Six Nations team of the week - Round One, 2021

Six Nations team of the week:

BACK-THREE:

• Fullback: Stuart Hogg (Scotland): Rightly named man of the match. Marshalled brilliantly from the back, kicked superbly and was the game’s biggest running threat, beating eight defenders and making 69 metres with the ball in hand. 
• Winger: Teddy Thomas (France): The speedster finished the rout against Italy with five minutes to go, set away for his second by the flashing hands of Dulin.  He was immense throughout.
• Winger: Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland): Brings awesome power to Scotland’s backline. Perhaps should have taken the first opportunity Russell made for him, but a brilliant finish for the score, which included steamrolling over Owen Farrell. Warren Gatland will have noted that

CENTRE:

• Outside-centre: Arthur Vincent (France) - The 21-year-old was an absolute rock in defence, making 15 tackles. He was also more than useful in attack, making 69 metres and scoring a try. Efficient operator.
• Inside-centre: Cameron Redpath (Scotland) -  It was an outstanding Test debut for the son of former Scotland international Bryan Redpath and the Bath man definitely won the battle against former England U20s team-mate Ollie Lawrence. Scotland have a gem. 

HALFBACK:

• Fly-half: Johnny Sexton (Ireland) - Controlled the game well and made some decent incisive runs too. The result might have been different if he wasn't forced off for a HIA.
• Scrum-half: Antoine Dupont (France) - He had hands and feet in all too many of France’s tries, of which there were seven in the end. It was another masterclass in how to make energy and imagination tell.

FRONT-ROW:

• Loosehead-prop: Wyn Jones (Wales) - Carried really well, making an impressive 10 carries with ball in hand and held his own against the Ireland pack. Deserved his man of the match award
• Hooker: George Turner (Scotland) - The stand-in hooker was dynamic. Carried hard and Scotland’s set-piece functioned better than England’s. Bright red scrum-cap makes him easy to spot, as does his appetite for work.
• Tighthead-prop: Zander Fagerson (Scotland) - The prop's display at the set piece was particularly notable as he dominated his opposite number Ellis Genge 

SECOND-ROW:

• Lock: Jonny Gray (Scotland) -  The Exeter Chiefs man produced a towering performance for his country and forced the likes of Maro Itoje into rare mistakes.  A statement showing from a Lions candidate.
• Lock: Maro Itoje (England) - Came up with a couple of charge-downs early on and threw himself into everything with his usual gusto. Looked like he was playing Scotland on his own at times.

BACK-ROW:

• Blindside-flanker: Josh Navidi (Wales) - Did a superb job for Wales after replacing Dan Lydiate and was instrumental in North’s try. Making 20 tackles, he must start next week.
• Openside-flanker: Hamish Watson (Scotland) - The flanker was a major force in this historic Scotland win, making telling contributions in both attack and defence. A class act. 
• Number 8: Matt Fagerson (Scotland) - His sides go-to man for the hard carries in congested areas and he got through a huge amount of work before going off on the hour.

EDITORS PICKS:

• 5 players Eddie Jones should call-up after Scotland defeat
• Mike Brown’s brutal assessment of Owen Farrell
• Fans pick their sensational all-time Six Nations XV
• Nigel Owens ranks the five toughest players he had to referee
• England shadow squad: Who does Eddie Jones have in reserve?
• Six Nations stars who had normal jobs before becoming players