Team of the Week: Rugby World Cup Final and Bronze Medal Match

Rassie Erasmus' side have made Rugby World Cup history, as their 12-11 triumph over the All Blacks marks a record fourth Rugby World Cup title for South Africa. The decisive difference was once again the boot of Handre Pollard, as the Leicester Tigers fly-half slotted each and every one of the Springboks' points from the tee. The match was decided by the goal kickers, as a missed Richie Mo'unga conversion and Jordie Barrett penalty left crucial points in Paris.

In the bronze medal match, England battled well against Argentina to finish the Rugby World Cup in third place. Steve Borthwick's men outmuscled Los Pumas to a dramatic 26-23 win, with Michael Cheika's side returning to South America empty handed. There were plenty of top performances in the final weekend of the Rugby World Cup, and we have pieced together a Team of the Week, from the Bronze Medal Match and 2023 Rugby World Cup Final.

Beginning in the back-three, despite coming away on the losing side of the score-line, we've selected Beauden Barrett as our fullback. Barrett had a starring run out in what could be his last All Blacks match for a while, as the former Auckland Blues man heads to Japan, after signing with Toyota Verblitz with Aaron Smith. Barrett scored the only try of the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final, and has now scored in two instalments of the showpiece match (first in 2015 vs Australia).

Barrett liked up with his Blues partner Mark Tele'a for the try, as he supported the winger's carry, and powered over after catching the offload. Speaking of Tele'a, the left winger slots into our Team of the Week, with another strong performance following his return to the All Blacks squad. Tele'a sat out for two rounds of action after missing the All Blacks team curfew early in the competition, and returned for a scintillating run out in the semi-final win over Argentina.

Despite dominating Will Jordan in defence, Cheslin Kolbe's deliberate knock-on was the deciding factor, that handed our number 11 shirt to Tele'a for the Team of the Week. Tele'a cut through the green and gold wall in the Final, and showcased impressive footwork to build attacking momentum. South Africa's Kurt-Lee Arendse wraps up our back-three, as the right winger tackled well for his side, with a notable try-saving hit on Tele'a, sending the All Blacks winger into touch. Arendse almost scored in the final, yet could not ground the diving effort, as he chased well to gather Kolbe's grubber kick along the touch-line.

Onto the centres, and we begin with another man who looks to have played his final international match the immediate future. England's Joe Marchant has been on top form throughout the 2023 Rugby World Cup, yet his time in Steve Borthwick's side has since come to an end. Marchant missed the plane home, as will instead stay in Paris having agreed a deal with Stade Francais, ending his nine-year stint with Harlequins.

Marchant's performance in the Bronze Medal match was up to his usual high standards. He was resilient in defence, and produced an exciting attacking option with high octane line-breaks. His best effort came after 19 minutes, as he tore through the Pumas defence, to clear the pressure from the England try-line. Partnering up with Marchant is New Zealand's Jordie Barrett, and despite missing a crucial penalty in the Final's latter stages, Barrett ran out a performance to be proud of for New Zealand.

Amongst the criticism surrounding Barrett's missed penalty, All Blacks fans are forgetting that their side would not have been in the final, if it was not for his try-saving heroics against Ireland. Also, the Hurricanes centre replicated the efforts, by holding up a Springboks pick and drive, to stop a try from from close range. Barrett fronted up to the heavy hits of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert, and almost goaded the titanic Springboks to hit him with all they had.

Starting at fly-half for our Team of the Week is Handre Pollard, after the Leicester Tigers man presented a clinic in goal-kicking, to win his side back-to-back (or Bokke-to-Bokke) Rugby World Cup titles. Pollard was the Springboks' saviour in their quarter-final win over France, the semi-final victory against England, and once more in the final triumph over New Zealand. Each match was decided by just one point, which goes to show the fine margins that the Rugby World Cup is more often than not decided by.

Pollard had a pre-longed role in the final, differing from his repeated replacement appearances throughout the competition. Rassie Erasmus had enough of Manie Libbok's poor goal-kicking rate, and left the Stormers' halfback out of the entire match-day 23, giving Pollard an 80-minute free rein to orchestrate the Springboks attack. Pollard did just that for the Final, and slotted the all-important efforts from the tee in the process. Despite the unrelenting efforts of Faf de Klerk, we've given Aaron Smith the nod for our Team of the Week's number nine jersey.

In a weekend which saw two of the world's longest serving international scrum-halves step away from their countries, Smith, along with England's Ben Youngs, left it all on the line for their final test matches. Smith's passion for the black jersey burned bright as he led his final haka, and his on-field performance was once again a sight to behold. Cruelly denied a try on his swan-song, due to a knock-on in the tries' build up, Smith battled for his 65 minute run-out, and ended his career with a sore shoulder after clattering into a top-speed Cheslin Kolbe.

Onto the forwards now, with two Springbok front-rowers making our team of the week, after their vital contributions in the Rugby World Cup Final. Beginning with Dean Fourie, the replacement hooker was not expecting to play the best part of 77 minutes in the Stade de France, yet was called upon for an early shift following the immediate injury to Bongi Mbonambi.

All Blacks' back row Shannon Frizzell landed on Mbonambi in a ruck, with all of his weight falling onto the out-stretched leg of the hooker. Fourie has been converted from back-row to hooker for the Rugby World Cup, having last consistently worn the number two jersey as far back as 2018. However, you would not have known this in his performance, as Fourie led the revered South African scrum with aplomb.

Packing down the front row on Fourie's left, is his Springbok's teammate Ox Nche. Continuing on his excellent run of form, after taking Kyle Sinckler to scrummaging school in the semi-final, Nche is getting putting rugby's tight-head props on notice. Coming off the bench for Steven Kitshoff in his trademarked 'bomb squad' role, Nche saw off the remaining threat of Tyrel Lomax, and imposed his physicality on new-coming replacement All Black Nepo Laulala.

England's Will Stuart takes the number three shirt for our Team of the Week, and he could well be taking the same jersey for England in the 2024 Six Nations. Stuart was awesome up-front against Argentina, with his dominance imposed early on Thomas Gallo for a scrum penalty. Stuart has been chasing Kyle Sinckler to be England's leading tight-head since Borthwick's appointment as Head Coach. If Dan Cole hangs up his international boots, we may well see the Bristol Bears and Bath men interlocked in a tight-head power-struggle.

The second row was one of Argentina's best shot at making the starting XV for our Team of the Week, as Pedro Rubiolo was one of few positives for the defeated Pumas. Along with strong run-outs from captain Julian Montoya and fly-half Santiago Carreras, Rubiolo stepped up in the absence of Tomas Lavanini.

However, we have given the two starting spots in our Team of the Week, to two of the finalists in Paris. New Zealand's Brodie Retallick and South Africa's Eben Etzebeth put on masterful showings in the row, with Etzebeth imposing his physicality, whilst Retallick was technically flawless.

Beginning with Etzebeth, the Durban Sharks man set the tone of the final with a monstrous hit on Richie Mo'unga. He flexed his mucles in the early goings by dominating the collisions, and sent the 6ft 5" frame of Jordie Barrett to the deck, as if he were a man half the size. Retallick presented excellent awareness to get the upper hand in the breakdowns, and marked his final All Blacks appearance with an inquisitive outing at the line-out.

Retallick was New Zealand's best arial option against the enormous Etzebeth, with both men winning and stealing the ball in the air. The two locks were well-matched for one another, and both left the pitch to great ovations, as the match entered it's closing moments.

The back-row for our final Team of the Week for the Rugby World Cup is certainly one for the workhorses. The England duo of Sam Underhill and Ben Earl are joined by South Africa's Pieter-Steph du Toit, with all three men running out unbelievable efforts in their respective bronze medal match, and Rugby World Cup Final.

Starting with Underhill, the Bath man had a drastic turn-around from leaving the Rec, and joining up with his teammates in France. Underhill was a late addition to the Englanf squad, and was called in after Jack Willis left camp with a neck injury. Underhill had a storming match against Argentina, as he made 24 tackles without missing a single attempt.

Underhill also bossed the breakdown area, and constantly cleared out any Pumas from getting their claws on the ball. The flanker made two turnovers as well, and certainly put his hand up for future England selections in the Six Nations. Ben Earl had a similarly strong run out, with an increased focus on attack for England's number eight.

Earl made 10 carries for 71 metres against Argentina, which saw him top England's charts in both categories for the match. The Saracen also ended the match with 14 tackles, which was the second best effort from an England player, behind the relentless Underhill. However, not even Underhill could match Pieter-Steph du Toit's defensive work rate, as he racked up a staggering 28 tackles against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup Final.

The 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year would not let up in his pursuit of the Web Ellis Trophy. Du Toit left his mark on each and every All Black, in a defensive effort to be admired. Constantly hitting the breakdowns and presenting a powerful option of his own when carrying, du Toit out-shone his captain Kolisi on the blindside flank, with a generational performance in gold and green.

22. Santiago Carreras (Argentina)