TRU's International XV - Week 3

It was another interesting weekend of international rugby, as Ireland and Scotland finished their very impressive autumn series, Wales maintained their trend of coming up short against the big southern hemisphere sides and England stuttered to an unimpressive victory over Samoa.

Here’s our team of the week from all the international games and as ever, let us know what you think.

1. Joe Marler, England
The loosehead put in a consummate scrummaging performance against Samoa, taking on the 21 stone Census Johnston and never giving an inch. Admittedly, age and the current engagement sequence have detracted from Johnston’s impact in the scrum considerably, but getting the better of the man mountain for the 55 minutes he was on the pitch was another feather in Marler’s cap.  

2. Ross Ford, Scotland
Ford’s rebirth continues apace under Vern Cotter, but is getting nowhere near enough recognition. The Edinburgh man was once again pinpoint accurate at the lineout, not to mention putting in 11 tackles, the second most of any Scottish player. With the Gray brothers in tow, Ford looks to be rediscovering the kind of form that saw him become a British and Irish Lion in 2009.

3. Coenie Oosthuizen, South Africa
The loosehead-turned-tighthead put on a good show against a formidable Italian pack in Padova, allaying some of the fears he could be a weak link in a Springbok front row looking for fresh impetuous. His transition from loosehead has come as a result of South Africa wanting to bolster their pool of tightheads and Saturday’s game offered up some hope that the move could be a successful one long-term. Honourable mentions for Mike Ross and David Wilson are also due.

4. Brodie Retallick, New Zealand
Both Paul O’Connell and Sébastien Vahaamahina impressed this weekend, but neither could match the overall influence Brodie Retallick had against Wales. The newly-crowned World Player of the Year was in imperious form at the Millennium Stadium, disrupting the Welsh lineout, providing an impenetrable wall in defence and keeping New Zealand attacks alive with composed offloading. It was a fitting game to precede Retallick’s coronation as the world’s best.

5. Jonny Gray, Scotland
If there was an award for the best player of the autumn series, Gray would have to be a frontrunner for it. The Glasgow lock has been sublime in all three of Scotland’s tests this month and capped it off with another fine display against Tonga, leading Scotland in tackles (12), lineout takes (7) and lineout steals (2). The sky really is the limit for Gray moving forward.

6. Chris Robshaw, England
Robshaw slides over from the openside, rather fittingly, given that he turned in a performance any blindside flanker would have been thrilled with. The England captain didn’t quite have the influence on the breakdown he would have liked against Samoa, but put in 20 tackles and was one of the key reasons why the Samoans never looked like posing a threat to the organised English defence. It was anything but a vintage performance from England, but Robshaw’s defensive contribution sees him narrowly pip Peter O’Mahony and Facundo Isa.

7. Rhys Ruddock, Ireland
It was almost impossible to separate Ruddock and Blair Cowan, but ultimately the quality of the opposition faced swung it in favour of the Irishman. Ruddock put in quite the shift against Wallaby breakdown connoisseur Michael Hooper, more often than not controlling the contact area with the help of fellow flanker O’Mahony. A tally of 12 tackles, with none missed, shouldn’t be sniffed at, nor should the momentum-swinging turnovers he pillaged in the first half.

8. Sergio Parisse, Italy
Another virtuoso performance from Italy’s talismanic captain, albeit, as so many of them have been previously, ending in defeat. If Italy had emerged victorious, there’s very little doubt that Parisse would have been named man of the match, leading all players in tackles and making a more telling attacking contribution than any of the other 15 forwards on the pitch. Ofisa Treviranus was also in fine form for Samoa at Twickenham and just narrowly misses out.

9. Nick Phipps, Australia
Phipps’ two first half tries would be enough to earn him this spot on their own, but the Australian scrum-half was also a balanced threat throughout his 67 minutes at the Aviva Stadium. He provided good service to Bernard Foley at fly-half and when charged with running the ball himself, danced his way through the Irish defence for two impressive tries.

10. Beauden Barrett, New Zealand
Good games from Finn Russell and Nicolas Sanchez made this a close affair, but the class that Barrett displayed at just the right times against Wales meant that the fly-half spot could not have gone to anyone else. His kicking at goal may have not been perfect, but his tactical kicking and playmaking were both superb, as he looks to have reined in some of the carefree abandon he plays with at the Hurricanes and refined that into a skill set that has seen him become an exceptionally composed international fly-half.

11. Anthony Watson, England
Despite the risk of being labelled a biased pick, Watson just edges out the likes of Henry Speight and Julian Savea for this spot. Speight had a few nice runs but was unable to convert that into anything substantial, and whilst Savea had a good game, it’s hard not to play well when you have Conrad Smith on your inside. Watson was able to show glimpses of his extraordinary potential outside of Brad Barritt, who, for all his positive attributes, is no distributor. The Bath man looked electric whenever he got his hands on the ball, ran at space superbly and put in a nice offload to set up Mike Brown for a try which gave England a lead that took the game beyond any doubt.

12. Jamie Roberts, Wales
Not a vintage weekend for inside centres, but Roberts put in a very respectable performance against the All Blacks, one that will be unfairly tainted by the final score line. He really stood up defensively against Sonny Bill Williams and was one of Wales’ biggest threats with ball in hand, breaking New Zealand’s defensive line on multiple occasions. Matt Toomua, Alex Dunbar and Wesley Fofana were all not far off Roberts and have every right to feel aggrieved at their absences.

13. Conrad Smith, New Zealand
As usual, there was an abundance of veteran savvy and excellence on show from Smith this weekend, as he successfully pulled New Zealand’s strings from the outside centre berth. Smith set up two of the All Blacks’ five tries and continues to show that regardless of his centre partner, New Zealand’s midfield is in good hands as long as he is on the pitch.

14. Tommy Bowe, Ireland
Johnny May’s two-try performance deserves a mention, as does Simon Zebo’s industrious display, but Bowe, who rises to the big occasion so spectacularly, was an obvious choice. It was his intercept try that put Ireland in a position to weather the inevitable Australian fight back and ultimately win the game, whilst his defence was reliable as ever and the threat he posed aerially kept the Australian back three honest.  

15. Scott Spedding, France
Plenty of good full-back play this weekend, not least so from Stuart Hogg, but Spedding’s accomplished performance caps an excellent autumn for the Bayonne man. The South African-born full-back has been the find of France’s autumn and even when France have shown their trademark inconsistency, Spedding has been a reliable force in both attack and defence. Honourable mentions must go to Rob Kearney, who was instrumental in Ireland’s win, and a slightly rejuvenated-looking Mike Brown.