Despite missing out on England's Autumn Nations Series squad, these five Gallagher Premiership stars sent a clear message to Eddie Jones with their performances on the field this weekend.
#1. George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
Leicestershire Live: "After his England snub, this was the perfect message to all watching that Ford is playing some of his best rugby right now. His purple patch was during Wigglesworth’s sin-binning as he managed the game superbly covering both scrum-half and 10 to ensure Tigers came out of the period with just four points lost at a crucial juncture in the game.
"He conducted the attack superbly as usual and never gave an inch in defence either, including a counter-ruck that slowed up a dangerous first-half Saints attack.
"Ford's 45m drop-goal was something to behold as he overtook Jonny Wilkinson in the Premiership points scoring tally, his goal-kicking was the only minus point of Ford’s performance as he missed three conversions."
#2. Piers O'Conor (Bristol Bears)
Bristol Live: "The centre was the nuts and bolts to the Bears backline on Saturday as he move the ball smoothly without making eye particularly eye-catching breaks but did show tremendous strength to power through an attempted double tackle to touch down for Bristol’s bonus point try."
#3. Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Devon Live: "A relentless display.
"As busy as ever on the ball, he would be disappointed with a couple of moments where he was caught near Gloucester’s line but looked the most likely to create and was a constant threat, producing a couple of exquisite passes to find teammates in space.
"Continued his work but would have been disappointed to give away a penalty with the Cherry and Whites in good field position. However, continued to graft away and in total made 36 metres from 10 carries and was omnipresent and a huge part in the Chiefs’ victory."
#4. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Leicestershire Live: "Vintage performance from the tighthead, in a Leicester team featuring several derby debutants in front of fans, Cole brought steel and a calm head that Tigers needed. He held up well in the scrum against another veteran in Waller, he snagged a nice turnover too."
#5. Brad Shields (Wasps)
Coventry Live: "After his 21-game streak in the starting line-up came to an end against Saracens, the skipper returned with a freakish shift with and without the ball. His 21 tackles made was the most of any player on the pitch, with so many of them being dominant collisions too."
