Six Nations Team Of The Week Round Three
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Six Nations Team Of The Week Round Three
With round 3 of the Six Nations done and dusted we pick our team of the week.
1. Ben Moon - England
A strong performance by the English loosehead sees him beat off the likes of Rob Evans and Jefferson Poirot to a place in our team of the week. Moon was excellent for 76 minutes making 19 tackles and was solid in the scrum against Tomas Francis.
2. Guilhem Guirado - France
Lead by example, as per usual, with some thumping hits on defence and carried the ball superbly. He was also excellent in the set pieces and edges Jamie George for a place in our team of the week.
3. Demba Bamba - France
Scrummed superbly against Scotland and was a menace with ball in hand while also moving some bodies in the rucks. Elsewhere, Tadhg Furlong reached his usual high standards against Italy but it was not enough to beat the young Frenchman to a place in the side.
4. Cory Hill - Wales
Hill carried superbly against England and his work in the loose was exceptional. He challenged England's lineout well and ran a great line to score a crucial try. His opposite number, Courtney Lawes, was physical making 16 tackles and hit the rucks hard.
5. Alun-Wyn Jones - Wales
Jones lead his side to a historic win over England claiming their 13th consecutive victory. Jones stepped up at key times to steer Wales to victory and looked to have sorted their issues at lineout time in the latter stages of the game. His work rate was immense making 14 carries and 16 tackles. Dean Budd had a busy game for Italy while Felix Lambey continued his run of form against Scotland.
6. Peter O'Mahoney - Ireland
O'Mahony saved Ireland on a number of occasions with some superb work at the breakdown and came up with a lineout steal or two. He was one of the safer options at the lineout in area where Ireland struggled and tackled well. Josh Navidi was excellent against England while Lauret impressed against Scotland.
7. Tom Curry - England
Curry had a massive first half for England and continued in that fashion as he looked to inspire his side to victory. He won a crucial penalty after the hour mark to put England back in the lead and was an absolute warrior for England throughout the game.
🦈 @TomCurry98 First Half 🏴
0️⃣1️⃣ Defender Beaten
0️⃣1️⃣ Turnover
0️⃣1️⃣ Clean Break
0️⃣5️⃣ Points
0️⃣6️⃣ Carries
1️⃣6️⃣ Tackles
2️⃣4️⃣ Metres Gained
Still only 20 years old 😯 pic.twitter.com/k1BGJQQcf8
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) February 23, 2019
Justin Tipuric was equally impressive but narrowly misses out to the 20-year-old while Maxime Mbanda caused Ireland a few headaches before he left the field just after the break.
8. Louis Picamoles - France
Yet another strong performance by the French no.8 who has been excellent despite France's overall form so far in the competition. He carried and tackled well before he was replaced with 10 minutes to go. His replacement Gregory Alldritt is unlucky not to get a look in after he scored a brace off the back of France's dominant scrum while Ross Moriarty was superb in Wales' win.
9. Antoine Dupont - France
Finally given the chance to shine in the starting line up, Dupont did not disappoint bringing excitement to the French crowd every time he touched the ball. He made a few breaks racking up 74 running metres and ran even better support lines. Italy's Tito Tebaldi was sensational against Ireland and was unlucky to be on the losing end of the result.
10. Dan Biggar - Wales
It's very seldom that a 20-minute performance will feature in a team of the week but Biggar's impact off the bench against England was a match-winning one. Biggar came onto the pitch just before England reclaimed the lead and played a key role in Cory Hill's try before sending the match-winning cross kick to Josh Adams in the 78th minute. His kicking game and composure ultimately got Wales over the line.
Dupont's halfback partner Romain Ntamack just misses out but the Frenchman was sublime in his first start in the position and put in a massive shift on defence.
11. Jacob Stockdale - Ireland
Josh Adams' match winning try and solid overall performance against England is not enough to displace Jacob Stockdale with the Irishman putting in a fantastic shift against Italy. He made metres with ease and scored a real opportunistic try. He was solid on defence and was one of the best Irishman on the day.
☘️ Jacob Stockdale vs. Italy 🇮🇹
0️⃣2️⃣ Clean Breaks
0️⃣3️⃣ Turnovers
0️⃣4️⃣ Passes
0️⃣5️⃣ Points
0️⃣9️⃣ Defenders Beaten
1️⃣4️⃣4️⃣ Metres Gained pic.twitter.com/YCCatTXGzN— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) February 24, 2019
12.Hadleigh Parkes - Wales
Parkes played a major role in keeping the likes of Manu Tuilagi and Owen Farrell relatively quiet in Cardiff and was excellent with ball in hand as well. He linked up well with the rest of his backline and made 78 running metres with his kicking game also proving to be vital to Wales' cause.
Gael Fickou was also good against Scotland in a position that is far less foreign to him while Chris Farrell covered for Bundee Aki well once the centre left the field with an injury.
13. Mathieu Bastareaud - France
A far better performance from the big centre than the one he produced against England. He was solid on defence and showed some variation on attack with some nice offloads and even a chip and chase in the build up to the try from a kick off.
Keith Earls is incredibly unlucky to miss out to the big Frenchman after he put in a sublime performance filling in at outside centre.
14. George North - Wales
North played a pivotal role in keeping England's outside backs quiet and carried strongly in Cardiff. He made 49 running metres beating 2 defenders but it was his work on defence that really made the difference. He also made a great decision to hold onto the ball in the build-up to Cory Hill's try and was threatening each time he touched the ball. Edoardo Padovani continued his fine try scoring form for Italy while Damian Penaud recovered from his troubles against England to put in a fine performance against Scotland.
15. Liam Williams - Wales
A sensational performance from the Welsh fullback earns him a place in our team of the week. He was excellent under the high ball with Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs looking to exploit the backfield. He joined the line at the right time to rack up 52 running metres and was solid defensively. Thomas Ramos came close to taking his place in the side with a strong showing in his first test start.
