Best XV from 5th Weekend of Rugby Championship
New Zealand sealed the Rugby Championship title with one week to spare after slaying Argentina on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
The All Blacks’ bonus point win in La Plata means they can’t be caught when they travel to South Africa next weekend.
For the Boks, they pulled another game out of the fire in the closing stages to deny Australia what would have been a famous win.
There were some strong performances from key men in their sides who all go into the melting pot for this week's best XV.
Full-Back
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15. Israel Dagg
Dagg scored one try and created another to prove his sharpness in attack.
He dovetailed superbly on both occasions with Ben Smith, the man who has shifted into the No. 14 jersey to accommodate the Cantabrian’s return to the starting All Blacks lineup.
That is looking like a shrewd piece of selection by coach Steve Hansen.
Wings
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11. Julian Savea
Savea demonstrated his power by bumping off three would-be Pumas tacklers to score in La Plata, albeit thanks to some shoddy attempts to bring him down.
Savea’s try-scoring record continues to speak for itself, with 27 in 27 Tests. We also saw a flash of his deft handling skills with an offload to TJ Perenara for his try.
The New Zealand Herald's Patrick McKendry flagged up the one blot on his try-scoring record so far, which he will be hoping to correct next week:
"A curiosity of Savea's incredible strike-rate is that just like Lomu he has so far failed to score one against the Springboks, although he will get an opportunity at Ellis Park, and on this form must be favoured to complete the set.
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14. Cornal Hendricks
Hendricks proved his deadliness once again with a brilliant run late in the game that eventually led to Jean de Villiers’ try.
He can often be marked out of a game, leaving him to do his defensive work, but when that chance arises to show his worth as an attacking threat, he takes it.
Centres
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12. Malakai Fekitoa
Slick hands, fast feet and powerful running combined to make this Fekitoa’s best performance to date in a black jersey.
He is showing all the signs of developing into a well–rounded No. 12 which, considering he first emerged as a No. 13, is impressive stuff. A genuine option in either of the centre positions.
13. Tevita Kuridrani
Kuridrani made a lot of tackles in the Australian midfield and also repeatedly tested the South African defence with his hard lines of running.
One of them paid off handsomely when he left two South African players eating the dirt as he burst through to set up Adam Ashley–Cooper for a try.
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Half-Backs
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9. Francois Hougaard
Hougaard’s passing was slick and he put in a huge shift defensively for his team. He edges Aaron Smith, who was not over–extended during his evening’s work in La Plata.
10. Beauden Barrett
Not the easiest night to gauge his quality, but he was on target with his six attempts at goal, which would suggest that frailty has been addressed.
With ball in hand he did a lot of good things and a couple of average ones. No fly-half looked dazzling this weekend, but Barrett was the best.
Back Row
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6. Scott Fardy
The Wallabies blindside made a massive amount of tackles and was another man in gold who deserved more for the work he put in. He has formed a strong pairing with Michael Hooper on either side of the Australian scrum. If only it didn’t go backwards quite so often.
7. Michael Hooper
Hooper rarely has a bad game. He was everywhere for the Wallabies and hardly deserved to end up on the losing side in Cape Town.
8. Duane Vermeulen
Vermeulen carried the ball well and was a huge presence at the breakdown throughout the game, making some important turnovers.
Second Row
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4. Sam Carter
Carter made 18 tackles for his team, an eye-watering figure that probably explains why his carries didn’t break many tackles. An important job well done.
5. Victor Matfield
Ruled the lineout and made another impressive 12 tackles to once again underline the fact that he is getting better as he gets older.
Front Row
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1. Tendai Mtawarira
The man they call the Beast was rock solid in the scrum and made a couple of trademark rumbles with the ball as South Africa exerted their dominance up front over Australia.
2. Adriaan Strauss
A very busy afternoon on the tackling front for Strauss was matched by his usual high work rate with ball in hand.
3. Sekope Kepu
The Wallabies tight–head largely stood his ground at scrum time and was impressive in defence and ball carrying duties.
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