Front Row
1. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – New Zealand
In a style akin to South Africa’s ‘bomb squad’, the All Blacks implemented a full front row substitution which swung the momentum of the match. Ofa Tu’ungafasi had an instant impact at loose-head, and dominated the second half scrum with hooker Dane Coles, and young tight-head Fletcher Newell. Tu’ungafasi also carried well in the midfield, providing a good option for the hard yards.
2. Elliot Dee – Wales
Elliot Dee was given an extended run in the side, coming on after just six minutes as Ryan Elias departed with an unfortunate injury. The absence of Six Nations captain Ken Owens has left big shoes to fill in the front row, yet Dee provided Gatland with a viable option with his short-notice involvement. Dee eased into the match and was instrumental for the tide-turning scrummages in the second half. He was singled out as ‘outstanding’ by Head Coach Gatland post match.
3. Will Stuart – England
The only England player to make this side, Will Stuart was Steve Borthwick’s best forward on the day against Wales. Narrowly surpassing the All Blacks’ Fletcher Newell to our number three jersey, Stuart won a trio of scrum penalties, which allowed Marcus Smith to build a 9-6 England lead into half-time. Stuart gave the debuting Cory Domeschovski a real challenge a scrum time, and put his hand up for England’s tight-head spot which has since been owned by Kyle Sinckler.
Locks
4. Iain Henderson – Ireland
All eyes were on Henderson to lead Ireland out strong, as he was awarded the captaincy following the absence of the banned Johnny Sexton. The 31-year-old did just that in Dublin, and set Ireland off on the right foot for their Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. Henderson carried well up the park, and was unlucky to not cap off an impressive break with a try. His best moments came early in the game, with less to do when Ireland ran away with the match.
5. Cameron Woki – France
In contention with Matthieu Jalibert to be France’s best performer against Scotland. The asterisk of this being a weakened French side did not hinder Woki, who made good on his opportunity in the absence of Thibaud Flamenet, and with Paul Willemse dropped to the bench. Woki stood out with crunching tackles, and presented a masterclass in lineout ball retention and steals.
Back Row
6. Tom Hooper – Australia
Tom Hooper was the best performing back-rower in this Bledisloe Cup fixture which included the likes of Sam Cane, Ardie Savea and Rob Valentini. Whilst those three men all performed well, Hooper gets the nod at blindside for his outstanding shift. His 19 tackles saw the 21-year-old top the Wallabies tackle charts, and made us question how he is not related to Michael Hooper. The flanker also scored his first try for Australia after just seven minutes, as the Wallabies hit top gear early on.
7. Jac Morgan – Wales
Jac Morgan could not have dreamt up a better match, to mark up his first run as captain for his country. The 23-year-old led like a veteran wise beyond his years, with exceptional work rate in attack and defence. Morgan’s awesome cut in from the right led to Gareth Davies’ opening try, and his thumping hit on opposite man Tom Pearson took the wind right out of England’s sails. Sam Warburton waxed lyrical about the back-rower at half and full-time, with Morgan rightly awarded Player of the Match.
8. Aaron Wainwright – Wales
Wrapping up the team of the week for ’round one’ so to speak, is Aaron Wainwright, who would have been a contender for Man of the Match had Morgan not played an early career-defining game. Wainwright stepped up into the number eight jersey, following the injury vacancy of Taulupe Falatau. The back-rower dominated the collision up-front, and gave a great offload in contact to set up Morgan’s run for Wales’ opening try.