Premiership Team Of The Week - Round 15
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Week two of the return of the Premiership produce another outstanding round of action.
The weekend opened up with Exeter claiming another victory this time over Sale beating the Manchester-based side 32-22 while Wasps beat Worcester 32-17 and Gloucester fell 24-33 to rivals Bristol Bears.
Saturday saw Saracens beat fellow Londoners Harlequins 38-24 at Allianz Park with the Exiles falling 3-27 to Northampton and Bath rampaging to an emphatic 16-38 victory over Leicester Tigers.
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Following the round's action, we pick our team of the week.
15. Stuart Hogg - Exeter Chiefs
While the were numerous contenders for the fullback of the round, Hogg was ahead of the pack once again.
He run some excellent support and running lines, was solid at the back and was rewarded with his second try in as many weeks.
As mentioned before there were a number of candaites to make our team of the week with George Furbank, Elliott Obatoyinbo, Mike Brown and Max Malins all playing well this weekend.
14. Ruaridh McConnochie - Bath
McConnochie played on the left but makes our team of the week on the right after a performance that had Eddie Jones smiling on the sidelines.
The former Sevens man scoring a try beat nine defenders made 104 running metres and made two clean breaks.
Outside of McConnochie, Ryan Olowofela and Alex Lewington both had strong outings.
13. Semi Radradra - Bristol Bears
Easily the player of the round, Semi Radradra showed exactly why Bristol recruited him.
He had a quiet debut against Saracens last week but did more in the first 20 minutes than he did against Saracens.
He made 79 running metres and assisted two tries in the opening 20 minutes. By full time he made over 140 running metres beat 4 defenders and made two offloads.
While Radradra strolled into our team of the week, we can't not mention Henry Slade who had an excellent game for Exeter on Friday and Jonathan Joseph who tore through Leicester's defence.
12. Ryan Mills - Wasps
Mills was instrumental in Wasps' victory over his former employers, Worcester Warriors.
The playmaker made over 40 running metres beat three defenders and was pivotal in moving Wasps' backs around.
Elsewhere, Manu Tuilagi was far more effective for Sale than last week while Siale Piutau played a big role in Radradra's impactful performance.
11. Olly Woodburn - Exeter Chiefs
Incredibly harsh to leave Marland Yarde out of the XV but it was close between him and his opposite number who gets the nod.
Yarde made more metres than Woodburn but the Exeter flyer made two clean breaks, both of which leading to tries which he picked up assists for
The time and effectiveness of his runs, as well as his defensive play, sees him edge Yarde for a place in the side.
10. Owen Farrell - Saracens
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Not a single sign of rustiness from the England captain as he marshalled his side to victory over Harlequins.
Farrell kicked well, passed well, attacked well and was simply brilliant and effective.
Joe Simmonds was excellent for Exeter and Callum Sheedy for Bristol but in the end, Farrell got the nod for his effectiveness.
9. Ben Vellacott - Wasps
Another close battle for the scrumhalf jersey with Andy Uren, Jack Maunder, Aled Davies, Alex Mitchell and Ben Spencer having good games.
But in the end, the highly-rated Ben Vellacott got the nod for our team of the week.
Vellacott kept the Worcester defence guessing throughout the clash and managed to make 42 running metres and pick up a try assist.
1. Ben Obano - Bath
A massive impact off the bench for Bath gets Obano the nod for a place in our team of the week.
Obano has regularly been in the fringe of Eddie Jones' England squads and the England boss would have enjoyed what he saw from the loosehead.
He scrummaged brilliantly made 8 tackles in 35 minutes and scored a try.
2. Tom Dunn - Bath
There was a raft of players who could have made our team of the week at hooker.
Luke Cowan-Dickie continued his fine form while Beck Cutting was excellent for Worcester Warriors while Jamie George, Harry Thacker and Jack Singleton all had good games.
But Bath's impressive victory was largely down to their forwards' dominance with Dunn leading the way.
He picked up another try - his third in two weeks - made all of his attempted tackles and made all of his lineout throws.
3. Vincent Koch - Saracens
The Springbok tighthead quietly went about his work against Harlequins scrummaging well making 13 tackles without missing and was effective in the rucks.
Koch just beats Kyle Sinckler to a place in the side with the Bristol tighthead shining on his first start for the club.
4. Maro Itoje - Saracens
Another standout game from the England international. Itoje was excellent in every facet of the game, winning a turnover, scoring a try, making 14 tackles and six carries.
He did just enough to edge the hugely impressive Jonny Hill to a place in the side.
5. Nick Isiekwe - Northampton Saints
Man of the match on his debut for Northampton Saints.
He won a turnover, disrupted London Irish's lineout and made 10 excellent tackles driving players backwards without missing.
He beats Bristol's Chris Vui to a place in the side with Exeter's Jonny Gray and Sale's Jean-Luc du Preez also having excellent games.
6. Micheal Rhodes - Saracens
A big 60-minute shift from the Saracens' blindside saw him make 16 tackles, 5 carries and 22 running metres completing two offloads.
Rhodes had a great game where he took the fight to the Harlequins pack constantly battling with the pack and having a few scuffles with the Quins forwards, the kind performance you want out of your blindside.
Jono Ross had a similar game in a losing effort against Exeter while Gerrit-Jan van Velze was excellent on defence for Worcester Warriors.
7. Sam Underhill - Bath
The openside jersey could have quite easily have gone to Tom Curry who has been relishing with the new interpretations at the breakdown while Gabriel Oghre was brilliant for Wasps.
However, Sam Underhill was brutally effective against the Tigers.
Underhill bullied the defence making 25 metres from 8 carries and was just as effective on defence smashing 19 bodies.
8. Sam Simmonds - Exeter Chiefs
Our team is completed by Sam Simmonds who edges Nathan Hughes for a place in our side.
Simmonds was superb on both sides of the ball making over 60 running metres, 9 tackles, one turnover and scored a try.
