29 July 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 3

The triumphant Springboks provide a distinct Green and Gold palette to our Rugby Championship Team of the Week.

Rassie Erasmus’ charges claimed the southern hemisphere silverware in style in Salta on Saturday, romping to a 46-13 win over Los Pumas. As a result, seven Springbok stars have been included in our side.

The Wallabies’ famous 47-26 victory over the All Blacks in Perth earlier in the day landed them six players in our team, with New Zealand and Argentina each having just one representative.

Was the Beale of old – heavily involved, creative, ran good angles and scored a deserved try. Racked up a round-high 112 metres in 13 carries, made three clean breaks and beat six would-be defenders.

Another big performance by the diminutive dynamo. Grabbed a try, turned in an excellent emergency cameo at scrumhalf when Faf de Klerk was in the bin and worked his tail off tackling and chasing high balls.

If anyone doubted how talented Cheslin Kolbe is,this little spell at #9 and #14 at the same time has shown it.

— Craig Carolan (@craigcarolan)

Brought X-factor to the Wallaby midfield in his first Test start in six years. A real attacking spark in the No.13 jersey, he made two clean breaks but his real value was as playmaker, as highlighted by the excellent offload to free up Reece Hodge for the opening try.

The toughest choice of the week…a real coin toss. Damian de Allende had one of his best all-round Tests in quite some time and could’ve easily cracked the nod. Kerevi was an unstoppable force (beating five defenders, making three line breaks and running for 88 metres) and did his best Jonah Lomu impression when he bulldozed Beauden Barrett for a terrific try assist.

Simply had to be included and thus shifts to left wing. Sliced through the All Blacks defence like very few ever, making no less than four line breaks, 94 metres, beating six defenders and scoring a delightful double.

Controlled the game with distinction and racked up a personal tally of 31 points – a South African record against Argentina. Kept the scoreboard ticking with his trusty boot, attacked the line well, barged over for a brace and threw a beautiful long ball to put Makazole Mapimpi over in the corner.

Handre Pollard v Argentina ?

0⃣7⃣ Carries
0⃣3⃣ Defenders beaten
0⃣2⃣ Clean breaks
4⃣3⃣ Running metres
0⃣1⃣ Try assist
0⃣2⃣ Tries
0⃣5⃣ Penalties
0⃣3⃣ Conversions
3⃣1⃣ Points

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17)

Played a starring role in the Wallabies’ win as playmaker extraordinaire. He drove the high-tempo of the contest, probed around the fringes, put runners into space with good decision-making and crisp distribution and was rewarded with a try. Looks to have evolved since making the move to Exeter in 2017.

Adversity reveals what a leader is truly made of. Read never let up, despite it becoming increasingly obvious that the All Blacks – for once – were fighting a losing battle. His never-say-die attitude was best summed up when he chased and won a restart that led to Ngani Laumape scoring in the 71st minute immediately after the Aussies had dotted down. Also made two key turnovers inside his 22 early on.

Another complete, all-action effort from the tireless Bok loose forward. Made 10 carries, 13 tackles and put Kolbe on his way to the tryline with a basketball-like pass.

The big back rower made a big impression and brought added physicality to the Wallaby pack. Was a prominent ball carrier and crashed over for his first Test try.

An absolute war horse with a team-high 16 tackles and joint team-high 11 carries. A relentless physical force who also showed off some finer skills and a bit of gas.

The only shining light in an outclassed Pumas side, which sees him shift from No.5 into our Team of the Week. Matched Mostert with a match-high 16 tackles, won a turnover, made nine carries and was a safe lineout target, with five takes.

In the prime of his career at the absolute perfect time for the Boks. A legendary all-round performance in which he nuked Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro at scrum time and made a whopping 15 tackles. Nyakane will almost surely one day look back at this performance as the best of his career.

There is no doubt that Trevor Nyakane is the Boks number one tighthead at the moment and those who wrote Beast off are way wrong. Nyakane’s transformation this season has been exceptional and his performance in Salta was one of the best ever by a Bok tighthead.

— Brenden Nel (@BrendenNel)

The now reliable Bok hooker anchored the dominant scrum, was accurate with his lineout throwing, cleaned out with (legal) vigour and velocity and added to his try-scoring tally.

Like his prop partner, a fired-up “Beast” bulldozed the hosts in the scrums and put in a massive shift across the park. With 13 tackles, he made almost double the number of tackles than the whole Argentina front row combined (7).

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