Autumn Nations Series Team of the Week

Another top weekend of test rugby has come and gone with South Africa, Argentina, Ireland, England, France, and Wales claimed victories.

Here is our team of the week.

 1. Ox Nche - South Africa

Stiff competition for the #1 jersey in our team of the week with Nche's own teammate Steven Kitshoff having a superb game after replacing him just before halftime. 

The Springboks' front-row dominance played a major role in the victory over Scotland and Nche gets the nod after a stellar scrummaging performance against Zander Fagerson. He won three penalties from the set-piece and was effective around the park too.

Ireland's Andrew Porter is incredibly unluckily to crack the squad after an all-action 76-minute outing against the All Blacks. Nche's dominance was just too hard to ignore.

2. Ronan Kelleher - Ireland

Another hotly contested position with the likes of Julian Montoya, Malcolm Marx, and Bongi Mbonambi all putting in excellent shifts in their victories.

Fiji's Sam Matavesi was also outstanding against Wales making over 20 tackles and four turnovers but Kelleher cracks the nod.

Kelleher was brutally effective with his carries as he charged into New Zealand defence and managed to force his way over the line in the famous victory. He worked tirelessly throughout his performance and was one of Ireland's best despite being on the pitch for less than an hour.

3. Tadhg Furlong - Ireland

The Irish tighthead was on top form yet again against the All Blacks.

He featured prominently for over an hour as Ireland had the upper hand at scrum while carrying abrasively into contact.

South Africa's Trevor Nyakane also had an outstanding game for the Springboks while Gomez-Kodela was solid for Argentina.

4. Eben Etzebeth - South Africa

The veteran South African second-rower continued his fine form in the Green and Gold in 2021 against Scotland.

He was brutally effective with ball in hand and contested well at the lineout time. 

He chased the Springbok box kicks wonderfully putting Scotland under pressure and was rightly named man of the match.

Maro Itoje had a fine outing in what was his 50th appearance for England while Cameron shone in the second row against Georgia.

5. Marcus Kremer - Argentina

There was no shortage of top performances from the second row this weekend.

Franco Mostert put in a handy shift in his 50th appearance for the Springboks with James Ryan putting in a solid 80 minutes against the All Blacks.

Sam Whitelock was excellent in defeat for the All Blacks while Jonny Hill is incredibly unlucky to miss out.

Kremer cracks the nod after a standout shift against Italy. He rounded off a well-worked try set up by Emiliano Boffelli and was the top tackler for his side.

6. Caelan Doris - Ireland

Caelan Doris' incredible performance against the All Blacks was just too hard to ignore for a place in our team of the week at blindside.

The Irishman was rewarded for his performance with the man of the match award. 

He worked tirelessly throughout the 80 minutes scoring a wonderful try and regularly took the ball hard to the line. 

He edges the likes of Rob Leota, Kwagga Smith, Courtney Lawes, and Anthony Jelonch to a place in the side.

7. Siya Kolisi - South Africa

 

The Springbok captain produced another standout performance this weekend as he continues his impressive form in 2021.

Kolisi produced the final pass for Mapimpi's first try and was brilliant with his carries. He was sound defensively landing a few hefty hits.

Ireland's Josh van der Flier and New Zealand's Dalton Papali'i were excellent at the Aviva while Sam Underhill had a strong outing against Australia.

  

8. Bill Mata - Fiji

The Fijian no.8 was outstanding against Wales on Sunday. He brilliantly set up Fiji's first try from a tap and go with the athletic loose forward offloading the ball to captain Waisea Nayacalevu.

He made a massive 18 tackles as a 14 man, and sometimes 13 man, Fiji attempted to stay in the contest. He was extremely effective with the ball in hand gaining over 30 running metres. 

OUTSTANDING TRY FROM FIJI 🔥🔥#AutumnNationsSeries #WALvFIJ
pic.twitter.com/irsdOPG7vO

— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) November 14, 2021

Jack Conan was superb against the All Blacks too while Gregory Alldritt shone for France against Georgia. Beka Gorgadze also had a solid shift against France. 

9. Jamison Gibson-Park - Ireland 

The Ireland halfback had a stellar game against the country of his birth.

He kept the Irish attack ticking over with his swift and accurate service from the base. He kicked superbly too.

Antoine Dupont had a stock standard game strong performance against Georgia with Nic White impressing for the Wallabies.

10. Jonathan Sexton - Ireland

The Irish captain ran the attack wonderfully against the All Blacks and kept the victors in the right areas of the pitch.

His trademark loop still caused issues for the All Black defence while he was solid defensively too. 

The experienced playmaker continues to perform at the highest level and did enough to edge the likes of Matthieu Jalibert and Marcus Smith to a place in the squad. 

11. James Lowe - Ireland

James Lowe was just one of the many standout left-wingers this weekend. 

Makazole Mapimpi grabbed a brace in South Africa's victory over Scotland while Louis Rees-Zammit was excellent for Wales against Fiji.

However, James Lowe cracks the team after a simply outstanding game against New Zealand.

He finished off his try brilliantly and came close to scoring another soon after. He kicked well out of hand while his defence was sound. 

12. Damian de Allende

France's Romain Ntamack made a late claim for the #12 jersey but Damian de Allende's shift was just too good to ignore.

The South African played a role in both of Mapimpi's tries as he put Siya Kolisi into space who sent the speedster charging into space. He assisted Mapimpi's second with a wonderful offload in contact.

He regularly made metres with just about every carry and hardly gave Scotland an inch on defence.

Owen Farrell linked up nicely with Marcus Smith on attack while Bundee Aki was abrasive and effective.

13. Waisea Nayacalevu - Fiji

Garry Ringrose's performance against New Zealand had him pencilled in our team of the week.

However, a two-try outing from Fiji captain Waisea Nayacalevu sees him take a place in the side.

Nayacalevu played most of the game without a winger and managed to stifle a number of Wales' attack despite covering two positions.

Argentina's Matias Moroni also had a standout game against Italy.

14. Damian Penaud - France

Man of the match against Georgia, Damian Penaud was a joy to watch on Sunday.

He made great metres through the Georgian defence running great lines off the likes of Fickou and co. 

He was excellent under the high ball too and managed to stop a number of Georgia's attacks.

Andrew Conway and Will Jordan were both excellent in the game at the Aviva while Jesse Kriel was sound defensively against Scotland. 

15. Freddie Steward - England

England's 20-year-old fullback claims the final place in our team of the week after an assured performance against Australia.

Steward was fantastic under the high ball and ran a stellar line to slice through the Australian defence before speeding past Kurtley Beale to score.

Liam Williams scored a late try in Wales win over Fiji while Stuart Hogg scored two against the Springboks.

However, we just couldn't look past the England fullback.