Premiership Team of the Week

1. Ross Harrison - Sale

Despite his side suffering a heavy defeat to Harlequins, Ross Harrison was magnificent in the front row. He was a rock in defence, making a staggering 22 tackles, several of which coming at key stages of the game. He also carried well when required and put in a shift at the breakdown.

2. Jamie George - Saracens

The Saracens hooker put in another immense performance in the number 2 jersey this weekend. He posed a constant threat with ball in hand, making X carries for a total of X metres and managed to bag himself a hat trick of tries. He also stepped up to the plate defensively, making X tackles and securing a vital turnover for his side.

3. Juan Figallo - Saracens

The Argentine tighthead prop was excellent for Saracens in their crushing victory over Wasps. He was immense at scrum time, consistently piling pressure on his opposite number and forcing several scrum penalties which provided his teammates with an excellent attacking platform. He also made some great carries, gaining a total of 26 metres with ball in hand.

4. Charlie Ewels - Bath

The young second row forward put in a truly incredible defensive performance in his side’s triumph over Worcester this weekend. He made an astounding 21 tackles, recording a tackle success rate of 100%. He also offered an excellent attacking option at the lineout and looked dangerous when running with ball in hand.

5. Will Spencer - Worcester

Spencer was the stand out performer in the Worcester forward pack this weekend. He was a menace with ball in hand, making a whopping 20 carries for a total of 38 hard metres gained. He caused the Bath defence an array of problems from start to finish and was rock solid defensively, making 13 tackles and missing none.

6. Mark Wilson - Newcastle

The English flanker was one of the best performers on the pitch in his side’s narrow margin defeat to Exeter. He lead by example, consistently carrying the ball effectively, constantly getting over the gain line. He was exemplary in defence, recording an incredible tackle success rate of 100%.

7. Sam Underhill - Bath

The young English flanker put in yet another amazing performance for Bath this weekend. He was a dog at the breakdown, time and time again getting over the ball early and forcing turnovers or at the very least disrupting the speed of the opposition ball. As always, he was solid in defence, making 18 tackles, several of which bruising hits which forced knock ons.

8. Sam Simmonds - Exeter

The 22-year-old number 8 was the stand out performer in the Exeter pack this weekend. Despite only playing for 65 minutes, he managed to make 13 carries for an impressive total of 68 metres gained. He showed great pace and strength to make 2 clean breaks, beating 5 defenders. He was also rock solid defensively, recording a tackle success rate of 100%.

9. Danny Care – Harlequins

The English scrum-half was up to his usual tricks on Friday night as he helped his side to a big win over Sale Sharks. A threat around the breakdown all night, he sucked in defenders which freed up space for his teammates out wide. As a result, he managed to get 3 try assists on the night. Two of which were beautifully identified and executed kicks in behind for Tim Visser. The number 9 will be hoping Eddie Jones was watching this weekend. 

10. George Ford – Leicester Tigers

The talismanic out-half is settling back into life at Welford Road quite nicely. He is forming a tantalising partnership with Matt Toomua in the Tigers’ midfield. The two playmakers ran the game fantastically on Saturday afternoon, with their distributary skills being the particularly impressive throughout the 80 minutes. Ford also managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over from the boot, having 100% success rate off the tee and slotting a drop-goal between the posts to keep the champions at bay.

11. Aled Brew – Bath

The former welsh international was in fine form on Saturday as he helped his side to a BP victory over Worcester. The winger went over for two tries on the afternoon, both of which he finished in the corner after some good phases were strung together by his teammates in tight. He managed to break the defensive line 3 times, beating 4 tacklers for a total gain of 53m on Saturday. Matt Banahan may struggle to break back into the Bath starting XV if the Welshman keeps playing like this.

12. Matt Toomua – Leicester Tigers

The former wallaby is proving to be a key player for the Tigers, as they mount a fresh title challenge, after a dreadful season last year. A stalwart in defence and a highly intelligent link player in attack, the 12 is performing the very important role of taking the heat off the young George Ford as he reacclimatises to life at Leicester. Having another kicking and first-receiving option adds a calmness to the Tigers attack which was notably absent last season. His passing was especially fantastic on Saturday and it was he who through the magnificent cut-out pass that put Jonny May away in the first half.

13. Henry Trinder – Gloucester

The young outside centre continues his scintillating form this season with another magnificent performance, which led his side to victory over a strong Saints side, on Saturday. He managed to get over for two tries on the day after 3 clean breaks which took his total to 118m gained for the game. His footwork was extremely impressive as he beat a staggering 10 defenders as he cut through the Saints defence time and time again. His take from the restart and break through the middle, which set up Twelvetrees’ try showed the diligence of the young man. Eddie Jones surely can’t leave him out of his plans for much longer if he keeps playing like this.

14. Semesa Rokoduguni - Bath

The Fijian born juggernaut again came out with a point to prove before the Autumn internationals next month. He has been untouchable in attack since September and again he caused the defence serious problems whenever he got his hands on the ball. He managed to make 91m, beating 3 defenders and didn’t shirk the defensive side of the game either. The winger has come under scrutiny in recent times because of his defensive frailties, but they were not apparent this weekend. He made 6 tackles against the Warriors, coming in off his wing to prevent them getting the ball wide again and again.

15. Alex Goode – Lions fullback, Liam Williams, reserved to a place on the wing in the Saracens backline this season. Again, he showed why Mark McCall has such faith in him there, as he caused Wasps serious problems on the counter attack. His grubber through for Wyles’s opening score was judged to perfection. He worked well with Williams as well to form a back trio that looks to be one of the best in the league at the moment.