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November Tests: XV of the Week

12th November 2012 12:03

Dan Carter New Zealand

Superb: Dan Carter

Now that the dust has settled in the northern hemisphere, Planet Rugby looks at the guys who stole the show in week one of the November Tests.

Victories were picked up by Samoa, USA, Italy, England, Argentina, South Africa, France and finally New Zealand in an entertaining round.

So without further ado, here comes our offering - be sure to send in your own 15-1 team line-ups.

15 Alex Goode (England) - It was a lesson in how to take your chance when it comes along. Goode was lively in attack and assured in defence as he vindicated coach Stuart Lancaster's decision to pick him ahead of Mike Brown. If he keeps this up then a Ben Foden selection headache may arrive.

14 Gonzalo Camacho (Argentina) - Looked dangerous whenever in possession, and was equally up to the task on defence. The Pumas speedster bagged Argentina's second sensational try that helped the visitors secure their second win over Wales in Cardiff, 11 years to the day after their first. A mention too for England finisher Charlie Sharples, who grasped his opportunity to shine in Chris Ashton's absence with his first two tries for England.

13 Ben Smith (New Zealand) - We were impressed by the nimble feet of Keith Earls in attack while Manu Tuilagi definitely deserves a mention for his couple of tries against Fiji. But Smith is a line-hitting machine and would make many other teams in world rugby.

12 Tamati Ellison (New Zealand) - After much deliberation we settled on the Highlanders back, who combined well with his franchise team-mate on Sunday. When Ellison left New Zealand for Japan a few seasons ago, many felt it was the wrong move due to the centre's international quality, but he is back in black now and looks set to push Ma'a Nonu.

11 Robert Lilomaiava (Samoa) - Yes, no Tim Visser. Sorry Scotland fans but four tries on debut simply could not be ignored. Lilomaiava certainly announced himself on the Test stage on Friday but of course it was a difficult decision to leave the poacher that is Visser.

10 Dan Carter (New Zealand) - Maybe that missed drop-goal against Australia struck a nerve as Carter responded with a superb showing. He kicked well, directed his new centres and broke the line a few times for a top shift. Frederic Michalak was excellent in Paris.

9 Ruan Pienaar (South Africa) - Responsible for the only try in Dublin that turned the game in South Africa's favour. The Ulster nine has been hitting all the high notes for his province, and carried his exceptional form over to the international arena. Test experience is not a commodity the Springboks have in abundance, but Pienaar showed plenty of it on Saturday.

8 Louis Picamoles (France) - Akapusi Qera started the game well for Fiji but drifted as England took control. But there was only going to be one wearer of our eight jersey as Picamoles was a monster, carrying superbly throughout as his stock continues to rise.

7 David Denton (Scotland) - On for Ross Rennie with 19 minutes played, Denton was a real threat. He should get a second go next week as Rennie suffered a dislocated shoulder but it remains to be seen whether Andy Robinson opts to instead bring in a specialist openside.

6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina) - Lobbe was once again the driving force of Argentina's back row with a series of strong carries. Always in the thick of the action, the Pumas skipper put in a man-of-the-match performance - which included setting up Juan Imhoff's try - to lead his troops to a famous win. Mention too for England loosie Tom Johnson, who deserved his first England try in the second half against Fiji at Twickenham.

5 Mike McCarthy (Ireland) - Strong in the tackle, excellent in the line-outs and made some timely defensive interventions too - McCarthy's bullish display that saw him front up to South Africa's pack was enough to earn him a man of the match award after 70 minutes played.

4 Luke Romano (New Zealand) - The 26-year-old seems to be maturing into an outstanding Test lock after a complete performance against Scotland. As per usual, Romano hit rucks aplenty and carried well but it was his link play and confidence in possession that stood out.

3 Nicolas Mas (France) - We came seriously close to picking the whole French front-row after that demolition of their Wallaby counterparts. However, only Mas makes the Planet Rugby cut because of other performances at hooker and loosehead. First class from him.

2 Adriaan Strauss (South Africa) An effective battering ram in the Bok pack, Strauss brought his hard-running power to proceedings as he consistently charged through or into Irish defenders - inflicting pain to anyone he came into contact with. McCarthy may have got the official man of the match gong, but Strauss was our clear winner in the hooking jersey.

1 Wyatt Crockett (New Zealand) - Extremely difficult to leave out French debutant Yannick Forestier and also Thomas Domingo for that matter for their combined hammering of Sekope Kepu. But much like Romano, Crockett showed the skills and composure of a back on Sunday and sneaks this starting jersey. Sona Taumalolo also shone for the Tongans.

By Dave Morris and Adam Kyriacou

Comments

gauca says...

@tha mai

Sincero annoys most of us, best to ignore when you see the name!

Most wouldn't have taken the time to remedy their error, you therefore are a true gentleman in my book. :-)

Posted 18:32 15th November 2012

tha_mai says...

Tha Mai would like to say i was wrong; apologies re the French bit. I am normally far better mannered than that.

Admit sincero got 'under my skin' with one too many of his racist posts.

from my post near the Thai-Cambodian border, where the main sport is football - Liverpool and Man Utd rule, apparently!.

Posted 10:06 15th November 2012

gauca says...

@tha mai

'Keep your racism in France, you can even vote for it there', yes we can, its the uglier side of being a democracy i'm sad to say. Sincero btw is IRISH by my understanding. Apologies welcome...

Posted 21:13 13th November 2012

new_j4a says...

@tha_mai. Life is tough enough for the French without blaming the incoherent, racist scum sincero on them....the nation that is embarassed to claim him is the Republic of Ireland. ....but I like to think of him as that little pile of shite that georgesmith is circling.

Posted 19:20 13th November 2012

jcahill1 says...

@ Melkdave

I'm sorry but Gray always stands out purely because of his size and hair. He carried well but McCarthy had an all rounder and put Etzebeth on his arse.

Posted 16:53 13th November 2012

yuri29 says...

"@bloemboy - Did Michelak kick 9/10 for 21 points, make 4 clean breaks,10 tackles & set up 3 tries through individual brilliance?

He must of done something pretty special to be better than Carter by a country mile.... Did he flash you some skin or something?"

He kicked 6/6, made 10 tackles, set up a try with a fantastic clean break and all of these, against the same team Carter could only produced 6 kicks 2 weeks ago with his team only managing to draw with them.

Carter played brillantly but come on, it was only Scotland!

.

Posted 13:43 13th November 2012

tha_mai says...

Sincero - you want total ignorance?

read your own post, Papua New Guinea have a rugby union, ranked 52nd, ahead of many what a bigot like you would call developed/white countries. Was that a dig at Will Genia? They play in Oceania tournaments, hosted Keep your racism in France, you can even vote for it there.

Posted 12:53 13th November 2012

JayStarr says...

@ kennyisgay: That's such a co-insidence! My nana is playing fullback for the Springboks...

Posted 12:38 13th November 2012

JayStarr says...

*too*

Posted 12:35 13th November 2012

JayStarr says...

@ ferdie: Thanks... Didn't know it was that short! He did more in 26 minutes than most full-backs do in 80. But ok, fair enough then! Good on Goode :P

@ Terry_English: Very interesting stats! It's funny, because watching the game I noticed Denton much more than McCaw... Maybe I'm just to used to seeing McCaw playing, so anything he does doesn't strike me as out of the ordinary anymore. I guess that just shows what a good player he is - even when he's having a quiet game by his standards he's still better than the rest !

Posted 12:35 13th November 2012

7ton says...

Stellenbosch2 and APV!

Yes good idea and I would agree with thompson as the player and I would suggest Sincero as the poster

Posted 12:28 13th November 2012

APV1 says...

@ Stellenbosched2 - excellent idea. And I'm not sure whether the latter spelling of "weak" was deliberate or a typo, but it works!

Player - Thompson, perhaps...

Poster - GeorgeSmith is the front runner for now.

Posted 11:15 13th November 2012

Sincero says...

There are Stone-Age tribes of natives in Papua New Guinea who have never seen a rugby ball, yet still understand more about the game than melkdave, the taff-sasanach (or 'taxon')... rugby is supposedly (though it's not) the national sport of Wales (which isn't a nation). Yet he manages total ignorance on the topic- but amazingly that doesn't stop him having an opinion on every single article on this site: hilarity.

Posted 11:09 13th November 2012

melkdave says...

@Jchill1

I didnt say McCarthy wasnt,but that was a very poor game in every sense.No pace ,intensity nowt .Where Grey excelled against the ABs in a good game at pace with intensity ect Anyone can look good in such a poor game by just being ok ,you stand out.To do it in a good game i think youll agree is just a tad harder,as you dont stand out by being just ok.

Posted 09:10 13th November 2012

hayj05 says...

@bloemboy - Did Michelak kick 9/10 for 21 points, make 4 clean breaks,10 tackles & set up 3 tries through individual brilliance?

He must of done something pretty special to be better than Carter by a country mile.... Did he flash you some skin or something?

Didn't watch all the tests but I would add Grey.

And agree about Visser. I'm a fan too & it was great to see him go over for a double. He was in position & doing his job but the tries were made by others & Savea did fend him off for one at the other end.

@Ferdie - Nice stats there man, very impressive from the big man.

Posted 08:32 13th November 2012

new_j4a says...

@georgesnith, every time I see an image of earth from space, I am awed by its beauty and the miraculous complexity of all the symbiotic relationships where everything has its place and its purpose....well nearly everything. The exceptions appear to be you and blue arsed flies who both buzz pointlessly in tight circles around piles of shit....can you not find anything positive in this great game of rugby or are you stuck in an endless loop till one day you nose dive into that pile?

Posted 07:29 13th November 2012

StunTheMullet says...

RugbyRocksInTheHead - "Visser was playing against the All Blacks for crying out loud! He blew Cory Jane away!!! "

Yes, nothing like being on end of a couple of passes off All Blacks mistakes...

Meanwhile it rained 5 All Blacks tries in the backline past the watertight vissel.

Posted 07:17 13th November 2012

curlymac says...

people saying Visser should be in the team are bonkers!

he created nothing and was he even playing defense? He didn't do anything but run fast for his tries!

Posted 05:10 13th November 2012

bloemboy says...

I thought Pienaar had a steady game but definitely not enough to put him in the team of the week. I did however think that Jannie du Plessis had an outstanding game and could have come close. Visser on the wing was good against the mighty AB's and should have got the nod. Michelak was also better than Carter by a country mile.

Posted 05:08 13th November 2012

Stellenbosched2 says...

Hi APV1

We could have two awards- "Idiot of the Week" for the players, and "Idiot of the Weak" for posters.

Posted 04:32 13th November 2012

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