Jack McGrath impressed massively over the course of this tournament, and his meteoric rise this 6 Nations consisted of solid performances all over the park, in every game he played. This consistency and ability to fill the massive hole that Cian Healy left has earned him a spot in our team. Joe Marler came close, as did Eddy Ben Arous, but McGrath had a lot more to live up to and he impressed greatly.
2) Rory Best
We've seen him play better, but Rory Best's ability in the loose and a relatively underwhelming performance from other hookers in this 6 Nations sealed him a spot. He is very strong when jackling the ball and often looks like a flanker out there, all be it shorter and stubbier.
3) Dan Cole
Not a lot of competition in this area, but Dan Cole was clearly the best, on his return to international duty he showed exactly why he deserves that number 3 shirt for England, and played very well indeed.
4) Alun Wyn Jones
For me, the second rows pick themselves. Two monstrous tournaments for the wiley second rows meant AWJ and POC got selected. Alun held off competition from compatriot Luke Charteris, who's storming game against Ireland almost earned him a selection, but this AWJ was a monster throughout the competition, making big tackles and being dominant in the lineout.
5) Paul O'Connell
Paul O'Connell earns his place in the side for many of the same reasons as AWJ, beating an impressive Jonny Gray to the spot. He led from the front, and was a maching around the pitch for all five games,always making tackles, and dominating set pieces. A great (potentially final) tournament for big POC.
6) Peter O'Mahony
The French captain was unfortunate to miss out here, but Peter O'Mahony impressed more, possibly easier in a better side, but the man's work rate is sensational, the tackling and work at the breakdown means that big Peter earns his spot at blindside flanker in my team.
7) Sam Warburton
No Sean O'Brien? Chris Robshaw? Even the mighty Blair Cowan? No, for me it is the Welsh captain that takes the number 7 shirt. Not quite the monster at the breakdown that Sean O'Brein, nor the tackling machine that Chris Robshaw is, but this tournament he combined both those traits, and his leadership to form a pretty complete performance for an openside flanker. This choice may be controversial, but Warburton's critics need only look at his performance this tournament to see how great he can be, most notably against Ireland and his fantastic leadership shown against the Italians.
8) Billy Vunipola
He needed to prove himself this 6 Nations with Morgan out injured, and boy did the English number 8 do exactly that. 64 carries for the big man, joint with Stuart Hogg for the most of the tournament, and big Billy V showed the opposition no mercy in any game. In every game he showed how brilliant he can be, so brilliant in fact that he even saw off competition from the ever-fantastic Sergio Parisse.
9) Ben Youngs
Another player that needed to stamp their authority on their England shirt, Ben Youngs showed that he is England's number 1 scrum half, grabbing 3 tries, 2 assists and 2 man of the matches (1 of which was accidental) this 6 Nations he established himself as England's first choice, and my first choice for this side, ahead of Conor Murray, Greig Laidlaw and Rhys Webb, who all had solid tournaments as well.
10) George Ford
The young number 10 pips Jonny Sexton and Dan Biggar to the spot due to his consistency, tries, assists and impressive command of the game for such a young guy. Jonny Sexton was too inconsistent, two fantastic games against France and England seemed to secure him the spot from early on, but a poor performance against Wales was thoroughly disappointing, and Ford was for more consistent and secured more points for his side. Biggar was a great assett for Wales with his ability under the high ball and his game management, but he just misses out. George Ford made 7 assists, the most in the tournament and scored 75 points, the most in the tournament, and cemented his place in the England side for the foreseeable future.
11) Jack Nowell
When he came in to the side I said the man with the awful lid would be influential, and his three tries in three games set him apart from every other winger, he was exciting to watch and whilst he made mistakes, he was one of very few wingers to consistently look threatening, North came to the party far too late with his hat-trick on the final day, but boy what an entrance it was. Nowell's 9 clean breaks was the most of any player in the tournament, and England will hope to see many more in the future.
12) Jamie Roberts
Dunbar picked up an unfortunate injury, and was not impressive for 70 minutes against the Italians, but he still nearly claimed this spot for impressing in an unimpressive side, but it was Jamie Roberts and his square head that impressed the most, putting in great performances as usual and inspiring his Welsh side to a famous win against the Irish, and proving Warrenball can sometimes work.
13) Jonathan Joseph
It would take a brave man to disagree with this one, the standout outside centre was without a shadow of out JJ with 4 tries making him top try scorer in the tournament and a man of the match award, he set the 6 Nations alight immediately against Wales, and set the tone for a fantastic 6 Nations, even if the Irish did manage to neutralise him.
14) Giovanbattista Venditti
I thought about cheating and putting Halfpenny on the wing, but I decided Venditti deserved his place in the side. As mentioned previously, not many wingers stood out, but in what was a horrible tournament for the Azzurri, bar one impressive game against Scotland and a good half against Wales and England, Venditti grabbed two tries and an assist, and was consistently more impressive than the likes of Bowe and North.
15) Stuart Hogg
Last, but certainly not least, in terms of carries, defenders beaten or metres gained, which he topped the stats for, is Stuart Hogg. The Scotsman had a monumental task to try and carry Scotland to a win, and he came so close. Scotland's tournament was summed up in the final minutes of their tournament, when they are getting crushed, yet it is Stuart Hogg who is still bounding towards to try line, albeit to drop it at the end. The fullback's lightning pace, attacking ability and stunning try-saving tackles earn him the spot above Halfpenny, who was great for the Welsh as always, he just needs to tighten up that tackling technique and get his head on the correct side. Without Stuart Hogg Scotland would have lacked any attacking flair, and would have conceded heaps more tries, especially against the English. The British and Irish Lion has shown how special he is, and the future of Scottish rugby may very well depend on this man.
Stay tuned for another opinion on the team of the tournament!
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