Six Nations Team of the Week - Round Four

Following another thrilling weekend in the Six Nations, we pick our team of the weekend. 

1. Cyril Baille - France 

The first place in our team of the week goes to the French loosehead prop who once again put in a mammoth performance against England. 

The 27-year-old spent 68 minutes on the Twickenham pitch and while he was solid in the set pieces, he shone on defence particularly in the rucks. 

2. Julian Marchand - France

Ken Owens can feel incredibly hard done by missing out on a place in our team of the week but it was difficult to ignore the performance of Julian Marchand. 

The Frenchman was accurate in the set pieces while his work on and off the ball sees him edge the Sheriff for a place in the side. 

At 25, there is still plenty to come from Marchand with his performance against England easily comparable to ones Malcolm Marx has produced. 

3. Tadhg Furlong - Ireland

Another fine performance under the belt for Tadhg Furlong as he continues to impress since returning from injury. The Irishman was excellent in all facets of the game and even showed off his footwork to beat two defenders in the first half. 

He carried with vigour, tackled well and linked up nicely with a couple of passes. A mention for France's Mohamed Haouas who put Mako Vunipola under pressure at scrum time on Saturday.

4. Maro Itoje -England

The man who scored the match-winner on Saturday, Maro Itoje produced a far better performance for England than he did against Wales.

His penalty count was far lower for Eddie Jones' side while he put the French lineout under pressure, carried superbly and was a consistent threat over the ball. 

There were numerous standout performances in the second row this week with Romain Taofifenua filling in excellently for Bernard Le Roux and Cory Hill shining alongside Alun Wyn Jones. 

Iain Henderson is the unluckiest of the candidates to miss out as he shone in the victory over Scotland topping the tackle count, forcing turnovers and pressurising the Scottish lineout. 

5. James Ryan - Ireland

James Ryan was the leading threat to the Scottish lineout picking off two George Turner darts in the opening 20 minutes of the game. He didn't stop there as Scotland managed to secure possession just two out of eight from the set piece.

Once again, Ryan strong with ball in hand and defended to his usual high standard. Unfortunately for Ryan, he was unable to finish the game heading off in the 70th minute.

Paul Willemse was stellar on defence for France with his opposite Charlie Ewels impressing for England. 

6. Josh Navidi - Wales

Once again there were a number of candidates for the number 6 jersey with Tadgh Beirne claiming the man of the match award for the clash at Murrayfield. Seb Negri was one of Italy's best against Wales but it is his opposite number that gets the nod in our team of the week. 

Navidi starred in defence and on attack making over 20 tackles once again for Wayne Pivac's side while also seems to have become a key distributor for Wales making six passes.

7. Tom Curry - England

Hardly a blade of grass Tom Curry did not touch at Twickenham on Saturday. Curry was key to England's kicking success as he charged around the pitch hitting players backwards. On attack he made over 40 running metres. His opposite Charles Ollivon was also superb as too was Hamish Watson.

8. Billy Vunipola - England

An industrial performance from the powerful England no.8. Vunipola's performances have come under some scrutiny in recent times but the 28-year-old did not disappoint. He returned France's kicks with massive carries and was a real threat on attack overall. 

9. Antoine Dupont - France

Gareth Davies and Jamison Gibson-Park both provided their respective teams with shift service and some good box kicks but it's hard to look past yet another strong performance from Antoine Dupont. Even when the Frenchman did make an error for France, he quickly made up for it turning a negative into a swift positive.

He scored the opening try with his great support running while he also defended well. 

10. Dan Biggar - Wales

A statement game from Dan Biggar, albeit against Italy, the Welsh pivot will have gone some way to silencing some of his critics calling for him to be dropped. Biggar was on the pitch for just 52 minutes on Saturday but by the time he departed, his side were up 7-34 partly down to his superb game management attacking abilities. Biggar did enough to beat the strong performances from George Ford, Mathieu Jalibert and Johnny Sexton who could have all taken the 10 jersey.

11. Louis Rees-Zammit - Wales

Louis Rees-Zammit added a try and an assist to his 2021 tally against Italy. The 20-year-old didn't just impress on attack as he defended well as Italy held onto the ball well on multiple occasions. The speedster covered the backfield superbly and made over 140 running metres. 

12. Owen Farrell - England

Robbie Henshaw and Gael Fickou could have easily slotted into the number 12 jumper this week but the hotly contested role goes to the England captain. Again, Farrell is another player who has come under tremendous scrutiny recently but Farrell kept his head to captain his side to victory while he impressed defensively as well as with his boot. 

13. George North - Wales

Another solid performance in the midfield from North as he continues to grow in the position. North spent just 46 minutes on the pitch before Wayne Pivac opted to rest his centre up for the clash with France next week. The 28-year-old ran some smart lines on attack, one of which leading to his try, while he also made some superb reads on defence.

14. Anthony Watson - England

A man of the match performance in his 50th test match for England, Anthony Watson was excellent against France on Saturday as he ran in a try to celebrate the occasion.

Watson regularly got the better of Teddy Thomas in the air and sped away for over 50 running metres. He also managed to beat four defenders and was solid enough defensively. 

15. Liam Williams - Wales

Not the best weekend for fullbacks with Liam Williams our pick from the pack. Hugo Keenan had some bright moments for Ireland, as too did Max Malins but both players had a few forgettable moments too. 

Brice Dulin was put under pressure against England and didn't have his finest outing in the Les Bleus jumper, especially considering his recent form. Stuart Hogg filled in nicely at flyhalf following the injury to Finn Russell but the Scottish captain wasn't quite as effective as he has been recent.