Test Combos - June Tests Week 1

We take a fresh look at the top performers from the first week of the June Tests. We have decided to pick the best combinations XV's from the weekend's action.

Front Row - New Zealand

The All Black front row fronted up against a powerful and heavy French front row and did exceptionally well to pressure the French pack at scrum time.

Moody, Taylor and Franks were all busy around the park with the hooker also dotting down for a try in the first half.

Locks - South Africa

Franco Mostert got through a boatload of work against England, while his partner RG Snyman was all over the park.

Mostert made 16 tackles - a total only bettered by Tom Curry - while Snyman made 8 carries and 10 tackles. 

Snyman also made 53 running metres and a try assist. 

Loose Trio - Australia

The return of 'Pooper' was key to the Wallabies victory over Ireland. 

Hooper and Pocock were excellent at the breakdown and both players made over 15 tackles, while Caleb Timu also threw his weight around making 14 of his own.

Halfbacks - Wales

Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell ran the show against Argentina as Wales raced into a 20-3 lead.

The pairs impact on the match was telling as Wales failed to break through the Los Pumas defence following their substitutions in the 60th minute.

Midfield - Australia 

Kurtley Beale and Samu Kerevi had outstanding games for the Wallabies as they were able to open up the Irish defence as well as keep the likes of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw at bay.

The pair just beat the likes of Ryan Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown who were brilliant in the All Blacks win over France.

Outside Backs - South Africa

Aphiwe Dyantyi and Sibusiso Nkosi both got over the line on their debuts with the latter scoring a double, while Willie Le Roux was a key weapon on attack for the Springboks.

Le Roux had a hand in almost all of the Springboks tries whether he was throwing one of the last passes to the try or dotting one down for himself. 

Defensively they were strong after the first 20 minutes.

Replacement Forwards' Impact - South Africa

The impact of Steven Kitshoff and Thomas du Toit saw the Springboks dominant at scrum time in the closing stages of the game.

They were also strong on defence and attack, while Pieter-Steph du Toit provided the back row with additional physicality. 

Replacement Backs' Impact - New Zealand

The injection of Ngani Laumape, Damian McKenzie and TJ Perenara saw the All Blacks score 5 tries in the final 20 minutes of the match. 

McKenzie, in particular, was exceptional making over 100 running metres, beat 4 defenders made 5 clean breaks, scored a try and assisted another all within 20 minutes.

The Combo XV for Week 1:

1 Joe Moody

2 Codie Taylor

3 Owen Franks

4 RG Snyman

5 Franco Mostert

6 David Pocock

7 Michael Hooper

8 Caleb Timu

9   Gareth Davies

10 Rhys Patchell

11 Aphiwe Dyantyi

12 Kurtley Beale

13 Samu Kerevi

14 Sibusiso Nkosi

15 Willie le Roux

16 Armand van der Merwe

17 Steven Kitshoff

18 Thomas du Toit

19 Pieter-Steph du Toit

20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe

21 TJ Perenara

22 Damian McKenzie

23 Ngani Laumape