Henry Pollock named in Nations Championship Team of the Tournament So Far

We are officially at the half way mark of the 2026 Nations Championship, as the Southern Series was brought to a close this past weekend. France and South Africa lead their respective Hemisphere tables, following another blockbuster round of action throughout round three.

The action began in New Zealand, as the All Blacks kept their iconic Eden Park unbeaten run alive with a thunderous 40-21 win over a dismantled Irish side. France then claimed an impressive 42-15 away win in the Far East, with an impressive victory over Eddie Jones' Japan. The Wallabies then hosted Italy in a must-win 'race to the bottom' match up, with Australia ending their wait for a Nations Championship victory, as the 57-10 drubbing ensured a third-straight defeat for Gonzalo Quesada's side.

Scotland then survived a first half scare against Fiji, to complete an impressive 33-17 comeback win at Murrayfield and climb up to second in their respective Northern table. The Springboks then dropped the hammer down on Wales, with Steve Tandy's side left to pick up the pieces of a blistering 43-0 defeat in Durban. The final match of the Southern Series witnessed England continue their return to winning form with a strong away victory against Argentina, despite seeing four men sent to the sin bin throughout the match.

Steve Borthwick's side triumphed 31-24 over Los Pumas to win bag the sporting bragging rights, after the English footballers suffered World Cup heartache. So, with the first three rounds of the Nations Championship in the bag for 2026, and the wait now commenced ahead of the Northern Series in November, we've pieced together our Team of the Tournament so far...

We commence our Team of the Tournament for the Nations Championship Southern Series, with a man that was unleashed across a new-found position. In a move not too disimilar to Marcus Smith's positional shift from fly half to full back in recent England appearences, Matthieu Jalibert began the series in the French 10 jersey, before being swapped into the 15 spot by Fabien Galthie.

This accomodated the return of Romain Ntamack at fly half, and allowed Les Bleus to run riot across several attacking axis, with Jalibert seamlessly slotting into the back-field role. Jalibert made the most metres out of any player in the Southern Series, and also completed the second most carries across a phenomenal adaptation.

Taking his spot upon the right touch-line is the history making All Black from the Nations Championship. Will Jordan scored his way into the record books, as he ran in his 50th career test match try for New Zealand in their second round win over Italy. It was an incredible feat by the Crusaders man, who continues to prove why he is regarded amongst the world's most revered finishers, as New Zealand enjoyed an unbeaten campaign of triumphs over France, Italy and Ireland. Jordan scored six tries in the campaign, and ended the three-week series as the top try scorer.

The outside centre spot goes to the formidable Jesse Kriel of the Springboks, who was at his game-breaking best for Rassie Erasmus once again. Kriel was the consistent operator across an ever-changing cast of Springboks, with Rassie entrusting the experienced midfielder to retain his 13 jersey for all three tests against England, Scotland and Wales.

Whilst the majority of the South African players were rotated around the squad to cater for the ever-growing green and gold depth charts, Kriel ran in a try in each of three rounds, and reminded the rugby world once again why he is the standard bearer for centres on the test match stage.

The Scotland captain comes into the centres alongside Jesse Kriel, as Sione Tuipulotu was simply remarkable throughout the Nations Championship campaign. The Glasgow Warriors man was back to his very best at the helm of his country, with the midfield powerhouse setting the precedent for Scotland's impressive opening weekend trip down to Argentina.

Tuipulotu then spear-headed the efforts down in South Africa with an all-time top performance, as Scotland battled tooth and nail in a losing effort to the Springboks. The centre closed out his campaign by leading Scotland's comeback win over Fiji, as his arrival off the bench brought an immediate momentum shift to the match, as Gregor Townsend's side to secure the hard-fought victory.

With Rassie Erasmus prioritising a heavily rotated squad for the Nations Championship, blockbuster wing Kurt-Lee Ardense was given two matches to showcase why he is still regarded in the upper-echelons of deadly finishers. The Bulls man wasted no time upon to make his mark, as Arendse bagged a stunning try England in the dominant first round victory, before making a second trip across the white-wash against Wales. With such frightening depth of options across the Springboks wide channels, Ardense made good upon his opportunities to impress, as he rides a wave of momentum that first broke with his excellent URC form.

Taking the keys to number 10 is the latest break-out star in the famous black jersey, with Ruben Love preferred as the first choice fly half for the All Blacks. Having previously only made sporadic New Zealand appearances at full-back, Love was back by head coach Dave Rennie to take the reins, with the All Blacks boss making it abundantly clear that he was picking his team based on current Super Rugby form.

With the Hurricanes dominant throughout their latest title winning campaign with Love pulling the strings, the 25-year-old rolled this into a star-making international series. With Beauden Barrett, Damien McKenzie and a returning Richie Mo'unga all pushing for the All Blacks 10 jersey, Love will need to maintain this incredible form to keep hold of the spot.

With Antoine Dupont sidelined by the injury sustained during Toulouse's run-in to the Top 14 final, Maxime Lucu was handed the responsibility of steering France from scrum-half. The Bordeaux Begles star responded in emphatic fashion, emerging as one of the most influential players in Fabien Galthie's side throughout the Southern Series.

Lucu's control, accuracy and composure gave France a reliable conductor in Dupont's absence, while his 37 points made him the highest scorer across the entire tournament so far. With Dupont expected to return for the Northern Series, Galthie now faces an intriguing selection call: whether to immediately restore his captain and talisman, or continue with the man who has proved that France possess a genuine alternative at No.9.

The Baby Rhino was at his destructive best throughout England's Southern Series campaign, combining his trademark bulldozing ball-carrying with a series of outstanding scrummaging performances. Ellis Genge was particularly influential in the opening round against South Africa, where he crashed over for a try during England's attempted fightback against the world champions.

The Bristol front-rower then carried that form into England's victories over Fiji and Argentina, providing the sort of physical presence that has made him such a feared operator at Test level. Whether driving into contact or going to war at scrum-time, Genge embodied England's aggressive intent throughout a series in which Steve Borthwick's side rediscovered their winning touch.

The reigning World Rugby Player of the Year provided a timely reminder of exactly why he holds the game's most prestigious individual title. Malcolm Marx started two of South Africa's three matches and was a dominant force in both, combining his extraordinary breakdown and set-piece work with his ability to turn possession into forward momentum.

The hooker also crossed the whitewash against England, but it was his all-round influence that truly stood out. Marx remains one of, if not the most complete hooker in world rugby, capable of winning turnovers, smashing through defensive lines and producing flawless work around the set-piece. With South Africa's depth allowing Rassie Erasmus to rotate heavily, Marx's performances were a timely reminder that the world's best number two should be Rassie's number one for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Zander Fagerson entered the Nations Championship with a point to prove. With Elliot Millar-Mills and Will Hurd pushing hard for the Scotland tight-head jersey, the Glasgow Warriors prop needed to demonstrate that the No.3 shirt remained his to lose. He did exactly that.

Fagerson's impact was felt even when coming off the bench, helping Scotland turn the tide in hard-fought victories over Argentina and Fiji. His standout performance, however, came in the starting line-up against South Africa, where he went toe-to-toe with the world's most feared scrummaging pack and helped Scotland remain within touching distance at half-time. His departure after 58 minutes was keenly felt, as the Springboks began to assert their dominance towards the latter stages. For a player fighting to reclaim undisputed ownership of the jersey, Fagerson could hardly have made a stronger statement.

Australia endured a disappointing Nations Championship campaign, but Josh Canham emerged as one of the clearest positives from the Wallabies' three weeks. The Queensland Reds lock was a genuine standout in an otherwise difficult campaign, finishing with four tries — more than any other forward in the tournament and second only to Will Jordan overall.

Canham's ability to make a consistent impact around the park, while providing a genuine attacking threat from the pack, has marked him out as one of the potential cornerstones of Australia's future. His development could now accelerate further with former Reds head coach Les Kiss taking charge of the Wallabies following Joe Schmidt's departure. If Canham can continue this trajectory, he may prove to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the change in leadership.

Pieter-Steph du Toit returned to the sort of form that previously saw him crowned World Rugby Player of the Year on two occasions. His Nations Championship campaign became even more demanding when Siya Kolisi withdrew through injury and Eben Etzebeth was also ruled out of South Africa's opening match against England.

Du Toit responded by taking on the captaincy and shifting into the second row, seamlessly adapting to another change in responsibility. The result was a remarkable campaign from one of the most versatile forwards in world rugby. He led from the front as South Africa completed a clean sweep of victories, bringing his trademark physicality, work-rate and relentless defensive presence to each of the three matches. In a side packed with world-class talent, Du Toit once again looked like the ultimate big-game forward.

Jack Conan was arguably Ireland's best forward throughout their difficult series, stepping up magnificently in the absence of Caelan Doris. With the Leinster star left at home after suffering a foot injury in the final stages of the URC season, Conan took over at No.8 and immediately provided Ireland with a powerful ball-carrying presence in their opening match against Australia.

He then shifted to blindside flanker for the victory over Japan, helping guide Sean Jansen through his international debut at No.8. Conan was back in the thick of the action against New Zealand, where he scored Ireland's try and stood out as one of Andy Farrell's most effective performers in a disappointing defeat at Eden Park. Across three different challenges, Conan proved himself to be one of the most dependable forwards of the entire tournament.

Henry Pollock has become one of the most talked-about men in rugby, and the Northampton Saints back-rower appeared to enjoy every second of the attention throughout the Southern Series. Despite Steve Borthwick continuing to use him from the bench, Pollock repeatedly made an impact whenever he entered the field.

He was already impressive against South Africa, where he walked into a hostile Ellis Park atmosphere and was greeted by a barrage of boos from the home crowd. Then came the Fiji match, when Pollock exploded into life with a breathtaking hat-trick of tries. Even that performance was not enough to earn him a starting berth against Argentina, although he again impressed in England's victory. Add in the viral footage of his antics aboard the team bus in Argentina, and Pollock has somehow managed to become one of the tournament's biggest characters both on and off the field.

We complete the back row with Argentina's Joaquín Oviedo, who edged a fiercely competitive field that also included Ireland's breakout star Sean Jansen and New Zealand captain Ardie Savea. While both enjoyed greater success with their respective teams, the numbers underline just how impressive Oviedo was individually.

The Pumas No.8 made 60 carries — more than any other player throughout the Southern Series — while also scoring three tries across the three rounds and finishing inside the top ten for metres made. His most devastating performance came in Argentina's victory over Wales, where he repeatedly punched holes in the defence and ran roughshod over the Welsh pack. Argentina may have fallen short against England, but Oviedo's three-week contribution was impossible to overlook.