With advance apologies to Rhys Patchell…
The first weekend of the Six Nations championship is in the books and spirits are high in Ireland, England and Wales. The French could not snap their winless streak, Italy were decent enough for 55 minutes [again] and Scottish fans must be down in the dumps.
The Welsh were the most impressive of the weekend’s winners but England looked in decent clip against the Azzurri. Ireland are just delighted to have got home with a win to keep them company.
Here is our Six Nations Team of the Week:
15. Leigh Halfpenny [Wales]
The diminutive Welsh fullback is often accused of getting selected off the back of his unerring goal-kicking. Such gripes have been put to bed for this week after Halfpenny scored his first two Test tries in five years. Four conversions and two penalties, too, in a 24-point haul.
14. Anthony Watson [England]
Blitzed the Italians and enjoyed himself thoroughly in Rome.Two tries and 78 metres gobbled up in just six carries. Honourable mention for Keith Earls and that cross-field kick claim.
13. Robbie Henshaw [Ireland]
I was really impressed with Henshaw in Paris. Got the triple-double [tackles, carries and rucks hit] while he invariably made a yard, sometimes even two, on his carries and got his side forward momentum.
12. Hadleigh Parkes [Wales]
A gem of a player who did a serious number on the Scots at the Principality Stadium. Was Rhys Patchell’s protector, stuck his own tackles and was a demon with ball-in-hand. England up next – Williams & Parkes vs. Farrell & Te’o….. BOOM!
11. Steff Evans [Wales]
A lovely, lovely, lovely player. Ran the Scots ragged. Helped himself to a try after assisting Halfpenny in the first half. Made gains for kicks and was hard to contain. 103 metres made off 17 carries, with three clean breaks, six defenders beaten and two offloads. Speed merchant.
10. Johnny Sexton [Ireland]
Patchell played a blinder against Scotland but Sexton edges him with his generalship, kicking mastery and that wonderful drop. The Ireland outhalf will go down as one of this generation’s great players. Ireland would never have won without him.
9. Gareth Davies [Wales]
Unlucky not to make the Lions squad, outright, last April but one of the ‘Geography Six’ call-ups that merited his place in New Zealand. A complete live-wire. Great reading of the game to intercept and streak away for Wales’ first try.
1. Jefferson Poirot [France]
Got through a mountain of work and stripped the ball off Tadhg Furlong mere metres from his own tryline. 17 tackles logged, a few hefty carries and he hit rucks with gusto. Part of a decent first line French front row.
2. Guilhem Guirado [France]
That loss to Ireland will sting, and rightly so, but it was particularly cruel on Guirado.
Was a complete nuisance to Ireland at the breakdown, tidy in the set-piece and handled referee better than opposite number Rory Best.
3. Tadhg Furlong [Ireland]
Not his best game for Ireland but still pretty damn good. Always a threat with ball-in-hand and a key part of the Irish gameplan. Handled his side of the scrum well, tackled and carried hard and was handy at the breakdown too. A word, too, for John Ryan’s positive impact after replacing Furlong.
4. Jonny Gray [Scotland]
One of the few Scottish players to emerge with credit from their awful start in Cardiff. 10 carries for 34 metres, several men sat down and 15 tackles made in a losing cause. Just shades Iain Henderson, who played well in Paris.
5. James Ryan [Ireland]
‘The good soldier’, L’Equipe called him. He was a talisman for Ireland at Stade de France. Where he led, others followed. Made 15 brutish carries, was good in the lineout [after a very early blip] and didn’t miss a tackle. The locals were impressed and we were too.
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6. Chris Robshaw [England]
England are lucky to have this man. As nuggety and vital as they come to this England side winning the fight before they so often claim the spoils. A pest for the Italians. Got through a shed-load of work.
7. Josh Navidi [Wales]
Did the scrapping, tackling and harrying for Wales so that his teammates could run riot all around him. Very good outing against the Scots. Dan Leavy did well, too, off the bench for Ireland.
8. Sam Simmonds [England]
Tipped by James Downey [and myself!] as a player to watch in this championship, he was a force of nature in Rome. Put in one hell of a shift – two tries, 75 metres gained off 15 carries and 20 tackles landed. England did not miss Billy Vunipola all that much on Sunday because the Exeter No.8 was in his element.
