Round Two of the Nations Championship produced several outstanding individual performances, with New Zealand defeating Italy 47-17, France overcoming Australia 42-26, Ireland seeing off Japan 36-20, England thrashing Fiji 73-8, South Africa beating Scotland 42-28 and Argentina defeating Wales 35-21
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Will Jordan made history with a hat-trick in Wellington to become the All Blacks’ all-time leading Test try-scorer, Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang enjoyed a dream France debut with two tries and Henry Pollock stole the headlines by coming off the bench to score a sensational second-half hat-trick for England.
Back-three
15. Matthieu Jalibert (France)
Constantly challenged the Australian defence with his creativity and willingness to attack from deep. Combined superbly with Romain Ntamack and was central to France’s second-half dominance.
14. Will Jordan (New Zealand)
A place in the Team of the Week was almost guaranteed after a record-breaking afternoon in Wellington. Jordan’s second-half hat-trick saw him become the All Blacks’ all-time leading Test try-scorer, taking his tally past Doug Howlett.
While he made a couple of early mistakes under the high ball, his clinical finishing and ability to deliver when it mattered made him the standout player of the match.
11. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang (France)
A dream debut. The Olympic gold medallist announced himself on the Test stage with two superb tries, looked dangerous under the high ball and showed blistering pace throughout. A debut to remember.
Centres
13. Jordie Barrett (New Zealand)
A complete midfield performance. Barrett was outstanding defensively with his rush defence, while also producing two key attacking moments: the grubber that created Will Jordan’s first try and the long pass that sent him over for his hat-trick.
12. Damian Willemse (South Africa)
It was always going to be difficult to match the sensational display he produced against England a week ago, particularly after shifting from full-back into the midfield, but he barely missed a beat.
Carried with real intent and consistently got his side over the gain-line despite heavy traffic, while also standing up well defensively against the dangerous Sione Tuipulotu.
Rounded off another classy performance by slicing through off a clever Grant Williams switch to score a superb try.
Half-backs
10. Fin Smith (England)
Played with confidence and attacking intent against Fiji, using smart kicking to create chances, most notably with dangerous crossfield kicks to Tommy Freeman and a fortunate kick that rebounded off the post into Marcus Smith’s hands for the opener.
Defended well with a strong tackle on Kalaveti Ravouvou, showed good intensity throughout and, while his goal-kicking was not flawless, it was solid overall. Rightfully named Player of the Match.
9. Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
The standout scrum-half of the weekend. Roigard dictated the tempo from start to finish, keeping New Zealand’s attack moving even when Italy frustrated them for long spells.
His crisp service and quick decision-making were at the heart of almost everything the All Blacks did well.
