s successful set-piece performance at the Gardens, Lawson was on the money with all of his throws on Friday night and didn’t deserve to be on the losing side, he was just unlucky to come up against a Northampton side in imperious form.

3. Fraser Balmain, Leicester Tigers
The youngster rose to the occasion well, outplaying Paul James in the scrum and making a telling contribution defensively in the loose. The extra playing time afforded to Balmain with injuries to both Dan Cole and Logovi’i Mulipola has clearly helped him develop into a solid option at the tighthead prop position.

4. Tom Savage, Gloucester Rugby
A vital try, a solid defensive performance and a significant impact at the set-piece all combine to give Savage arguably his best game of the season so far. The tight five has been a headache for Gloucester for some time now, but on Saturday, Savage and Tom Palmer stepped up in the engine room and helped drive Gloucester to an invaluable victory at Sandy Park.

5. Joshua Furno, Newcastle Falcons
A yellow card slightly mars what was unquestionably Furno’s best performance since joining the Falcons, but aside from the 10 minutes he spent in the bin, he was in fine form. The Australian-born forward ruled the skies, taking nine lineouts, stealing two of Northampton’s throws and helped Newcastle establish a surprising set-piece dominance over the Saints. He also led the Falcons in tackles with 15 and carried for more metres than any other Newcastle forward.

6. Jamie Gibson, Leicester Tigers
With each week that passes, Gibson makes himself an even more valuable cog in the Leicester Tigers machine. The former London Irish player’s development has moved up a gear this season and the impact he has had both in the loose and at the set-piece have been key to Leicester turning around their season in the last few weeks.

7. Matt Kvesic, Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester were on the back foot for much of their game with Exeter, but the quick ball that Kvesic helped secure for his team was vital in helping them convert their few opportunities and sneak away from Sandy Park with a one-point win. In addition to his fine work at the contact area, Kvesic was also a force in the loose, often puncturing Exeter’s defensive with ball in hand.

8. Billy Vunipola, Saracens
The bruising number eight is finding form just in time for Saracens’ critical European encounters later this month and the rapidly approaching Six Nations. Vunipola’s 61 metres with ball in hand on Saturday were roughly double the amount the entire London Irish pack were able to offer up in reply. Samu Manoa certainly deserves a mention for his display against Newcastle, but didn’t look after the ball as well as Vunipola did.

9. Joe Simpson, Wasps
Simpson helped keep Wasps in complete control of Sale, just as Ben Youngs did for Leicester against Bath, but the Wasps man’s two tries are what gives him the nod over Youngs. Simpson did everything well on Sunday, distributing crisply, testing the fringes and kicking with precision.

10. Stephen Myler, Northampton Saints
A highly-accomplished performance from Saints’ perennially underrated fly-half. Myler controlled the game with excellent decision-making and often unlocked the Newcastle defence with a precise pass or superbly weighted kick. Myler’s opposite number on Friday night, Tom Catterick, deserves an honourable mention, as does Owen Farrell.

11. Christian Wade, Wasps
The elusive winger was in sparkling form for Wasps against Sale, setting up a try for James Haskell with a very impressive run through Sale’s defence and was a consistent threat with ball in hand throughout the game. Wade just pips Ken Pisi, Alex Lewington and Jack Nowell to this spot.

12. Sam Hill, Exeter Chiefs
The Chiefs are currently in a poor run of form and Hill looked one-dimensional in their loss to Bath recently, where Kyle Eastmond showed his credentials against the young inside centre. Hill bounced back however, impressing against Gloucester this weekend, showing more creativity and adding variety to his game, as opposed to putting his head down and simply trying to break tackles.

13. Nick Tompkins, Saracens
Tompkins continues to impress at outside centre for Saracens, displaying footwork that has defenders struggling to stay with him, as well as an understanding of the game that belies his young age. Tompkins was a constant threat to the London Irish midfield of Eamon Sheridan and Fergus Mulchrone and was also on hand to set up David Strettle for one of his two tries.

14. Chris Harris, Newcastle Falcons
Fresh from scoring a brace in his Premiership debut against Saracens, Harris capped his first start with a try and a strong performance against the ever-impressive George North. The highlight of Harris’ outing was a superb fend on a Northampton defender, before he powered through a second Saints tackler and then unleashed Catterick who had a simple pass to send Alex Tait over for Newcastle’s third try.

15. Ben Foden, Northampton Saints
Foden was in scintillating form against Newcastle, carving up their defensive line with a ruthlessness that he was, at times, missing in 2014. Every time Foden made a foray into the back line, his elusive running or well-timed offloads almost always brought Northampton significant gains against a defence that struggled to keep up with the wily full-back.