2015 Rugby Championship: Worst XV from 2nd Round of Games

The second round of the 2015 Rugby Championship is history, and it threw up a classic in Johannesburg and a one-sided affair in Mendoza.

The tournament is very much being used as a trial for players to prove themselves worthy of a place in their countries' World Cup squads later this year, so individual performances are being scrutinised in all four camps.

Which means errors or plain poor performances could prove extra costly. B/R's Tom Sunderland has already run the rule over the best XV of the round, but there were equally as many men who didn't cover themselves in glory.

Read on to discover the worst XV of the week in the Rugby Championship.

Back Three

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15. Israel Dagg

Dagg threw a horrible hospital pass to team-mate Kieran Read, who had to leap to gather it in. Reid was promptly smashed by the onrushing Bismarck du Plessis, who turned the ball over to start a phase that led to Willie le Roux’s try. Dagg owed his No. 8 a beer after throwing him under that bus.

14. Ben Smith

Smith is far better as a full-back. He wasn’t in the game very much in Johannesburg and looks wasted on the right wing.

11. Cornal Hendricks

Called in as a late starter in place of JP Pietersen, Hendricks did not make enough of an impact in comparison to previous performances.

Centres

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13. Conrad Smith

Is Father Time catching up with the All Blacks outside centre? Smith looked off the pace against sprightly youngster Jesse Kriel, who was the far more creative and dangerous No. 13 on the field. Compared to the combination trialled against Argentina of Sonny Bill Williams at inside centre and Ma'a Nonu in the No. 13 shirt, the usual axis of Nonu at No. 12 and Smith at No. 13 looks under threat.

12. Quade Cooper

Cooper was sent on early to play out of position after a head knock to Matt Toomua, and he blotted his copybook with a high shot that earned him 10 minutes in the sin bin. The 27-year-old was obviously unhappy about something after the game, judging by the expletive-riddled tweet he issued, per stuff.co.nz:

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It is unclear who Cooper was directing his tweet toward, or why he decided to unleash his online tirade, but the controversial post notched up over 100 retweets in an hour. 

"Invite me to youre (sic) next team discussion then ask me how much I give a f--- about your team selection," Cooper wrote on his Twitter account. "Zero f---s given....."

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Half-Backs

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10. Nicolas Sanchez

An aimless kick straight down the throat of Israel Folau led to one of the easiest tries you’ll see scored in international rugby this year. Bernard Foley’s poor goal-kicking made him a close second for this shirt, but at least it didn't cost his team.

9. Martin Landajo

Argentina’s back-up scrum-half did not make much impact in a weakened Pumas side. Tomas Cubelli is the better No. 9 of the two, and that status was not troubled by Landajo’s performance in Mendoza.

Back Row

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8. Facundo Isa

The Pumas youngster did not make much of an impression against the Wallabies. He could do worse than sit down and watch a re-run of Schalk Burger’s display at No. 8 for South Africa against the All Blacks. There's lots to learn and plenty of time to learn it.

7. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe

Lobbe is not the force of old and was heavily outshone by Australian fetcher David Pocock, who is rapidly playing himself back into Michael Cheika’s starting 15.

6. Scott Fardy

Nowhere near as eye-catching a display as we saw from Fardy against South Africa, and he made an early exit in the second half with injury.

Second Row

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5. James Broadhurst

All Blacks lock Broadhurst was second-best in the physical stakes against Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, both of whom were a cut above all other second rows this weekend.

4. Sam Whitelock

Came off the bench with the All Blacks under great pressure in the second half, and he returned to it for a 10-minute rest after a senseless flop over a ruck near his own line. It should have cost the All Blacks the game, but the scrums soon went uncontested during his absence, which saved his blushes.

Front Row

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3. James Slipper

Slipper confirmed worries about the Wallaby scrum by finding reverse gear frequently before failing a concussion test and departing before half-time. Given three out of 10 by foxsports.com.au, who said:

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Nights out in Mendoza don’t get much worse than this. Slipper was given a torrid time by Pumas tight-head Ramiro Herrera before trudging off Estadio Malvinas Argentinas just before half-time.

 

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2. Stephen Moore

This might seem harsh on the Wallaby skipper, who put in a characteristically energetic display. But by comparison, he did not play as well as Bismarck du Plessis or Dane Coles, and his opposite number Agustin Creevy enjoyed scrum dominance over the Brumbies man.

1. Greg Holmes

Given a start, Holmes could not produce the same impact he introduced off the bench in Brisbane against South Africa, and he was sent backwards too often.