With the dust having settled on the final round of the Rugby Championship and opening warm-ups for England and Ireland, we’ve gone through the action to pick the best players from the action.
Fullback: Kurtley Beale (Australia) – Came alive as the Wallabies got ascendancy and helped keep his team humming. Snaked his way through the All Blacks’ defence to score at the death. Top metre eater with 96 to his name.
Winger: Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa) – Another fantastic outing for the Springboks’ pocket-rocket. Worked his socks off chasing kicks and making tackles, while he also showed his awareness and pace to finish off a try in the second half.
Cheslin Kolbe v 🇦🇷
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 12, 2019
0⃣6⃣ Carries 👊
0⃣2⃣ Defenders beaten 🔥
0⃣1⃣ Clean break 💨
4⃣2⃣ Running metres 🏃♂️
0⃣1⃣ Try 🏉
0⃣1⃣ Try assist 🅰️
0⃣9⃣ Tackles 👊#BokStats pic.twitter.com/vH3mxq6XRY
Centre: Jonathan Joseph (England) – Slotted back into the midfield seamlessly and linked up well with Bath colleague Watson outside him. Now likely to beat Te’o to a World Cup spot.
Centre: Samu Kerevi (Australia) – A hugely dominant display from the burly midfielder – came of age. Bowled through All Blacks for fun. Skipped past Smith and wrecked Barrett for an excellent try assist.
Winger: Vereniki Goneva (Fiji) – Became the flying Fijians all-time top try-scorer after finishing off a super scored during a win against Samoa.
. @fijirugby are just beautiful to watch.
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) August 11, 2019
⚡️ Radradra with the footwork,
👋 Botia with the delicate hands
🔥 Goneva with the pace to finish.
Superb counter-attack try #PNC2019 pic.twitter.com/86Jt9KdNKk