Planet rugby's 4N team of the week

http://planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_8086280,00.html

Not sure who came up with this team but it's a shocker in many positions.

15 Israel Dagg (New Zealand) - The All Blacks full-back is the only player to have kept his place in our team since the opening round. And based on Saturday's effort, it's clearly obvious why. Once again, Dagg was as cool as ice under the bombardment of high balls from South Africa, while - not for the first time - showcased his playmaking ability by setting up and scoring the first try.

14 Bryan Habana (South Africa) - The Bok flier reminded everyone just why he was rated the best in the business with his superb solo try that brought his team back into the game. Try of the tournament aside, Habana always ran hard when he got his chance and will be kicking himself for butchering a try-scoring opportunity early in the game.

13 Marcelo Bosch (Argentina) - Took plenty out of Australia's defence with his strong ball carrying, chased kicks with all he had and showcased his distribution skills on attack. Was also rock solid in marshalling the Pumas midfield defence.

12 Pat McCabe (Australia) - Showed he's the answer at 12 for the men in gold after bringing direction and purpose to an often pressurised Wallabies attack, whilst he was also the highest tackler in the backs for Australia. His first-half yellow card didn't prove too costly, and saved a certain try. But went from zero to hero with a crucial touchdown that kick-started Australia's fightback.

11 Digby Ioane (Australia) - The official man-of-the-match had a hard time of it in the first half thanks to some desperate defence from his opposite number opposite Gonzalo Camacho. But when Camacho was replaced, Ioane found more space to work with - the winger's finishing ability and scorching pace proving too much for the Pumas.

10 Juan Martin Hernandez (Argentina) - Gets the nod for a second week running, Hernandez plays such an enormous role in the drive and direction of the Argentina team. The Pumas pivot's tactical kicking game was once again out of the top drawer, as he dictated where on the field the game was played. Was left to rue two missed conversions though from far out on a weekend where all the team's goal-kickers struggled. Other than that though, another impressive display.

9 Aaron Smith (New Zealand) - Only played forty minutes, but made a huge impact when he came on for an out-of-sorts Piri Weepu. Smith was relegated to the New Zealand bench for a breach of team curfew, however his high-energy, try-scoring display off the pine was a big factor in the All Blacks' victory.

8 Kieran Read (New Zealand) - That assist was pretty special wasn't it? From a soon-to-be-mentioned lock's initial break and offload, number eight Read then bettered his team-mates effort by sending the ball out to a supporting Dagg. Read was also his industrious self with tackles and runs thrown in.

7 Richie McCaw (New Zealand) - He copped two cheap shots from Dean Greyling but was his typical professional self during the post-match when asked about the incident. Minutes after the assault, he was chasing down and reclaiming an Aaron Cruden penalty when many others wouldn't have bothered. A top pro.

6 Julio Faras Cabello (Argentina) - Played a big role in getting the Pumas into a winnable position but ended up on the losing side. Cabello - after an all-action 50 minutes - had the legs to stay with replacement back Juan Imhoff and was rewarded with a contentious try. He would trade it for victory.

5 Nathan Sharpe (Australia) - A much more disciplined performance as he showed a cooler head than against South Africa the week before. He came close to scoring when he was put through a gap by Quade Cooper but was held up by scrum-half Martin Landajo. Cue plenty of stick from his team-mates on Twitter.

4 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand) - We felt slightly harsh when overlooking Kane Douglas, who performed strongly on debut for Australia. But Whitelock keeps maturing in an All Black jersey and has skills many locks simply do not have - case in point being that break and offload to Read which led to the try.

3 Owen Franks (New Zealand) - While it was good to see Jannie du Plessis not give away any penalties (Dean Greyling made up for that), Franks once again was a consistent pillar for the All Blacks. It is not surprising that Steve Hansen has felt the need not to tinker at tighthead. Franks is a key cog.

2 Tatafu Polota-Nau (Australia) - It was a toss-up between Andrew Hore and the Wallaby hooker. Adriaan Strauss tried hard but struggled to have an impact (possibly due to the game-plan) while Eusebio Guiñazú was solid if unspectacular. Polota-Nau enjoyed a full game and was a cool head in their comeback.

1 Rodrigo Roncero (Argentina) - For a third straight week, the 35-year-old has made it. We were undecided as he did not perform as well as rounds two and three, but against Australia he played under the knowledge that there was no Marcos Ayerza coming on on 50 minutes. Another workmanlike and canny shift.

It seems if you do one good thing during the match, you get in the team. It seems that some of these choices came about by default rather than being earned. Habana scored a great solo try but fluffed an easier opportunity in the first half. OK the pass was behind him but he's better than that. Whitelock was unspectacular but throws a flick pass out and he's in the squad. If you're going to put in a South African then put in Louw in my opinion. Great spoiling work and a real nuisance for NZ. Greyling was easily NZ's best player and he along with Morné Steyn and Pienaar don't even get a mention!

I think these teams are always difficult to poke holes in. What makes this even easier is the fact that the standard of rugby this inaugural tournament has been pretty shoddy. These selections confirm that.

Good Argentina representation. Im guessing they have done a lot better than a lot of the SH fans were expecting. They have come quite close in a few of their games so far.

I'm happy for them but wonder when the grace period of going easy on them for failing to take out games they could have won will end. Put it this way. SA looked the better side in general on Saturday and get just the one player. Argentina lose and get four. When will we say they should've closed that game out or the one against SA? At the moment not getting pummelled is good enough. But truth be told I think Argentina are a better team than that and should be judged by the same terms as the other 3 teams.

Yes but given that they have never won v SA getting a draw against them in their first year is a great result. For a first year it's gone well. I think the most important thing is to be competitive and they have certainly achieved that.

Harsh but you can't deny chances went begging to get a win against SA and an away win against Australia. Both those squads are riddled with injuries and will be a tougher prospect in the coming years. Strike when the iron is hot and that gives you belief and confidence for the years to come. Coming oh so close doesn't get remembered. Winning both at home and away sends a clear message. Almost winning I'm afraid doesn't.

Of course they have been competitive. They possess a strong set piece and brutal defence. Just because many didn't give them a hope doesn't take away from the fact they should be sitting higher on the points board. They have played precious little international rugby on a regular basis but we shouldn't patronise them by saying all they have to do is not lose by a bucketload of points. You do them a disservice to think like that. I'm sure they have their goals but I'd be very surprised if they've been met so far.

A disservice?! I know how good they are but again they have never beaten SA nor NZ and they have never won in Oz. I think they should have beaten Oz and SA and are good enough to do so given how they performed however based on past results v SA and Oz their results so far have been very good.

GunsGerms wrote:A disservice?! I know how good they are but again they have never beaten SA nor NZ and they have never won in Oz. I think they should have beaten Oz and SA and are good enough to do so given how they performed however based on past results v SA and Oz their results so far have been very good.

Wrong
They won over OZ in Brisbane.

31/07/1983 Australia 3 – Argentina 18 - Brisbane.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:I'm happy for them but wonder when the grace period of going easy on them for failing to take out games they could have won will end. Put it this way. SA looked the better side in general on Saturday and get just the one player. Argentina lose and get four. When will we say they should've closed that game out or the one against SA? At the moment not getting pummelled is good enough. But truth be told I think Argentina are a better team than that and should be judged by the same terms as the other 3 teams.

Wales still get away with it as does Ireland and Italy in the 6 nations

Argie fan wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:A disservice?! I know how good they are but again they have never beaten SA nor NZ and they have never won in Oz. I think they should have beaten Oz and SA and are good enough to do so given how they performed however based on past results v SA and Oz their results so far have been very good.

Wrong
They won over OZ in Brisbane.

31/07/1983 Australia 3 – Argentina 18 - Brisbane.

Ok they beat Oz 30 years ago I stand corrected my point still stands though.