Premiership Team of the Week - Round Two

Premiership Team of the Week - Round Two

The second round of the Gallagher Premiership is done and dusted with Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers, Saracens and Sale Sharks all picking up wins this weekend.

Meanwhile, Gloucester and Bath played out to a 31 all draw.

Here is our Team of the Week following this weekend's action:

1. Mako Vunipola - Saracens

Vunipola showed exactly why he is Eddie Jones' first choice loosehead prop this weekend. 


He was powerful in the scrum especially against John Afoa - who is still one of the finest scrummaging tightheads in the game.

He also made 16 carries and 6 tackles in just 63 minutes. 


Vunipola's scrum dominance means he beats Ross Harrison to a place in the side with the Sharks prop making 29 tackles. 

2. Tom Dunn - Bath Rugby

Jamie George and Tommy Taylor both putting in solid performances this weekend but they were both upstaged by Tom Dunn.

Bath lost two lineouts in their West Country derby but the 25-year-old hooker certainly made up for that around the park.

He scored two tries for the home side as they clawed their way back into the match from 21 points down.

He made 14 carries and 18 tackles in massive 80-minute performance.

3. WillGriff John - Sale Sharks

The Sale Sharks tighthead just edges Kieran Brookes to place in the side this week. 

Brookes gave Alec Hepburn a hard time at the Ricoh Arena but it's John's work rate that earns him a spot in the Team of the Week.

17 tackles is an impressive tally for any front rower but John did not stop there making 7 carries and winning two turnover.

He also failed to miss a single tackle while maintaining a 100% scrum success.

4. Dave Attwood - Bath Rugby

A tireless performance by both Dave Attwood and his opposite number Ed Slater making it a tough choice between the two.

Both players weighed-in with over 15 tackles but Attwood was busier on attack making double the amount of carries.

5. Nick Isiekwe - Saracens

A number of contenders are beaten to place in the side by Nick Isiekwe, the likes of Courtney Lawes, Will Spencer and Will Witty all performed well for their side.

Isiekwe's defensive effort gives him the edge with the 20-year-old making 18 tackles and won a turnover. He also came up with a try assist.

6. Ruan Ackermann - Gloucester Rugby

A fantastic performance by the South African who certainly made his mark on the West Country derby. 

Ackermann scored two tries from 6 carries and made 14 tackles without a single miss.

Meanwhile, Don Armand put in another stellar performance that will further his claim for a test recall.

Jono Ross is extremely unlucky not to make the side after making 31 tackles against Worcester missing just 1!

7. Matt Kvesic - Exeter Chiefs

Eddie Jones is still searching for his World Cup no.7 and this weekend would have provided more questions than answers.  

Judging on this weekend's performances Jones' has a real selection headache on his hands with no less than 6 England-qualified opensides putting in fine performances.

Exeter Chief Matt Kvesic cracks the nod for the second week running with Brendon O'Connor, Sam Underhill and Ben Curry amongst his closest competitors.

8. Josh Beaumont - Sale Sharks

Beaumont was part of an extremely hard working pack that picked up their first win of the season.

The no.8 made 19 tackles and 5 carries. He also got the first try of the game when he ran a great support line off Marland Yarde.

His opposite number Gerrit-Jan van Velze and Sam Simmonds also had strong games while Billy Vunipola made a great impact off the bench.

9. Stuart Townsend - Exeter Chiefs 

Townsend had an all round strong performance in Exeter Chiefs win over Wasps.

He made more running metres than any other scrumhalf this weekend beating 5 defenders and made 1 clean break.

Townsend controlled the game well and put Exeter on the front foot throughout.

Dan Robson was also good in the same match while Cobus Reinach linked up well with George Ford.

10. George Ford - Leicester Tigers

Danny Cipriani is beaten to a place in the side by a fellow International for the second week running despite putting in another fine performance for Gloucester.

Ford was sensational for Leicester Tigers combining well with the likes of Kyle Eastmond and Manu Tuilagi.

Ford was brilliant on attack, defence and off the tee. He racked up 29 points and made 81 running metres while making all 7 of his attempted tackles.

11. Santiago Cordero - Exeter Chiefs

While Los Pumas were battling the All Blacks, Cordero was preparing for Exeter's clash against Wasps.

The Argentine pocket rocket beat 11 defenders, made 5 clean breaks and showed a clean pair of heels to beat Elliot Daly on his way to the try.

Jonny May was also brilliant for Leicester Tigers while Matt Banahan will be happy about his performance against his former side.

12. Piers Francis - Northampton Saints

The axis of Dan Biggar and Piers Francis was firing for Saints this past weekend with the latter getting his fellow backs into good areas out wide.

Francis also did extremely well to keep Ben Tapuai relatively quiet after he shinned in the opening round of action. 

Billy Twelvetrees and Jamie Roberts also stood out in the West Country Derby with the former converting a clutch conversion to level the game.

13. Manu Tuilagi - Leicester Tigers 

A massive 80-minute performance that will surely put a smile on Eddie Jones' face. The bulking centre made 72 running metres and dotted down for a superb try.

Jones' smile will have widen ever further with Henry Slade's performance against Wasps while his opposite number Juan de Jongh put in a huge defensive shift.


14. Vereniki Goneva - Newcastle Falcons

Last season's player of the year was exceptional against Leicester Tigers.

Despite his best efforts, he was unable to inspire his side to victory finishing off two fantastic tries.

He made 66 running metres beating 7 defenders, he made 3 clean breaks and completed 5 offloads. 

Fellow Fijian Semesa Rokoduguni was also superb for Bath.

15. Jason Woodward - Gloucester Rugby

Woodward completes our team of the week and did well to beat off the likes of Alex Goode and Piers O'Conor to the side.

He made a round high of 134 running metres, beat 5 defenders and made two clean breaks.

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