Pro 14: Team of the Weekend

1. Jack McGrath - Leinster

The Irish international was immense on his return to Pro 14 rugby this weekend. He managed to make 21m in attack and 11 tackles in defence. He was part of a strong Leinster scrum and he showed great skills all night, offloading and passing effectively when required to do so.

2. Torsten van Jaarsveld - Cheetahs

For the 3^rd week in a row the hooker is included in our team of the week. He cannot stop scoring tries and he added another 2 to his tally this weekend to take him to 5 tries for the season. He made 45m in attack and scored his tries from smart forward play at the back of the maul and good support running for the 2^nd. Although he was sin binned for later in the game for using hands in the ruck, his two tries early on were vital to his side’s 3^rd win of the season, which takes them into 3^rd place in their conference.

3. John Ryan - Munster

The Munster tighthead prop was excellent in his side's comprehensive victory over Cardiff this weekend. He was very solid at scrum time, consistently piling the pressure on his opposite number and winning several crucial scrum penalties. He got through a tremendous amount of work at the breakdown and carried really well with ball in hand, as seen when he crashed over the whitewash early in the second half.

4. Robin Copeland - Munster

The Irishman’s change to second row from number 8 may be because CJ Stander has put his name firmly on that jersey, but the change of position may turn out to be a revelation for Munster. It proved to be very effective as the men in red were given an extra dynamic ball carrier in attack and a versatile back rower in defence. This enabled them to compete more at the breakdown with Cardiff and nullify the threat Nick Williams on the floor. The former Cardiff player was even able to dive over for his own five pointer 5 minutes from time to put the icing on the cake.

5. Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh

Though he was on the losing side again this weekend, the Scottish international put in a hell of a shift. He made an astounding 21 tackles as he tried to stem the tide of the relentless Leinster attack. He wasn’t afraid to run at a side that contained many Lions and internationals as he carried 10 times in the 80 minutes, beating 2 defenders.

6. Peter O'Mahony - Munster

The Munster captain put in a truly remarkable performance for his side this afternoon. As always, he was a dog at the breakdown, disrupting the speed of Cardiff's attacking play time and time again throughout the game. He was also solid as a rock defensively, recording an excellent tackle success rate of 100%.

7. Jordi Murphy - Leinster

It’s great to see the openside flanker returning to the form he was in prior to his serious injury against the All Blacks last year. He was keen to work all night and played a key role in Leinster’s win over Edinburgh, scoring a great try from a pick and go, on the back of a rolling maul. He also made 31m off of 9 carries, beat 2 defenders and made 14 tackles, missing none.

8. Renato Giammarioli - Zebre

The young number 8 was outstanding today and received the MOTM award for his efforts. He led his side to a monumental win over an Ulster side that was unbeaten up until their trip to Italy. He carried hard to the line all day making 121m off of his 7 carries. He sealed the victory when he picked off Lealifano’s pass and ran the field to score in the corner. If the youngster keeps playing like this Italy’s number 8 shirt should be in safe hands after Parisse’s retirement.

9. Marcello Violi - Zebre

An injury to Carlo Canna meant that the number 9 had to take over the place kicking duties for the 2^nd half of the game. He did not look out of place at all as he slotted two extremely difficult conversions which proved to be the difference between his Parma-based side and Ulster. Zebre played at pace and with flair throughout the game and this was facilitated by the scrum-half’s speed of delivery from the base of the ruck. He kicked intelligently out of hand as well, turning the Ulster back-three on their heels time and time again.

10. Ian Keatley - Munster

Keatley was instrumental in Munster's destruction of Cardiff this weekend. He consistently pinned the opposition back inside their own territory with accurate place kicking. From the tee he managed to convert 6 of his 7 attempts, a kick success rate of 86%. He was also very impressive with ball in hand, making 56 metres and playing a key role in several of his side's tries.

11. Steff Evans - Scarlets

Man of the match, Steff Evans put in a fantastic performance against Connacht this weekend. He managed to bag himself a try as well as setting up two for his teammates. The versatile winger caused the opposition an array of problems with ball in hand, making 122 metres and beating 9 defenders. The young Welshman is making a real statement in the league at present and will surely be in with a shout for selection ahead of the November Internationals. 

12. Rory Scannell - Munster

The young Irish centre put in a very impressive performance in the PRO14 this weekend. He showed great intelligence with ball in hand as he consistently played beautiful passes to set teammates away in space. He also kicked well out of hand when required and got through a huge amount of work at the breakdown. He also played the key role in one of Hanrahan's tries when he broke through the Cardiff defence and threw a beautiful offload.

13. Jonathan Davies - Scarlets

The Player of the Lions Tour hasn’t wasted any time in getting himself back into the world class form he was in over the summer. He ignited many attacks for the Scarlets with his fantastic offloading game. His pass to Halfpenny just before HT was a particular highlight. His stats on the night were unbelievable. He made 9 tackles, 40m, 1 clean break and beat 4 defenders. The Scarlets will be challenging for a league title again if they keep playing their exhilarating brand of rugby, which teams are finding extremely difficult to deal with.

14. Makazole Mapimpi - Cheetahs

The Cheetahs wing continues his great form this season with another two tries this weekend. The Free State side are showing that they are a threat through the middle as well as out wide and the former Southern King is happy to finish off the five pointers for his new side in the corner. Again he showed is immense pace to race away for one of his scores. He also showed that he is adept under the high ball, as he leapt high to claim it from the air to score his 2^nd. His defence was also outstanding as he didn’t miss a tackle all night.

15. Joey Carbery - Leinster

The young Leinster fullback brought a spark to an otherwise dull Leinster performance this weekend. He was a real danger in attack weaving and stepping his way through a struggling Edinburgh defence. His attacking efforts were rewarded when he crossed the whitewash on the stroke of halftime after some breath-taking footwork. He also managed to record an impressive tackle success rate of 100% including some excellent cover tackles.