PRO14 Team of the Week

A great performance from the Edinburgh hooker who was one of the standout performers in their away victory over the Southern Kings. He was accurate at the lineout, dogged at the breakdown and also carried very effectively when called upon.

 

The veteran tighthead prop put on a clinic this weekend as his side cruised past Cardiff Blues. He was menacing at scrum time, consistently piling pressure on his opposite number and forcing several penalties. He was rock solid in defence, recording a tackle success rate of 100%. 

 

The South African second row forward was one of the key players in an impressive Munster performance this week. He provided a great option at lineout time, made all his tackles in defence and carried very effectively with ball in hand, beating several defenders for a total gain of 37 metres.

 

The Wallaby put in another stellar performance for Leinster in the PRO14 this weekend. He provided his hooker with a great attacking option at the lineout and also managed to steal several of the opposition's lineouts. He carried really powerfully and recorded an impressive tackle success rate of 100%.

The young flanker put in yet another wonderful performance for his side in their demolition of the Ospreys this weekend. He was impervious in defence, got through a remarkable amount of work at the breakdown and around the fringes and even managed to find himself in space on the wing to finish off an excellent try-scoring move.

 

Meyer played a pivotal role in his side's really impressive defeat of Connacht this weekend. He made all 10 of his attempted tackles, carried really effectively and secured 2 vital turnovers at key moments of the game. Special mention for Chris Cloete who was unfortunate to miss out this week.

The standout performer in an impressive Leinster forward pack this weekend. He was rock solid in defence, making 12 tackles and missing none and securing a couple of vital turnovers at the breakdown. He also made a staggering 18 carries, beating 3 defenders for a total gain of 58 metres.

 

Yet again the young scrum-half showed why he is one of the most promising talents in the Irish rugby set up at the moment. He marshalled his backline with real class and maturity, kicked very well out of hand and passed accurately throughout. He showed great attacking intelligence when he ran a beautiful line to collect the ball from James Lowe and score under the posts.

 

The Wallaby out-half put in a remarkable performance in the number 10 shirt for Ulster this weekend in their thrilling 32-32 draw with Dragons. He kicked well out of hand and threw some delightful offloads to set teammates into key attacking spaces. He also managed to get over the whitewash in the last minute of the game to level the scores.

 

The Kiwi had a dream debut for the men in blue today. He started shakily but quickly grew into the game, showing his class by having a hand in a couple of tries while bagging a brace for himself. He was keen to have a go all day, making 134m from 17 carries. He was the first on the scoresheet as he ran a hard line off of Luke McGrath to score off a maul. He continued to make linebreaks using his magnificent footwork, before turning provider for his scrum-halves five-pointer in the second period. His final act was to leave Benvenuti for dead on the wing, with a beautiful goose-step, before showing his pace to score in the corner.

12. Rory Scannell – Munster

The young inside centre gave a magnificent performance in his side’s bonus point win, today in Cork. He was instrumental in putting Ospreys on the back foot, using his deft left foot to turn the wingers on their heels. He got over for a wonderful try after an intelligent back-line move put Wootton through a gap and Scannell finished it off with a show and go. The former Pres man worked extremely hard in defence and was Munster’s 2^nd highest tackler with 13. 

13. Garry Ringrose – Leinster

The Irish international did not look at all rusty today, as he returned to the field following a long period of injury. He managed to get over for a try in the corner after a lovely pass from Ross Byrne. The Treviso defenders were unable to contain him today as he made 2 clean breaks and beat 3 defenders for a total of 31m. His offloading game was a nuisance to the Italian’s defence. The former Blackrock College man will most definitely be back in the Irish XV for the Six Nations if he can continue this sort of form.

Gilroy was electric in Ulster's draw with Dragons this weekend. He gained an impressive total of 123 meters in attack and also managed to secure an important turnover. He proved to be a handful for the Dragons defence throughout the game and managed to score two tries to complete an all-round quality performance.

 

The South African fullback was immense for his side as they edged past the defending PRO14 champions. He looked menacing with ball in hand and caused the opposition a host of problems from start to finish with his combination of blistering pace and mesmerising footwork. He made 4 clean breaks, beating 5 defenders and gaining a total of 110 metres as well as scoring two tries.