Team of the HEC Weekend according to Planet Rugby

Team of Round Three:

15 Delon Armitage (London Irish) - It didn't long for the England full-back to find his feet on his return to the Exiles back three, attacking from all over the park and sowing panic in the Racing-Métro ranks. He also chipped in the with penalty. It was a tough choice as Mike Brown had another cracking game for Harlequins, scoring their only try, while Romain Teulet was influential for Castres.

14 Romain Martial (Castres) - In his first start of the season, 104kg Martial was simply outstanding, giving the decisive pass for Steve Malonga's opening score before touching down twice himself. Solid in defence, he was a worthy Man of the Match.

13 Ashley Beck (Ospreys) - Although he started with a 12 on his back, we felt obliged to find a place for the 21-year-old. (There weren't really any 13s that stood out either). Beck was the star of the show for Ospreys at Wembley, scoring two tries as the visitors claimed a crucial losing bonus point.

12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont) - The talk of the town in Clermont-Ferrand, and many other parts of Europe for that matter, Fofana makes our team for the second consecutive week. Immovable on defence and the author of two tries, the Man of the Match in Sunday's big game is being tipped as a international debutant during the Six Nations.

11 Timoci Matanavou (Toulouse) - Despite a glitch or two in defence, the Toulouse flyer showed off all the skills of a born finisher. He has now scored a third of all Toulouse's tries in all competitions this season! Yet another try-scoring Fijian wing...do they have a factory for these guys in the South Pacific? We'll soon find out just how important Adam Thompstone's late intercept try (his second of the match) will prove as it gave the London Irish an unexpected but crucial bonus-point on top of their victory in Paris.

10 Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) - Six penalties from the Man of the Match saw Leinster maintain their unbeaten run in Bath. Sexton controlled the game well and made sure his forwards' work in a bruising encounter was not for naught. Once again, Luke McAlister impressed for Toulouse.

9 Danny Care (Harlequins) - Probably the toughest choice of all this week. He might have been on a losing team but Care caught the eye with his decision making and initiative. His passing was accurate and he never stopped trying to find a crack in the Toulouse defence. Likewise, Ben Youngs stood out in difficult cicumstances for Leicester. His opposite number Morgan Parra also had a huge influence in les Jaunard's win.

8 Louis Picamoles (Toulouse) - One of the easiest picks this week, Picamoles was breathtaking, smashing everything in his path and often showing the skills to offload rather than just go to ground when he was eventually pulled down.

7 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse) - We've come to expect so much from France's captain that he sometimes doesn't get the kudos he deserves. Omnipresent at the Stoop, his tireless graft did not go unnoticed this time. He gave an wonderful off-load for Matanavou's first try.

6 Stephen Ferris (Ulster) The Man of the Match at Ravenhill, Ferris put in a yet another impressive, try-scoring performance in the white jersey, showing off his power for the first score of the night. A mention too for Clermont's hyperactive flank Gerhard Vosloo, who produced his best performance since arriving in the Auvergne a few months ago.

5 Jim Hamilton (Gloucester) - In difficult conditions in Galway, Gloucester were made to fight tooth and nail to get the better of Connacht. Second row Hamilton was consistently in the front lines of the battle. A deserved Man of the Match award for the Scotland international.


4 Paul O'Connell (Munster) - He may be 32, but, like Ronan O'Gara, POC is still a key part of the Munster side. Another Man of the Match performance made our choice easy.


3 Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester) - Not much went right for Tigers on Sunday, but at least the visitors' scrum was dominant thanks in no small part to Castro doing, well, what Castro does best. You can't put a price on his experience at Europe's highest level. A mention too for Munster's BJ Botha.


2 Schalk Brits (Saracens) - Wow, hookers aren't supposed to have great hands but that reverse pass to set up Chris Wyles's try was out of the top draw. He didn't look too chuffed when he was brought off after 55 minutes, but it's perhaps a measure of his importance to the Sarries cause that he was conserved for the return leg in Wales. Dylan Hartley provided a silver lining to a dark day for Saints.


1 Michele Rizzo (Treviso) - Treviso's front row had a great day against Biarritz - especially at scrum time - and Rizzo got on the scorecard for the second time in as many appearances. Try-scoring Saracens loosehead Rhys Gill also had a strong game.

I didn't see the Gloucester, but Id be tempted to put B.Davies in at lock after his excellent performance.

Warburton again a candidate for the 7 shirt, but I didn't see Dusautoir either.

Wasn't impressed with Brits at hooker, but I dont think anyone stood out really?

ROG was clearly the best outside half and the only one who came close was Brock James.

Stephen Ferris is in there so thats good enough for me

Thats 4 MOTM performances in 5 appearances this season so far, two from three in the HEC?

Good to read reports that B Davies is finding some form again, he has been poor of late, being left on the bench in favour of AWJ and Charteris.

Also Evans had very good game for us in his last outing so maybe Brad has had the kick up the jacksi he might have needed.

roddersm wrote:Stephen Ferris is in there so thats good enough for me

Thats 4 MOTM performances in 5 appearances this season so far, two from three in the HEC?

Just 14 other men to go

In fairness, Rodders, I think that sometimes 1F gets MotM because the commentators know who he is. For one game (can't remember which - Clermont?) the general consensus here, anyway, was that Henry deserved it.

He has had a great season so far, however.

Well Don I was at the Clermont game and Ferris was immense and a worthy motm, as good as Henry was. That performance against Scarlets was as good a performance by a flanker in living memory - apparantly he carried for 128 metres !

A quietish 2nd half performance against the Tigers apart he has been out of this world since his return. The best player in the world on one leg for sure!

A few wee hilights of his performance against Clermont : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyhH-ip3Bho

Stuart Hogg should have been at 15

Who does he play for Edinburgh or Glasgow?

Glas a du wrote:Who does he play for Edinburgh or Glasgow?

Glasgow, had a great game and got MOTM

Ha ha! I had forgotten about his continued scrumhalf-handling career.

Tell you what, there'll be some show-reel at the end of his career...

No place for Ross Ford?

Where isn't, The Wild West?

TJ
Brits may have only played less than an hour, but he was a different class to everyone else on the pitch. Made it impossible for them to select a different hooker.

Am surprised to see Delon Armitage in there. he wasn't even London Irish's best player on the day, albeit he had a decent enough game.

I haven't yet seen all the games, have some recorded to watch over the next couple of nights, but even from the ones I have seen I am a little surprised at a couple of the selections.

Score a try, do something flash and you get in. Not many grafters in there are there?

wales606 wrote:I didn't see the Gloucester, but Id be tempted to put B.Davies in at lock after his excellent performance.

Warburton again a candidate for the 7 shirt, but I didn't see Dusautoir either.

Wasn't impressed with Brits at hooker, but I dont think anyone stood out really?

You must have watched a different game to me. I thought Brits was quality. He was part of a dominant Saracens lineout, don't think he missed his jumpers once. In the frontrow Saracens seemed to have the upperhand when not expected to. Brits seemed to make good ground every single time he got the ball. Only played for 55 minutes but he made an excellent impact in that time. He did exactly what a quality hooker should do - he did the flashy stuff but also did his set piece duties well too.

Espn team of the week:

15. Romain Teulet - The Castres fullback guided his side home against the Saints putting in a sterling performance in the playmaker role. He kicked eight out of nine - putting 21 points on the board - and was consistent under the high ball.

14. Timoci Matanavou - The cousin of Sireli Bobo was in imperious form for Toulouse running in two tries as they dispatched unbeaten Harlequins - seamlessly transferring his try-scoring form from the Top 14 to the Heineken Cup.

13. Ashley Beck - Beck was superb throughout the Ospreys' clash with Saracens but failed to lead them to victory. With two tries to his name, Beck outshone opposite number Owen Farrell and furthered his claims for higher honours.

12. Wesley Fofana - The Clermont Auvergne centre scored twice against the Tigers and lived up to his billing as a future international star for France.

11. Adam Thompstone - The Exiles' monster winger put Racing Metro to the sword with two tries as the Premiership side turned around a 14-10 deficit at half-time to win 34-14.

10. Jonathan Sexton - Sexton nailed 18 points to help Leinster to a 18-13 win over Bath to ensure international and provincial rival Ronan O'Gara doesn't hog all the headlines.

9. Morgan Parra - The Clermont No.9 was involved in an ugly-looking spat with Leicester hooker George Chuter but that couldn't detract entirely from an eye-catching and influential performance.

8. Louis Picamoles - The French No.8 took the man-of-the-match award at The Stoop having been a constant thorn in the side of the Quins' defence. He broke the gain line with ease and his deft offloads created numerous try-scoring opportunities.

7. Sean O'Brien - O'Brien has the Ireland openside berth sewn up and it was clear to see why as he caused Bath no end of touble at the breakdown. We'll forgive him his decision to ignore a three-man overlap and butcher a golden try-scoring opportunity.

6. Francois Louw Despite his late sin-binning, Louw led troubled Bath with aplomb. He put his body on the line while not neglecting his defensive duties and showed why he is so highly rated.

5. Paul O'Connell Munster's pack fronted up against the Scarlets and were quite brilliant as they ran out 17-14 winners at the Parc Y Scarlets.

4. Ryan Caldwell - Despite Bath losing to Leinster, Caldwell put in his best shift in the blue, black and white shirt putting in tackles and making a nuisance of himself throughout.

3. BJ Botha The Munster prop was solid against Scarlets and with the superb O'Connell behind him, gave Iestyn Thomas a lesson.

2. Schalk Brits His reverse flick pass for Chris Wyles' try was a moment of brilliance from the hooker. You could see he was enjoying his moment at Wembley after returning from his ban and showed why he is so highly regarded .

1. Jean Baptiste-Poux - Despite leaving the field in the 46th minute, Poux was solid at loose-head for Toulouse against the Quins disrupting their scrum at every opportunity. His absence led to Harlequins getting a brief foothold in the game but it proved to be in vain.

I'd have gone for Ayerza as well as Castro in the front row. Not many props can go over to France and complete the demolition job in the scrum they did. The Clermont scrum was taken apart and even conceded a penalty try. Had Tigers had a proper no 8 from the start it would have been even more of a weapon.

3. BJ Botha The Munster prop was solid against Scarlets and with the superb O'Connell behind him, gave Iestyn Thomas a lesson.

Yes, how to bind on the arm.

I think the Toulouse winger Malzieu is cruelly overlooked in both lists.

Maybe he's overlooked because he plays for Clermont?

That'll be it then.

He was good though.

He's a quality winger alright.

His combination of power and pace made him a real thorn in the side of Tigers. He's not an easy man to bring down.

Thompstone had a great game, but his side got horsed which does tend to mean you don't make these 'greatest of the weekend' lists.

I agree about Brits - he really was excellent when he came on.

ESPN clearly only saw three matches - a lot of their team is nonsense.

I watched the Quins, Irish and the Castre matches and none of these teams had a full back as influential to the outcome of their game than Stuart Hogg was for Glasgow against Montpellier (acknowledging Teulet's fine kicking performance).

George Carlin wrote:Thompstone had a great game, but his side got horsed which does tend to mean you don't make these 'greatest of the weekend' lists.

?????

As much as i love him and i agree he was very good you simply cannot give SOB a place in team of the week after that howler. It very nearly cost leinster the game.

On the ferris issue, i agree that Henry was probably deserving of MOTM but Ferris was very deserving also.

Yes, they both deserved to be man of the match...waiiiit!

With my Ulster bias firmly to the fore i will go as far as to say that Ferris has been the standout player in the HEC thus far. There, i said it!

Crucify me!

Standulstermen wrote:With my Ulster bias firmly to the fore i will go as far as to say that Ferris has been the standout player in the HEC thus far. There, i said it!

Crucify me!

+100

"...oh come on, how big was it?

Oh, OK, it was this big < >

Quick boys, nail him!"

roddersm wrote:

Standulstermen wrote:With my Ulster bias firmly to the fore i will go as far as to say that Ferris has been the standout player in the HEC thus far. There, i said it!

Crucify me!

+100

+1

Ozzy3213 wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Thompstone had a great game, but his side got horsed which does tend to mean you don't make these 'greatest of the weekend' lists.

?????

Oh dear, I confused him with Jamie Elliott. What a tool.

George Carlin wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Thompstone had a great game, but his side got horsed which does tend to mean you don't make these 'greatest of the weekend' lists.

?????

Oh dear, I confused him with Jamie Elliott. What a tool.

Ah, Elliott makes much more sense in the context of the sentence.

Paul O'Connell is on fire.

maestegmafia wrote:
13 Ashley Beck (Ospreys) - Although he started with a 12 on his back, we felt obliged to find a place for the 21-year-old. (There weren't really any 13s that stood out either).

I have to say Planet Rugby do this all the time and its really irritating. Why not effing pick the best of the 13. Beck played at 12 - he is either good enough to make the team at 12 or he isnt

Yeah they kept doing it with O'Brien last year. Picking him in a position he didn't play. What's the point of that? Might as well pick a player who didn't play at all in that case.

red_stag wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:
13 Ashley Beck (Ospreys) - Although he started with a 12 on his back, we felt obliged to find a place for the 21-year-old. (There weren't really any 13s that stood out either).

I have to say Planet Rugby do this all the time and its really irritating. Why not effing pick the best of the 13. Beck played at 12 - he is either good enough to make the team at 12 or he isnt

Ansbro was very good for us at 13. Scored a try, had one ruled out by the TMO that for all the world looked a try to me on the replays, and caused lots of problems for Racing all afternoon.

Was better than both Armitage and Thompstone from the London Irish ranks, both of whom made teams of the week.

Yeah, but they need to get an Osprey in there somewhere don't they, they are trying to sell mags after all and a populist choice with a wide Geographic spread would make sense then.

I didn't see as many of the games as I would've liked over the weekend. I've been trying to watch highlights on the ERC site but with no luck. I've tried Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, even IE - no dice though. Anyone else have that problem?

(Off-topic I know).

Worked alright on IE for me MMC.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Worked alright on IE for me MMC.

Weird. Must be a plugin that I'm missing.

MMC wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:Worked alright on IE for me MMC.

Weird. Must be a plugin that I'm missing.

It uses flash. If you don't have it it should prompt you.

Uses this thing on my system

http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

MMC wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:Worked alright on IE for me MMC.

Weird. Must be a plugin that I'm missing.

It uses flash. If you don't have it it should prompt you.

Uses this thing on my system

http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player

Thanks Jen. I'd downloaded that jw player (version 5.8) in the hope that that would work. I also updated some of my plugins. As it turns out it was a setting in flash that I'd set to "Block all sites from storing information on this computer". I'd done it ages ago to get rid of some annoying pop-ups and forgot about it. Once I set that to allow it worked a treat.

Now to watch those highlights...

Planet Rugby sound like a bunch of total gnobs

Louw over Ferris? Really?

Louw over Ferris? Really?.

Louw did have a cracking game against one of the best backrows going (Leinster's) and only blotted his copy book by giving away two penalties and getting sin binned late on. Other than that he was a thorn in Leinster's side all game. Where as Ferris was up against the ferrocity of .... erm Arioni? Now Arioni aren't the push overs they used to be and I know you Irish boys go a bit weak at the knees when Ferris is mentioned but Louw clearly had the tougher challenge.

"only blotted his copy book by giving away two penalties and getting sin binned "

Indeed. Apart from being a disciplinary liability, he was briliant.

Don!