Best XV from Weekend's International Rugby Matches
Saturday's Bledisloe Cup decider headlined the weekend's international rugby extravaganza. New Zealand succeeded with a 41-13 hammering of Australia to tie the series and retain their most prized trophy.
It's the 13th year in a row the All Blacks have won the competition, setting a new record for consecutive Bledisloe Cup triumphs, but that southern-hemisphere collision accounted for just a shred of Saturday's action.
Argentina fell to South Africa in Buenos Aires after shocking the Springboks on their own turf the previous week, while Ireland, England, Scotland and France were also in action in preparation for the World Cup.
This week's best XV features a host of household names and several lesser-known stars who jumped at their respective chances for Test minutes. Read on to see who made the cut, and let us know who you think is missing in the forum below.
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1 of 615. Israel Folau, Australia
The old adage goes that the great teams are the ones that can win despite playing badly; by that logic, the best individual players are those who are capable of thriving when their team is playing badly.
It stands as evidence of just what a terrific talent Israel Folau is that Australia's throttling at the hands of New Zealand didn't prevent him from another star display, during which he carried for an incredible 111 metres.
A great deal of that came thanks to his late try from 60 metres out, but after clutching the ball out of the sky, the Wallabies full-back still had it all to do in engineering that one-man effort.
As has become commonplace in these lineups, Folau beat more defenders than any other international player this weekend (seven) and once again stood out as the pick of Michael Cheika's bunch.
14. Anthony Watson, England
While Bryan Habana and Lwazi Mvovo each banked tries against Argentina on Saturday, England wing pair Anthony Watson and Jonny May were also in fine form against France en route to a 19-14 win.
Two of England's three scores were claimed by the former, whose finishing was shown to be at its deadliest at Twickenham on Saturday, crossing the whitewash from short range on both occasions.
The 6'2" Bath man is nigh unstoppable when given open turf to run at, but his outing against the French showed a varied set of skills in close contact, including no small dose of rapid footwork.
11. Jonny May, England
Jonny May has been putting in the hard graft during England's training camp, according to Rugby World's Ian Stafford, and it showed at headquarters on Saturday as he dazzled in front of a home crowd.
A sumptuously timed Andy Goode cross-field kick created May's score, very arguably the best of the match, but the Gloucester star was a thorn in Les Bleus' side for the duration of his performance.
May stands out as this weekend's most prolific carrier of the ball after blazing a trail to 124 metres, beating five defenders from 13 carries, an average of just under 10 metres per run.
Some share of the credit must go to outside centre debutant Henry Slade, who was brilliantly unselfish in his first Test outing to give his wings consistent and reliable ball.
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13. Richie Vernon, Scotland
Richie Vernon was by no means an inadequate Test flanker, but the Glasgow Warriors utility is now demonstrating some ridiculous versatility after showing his might as an international-standard centre.
The reformed forward started at outside centre against Ireland and formed a partnership alongside Peter Horne that would limit Irish counterparts Gordon D'Arcy and Jared Payne to just 18 carrying metres between them.
Aside from that fine defensive progress, Vernon proved to be a keen line-breaker for the Scots during a proud 28-22 defeat in Dublin, setting up Blair Cowan for the visitors' opening try with some brilliant creative play.
Considering Ireland's Payne was anything but a small opponent for Vernon, the Scotsman deserves all the credit coming his way following such a massive career transition.
12. Ma'a Nonu, New Zealand
There was a lot of talk surrounding England debutant Sam Burgess on Saturday evening, but All Blacks star Ma'a Nonu dazzled in Auckland with the kind of performance to which all inside centres should aspire.
The Toulon-bound talisman was every bit that good as he ran for 76 metres with ball in hand, a monstrous tally for a No. 12 that was in no small part thanks to his hardy approach in taking the ball to the line.
As well as sauntering across for two of his own tries against the Wallabies, Nonu was on hand to set up a routine score for midfield sidekick Conrad Smith, showing some beautiful passing in the process.
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10. Dan Carter, New Zealand
Having not managed to summon up his true best during the Rugby Championship, Dan Carter was back at his peak on Saturday in a performance that will have Racing 92 smacking their lips at the talent coming their way.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen watched as his fly-half veteran enjoyed a vintage outing in what was his last Test appearance on home soil, along with Richie McCaw, Nonu, Conrad Smith, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock.
And what better way to bow out of Eden Park than with another Bledisloe Cup in tow? While Australia misfit Quade Cooper toiled on one side of the park, Carter revelled in his work, and it showed on the scoreline.
The playmaker set up two tries and carried for 48 metres against the Wallabies, failing to miss a tackle and kicking 16 points en route to victory. The prospects for his World Cup are looking up once again.
9. Aaron Smith, New Zealand
Forming the other half of our half-back combination is Carter's partner in crime, Aaron Smith, who was also back to showing some of his best after a string of subpar outings in the Rugby Championship.
The scrum-half would have notched a try of his own were it not for Cooper's sin-bin-worthy high tackle at the start of the second half, a passage of play that showed off Smith's stellar support running.
That turned out to be a motif for the No. 9 in Auckland, as he gave a busy account of his talents, making 62 passes in his role as New Zealand linchpin. Only Isaac Boss (63) and Henry Pyrgos (67) made more passes this weekend.
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8. Louis Picamoles, France
Philippe Saint-Andre's men may have succumbed to defeat at Twickenham, but the coach without doubt had his positives to take from a result that looked close at times, with the back row impressing in particular.
Fulgence Ouedraogo scored Les Bleus' only try, but it was Louis Picamoles who shone as the team's brightest asset and was nominated as Man of the Match on French television, according to Rugby World's Gavin Mortimer.
Full-back Scott Spedding (64) was the only French representative who carried further than Picamoles (63), with the No. 8 beating no fewer than six defenders.
7. Sean O'Brien, Ireland
Despite transitioning to the back of the pack at No. 8 on Saturday, it was still very much an openside's performance from the unstoppable Sean O'Brien, whose best work continued to come off the ball.
The Irish Independent's Ruaidhri O'Connor described O'Brien's ground work as a "destruction" of the Scottish ruck, with the Tullow Tank not shirking his responsibilities as a No. 7.
Whether it's protecting ball or stripping the opposition of it, O'Brien remains just about the last person one would want to encounter as first contact at any ruck.
6. Yannick Nyanga, France
Another cog in France's back-row machine who evoked memories of his former best was Yannick Nyanga, whose place at the World Cup must be assured after his superb display against England.
Predictably, Nyanga's live-wire tackling was his best attribute, as he made eight and missed none, potentially even nailing down his place in Saint-Andre's starting XV.
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5. Eben Etzebeth, South Africa
South Africa stalwart Eben Etzebeth is becoming a regular fixture in our team of the weekend, and another leader's display against Argentina saw him earning plaudits as a potential Man of the Match contender in Buenos Aires.
As well as stealing his fair share of Pumas possession from the line-out, Etzebeth was a menace in open play and brought down Juan Imhoff early on with some terrific tracking back that showed he was in the mood on Saturday.
4. Grant Gilchrist, Scotland
There were two impressive lock displays to speak of at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, with Devin Toner being one and former Scotland captain Grant Gilchrist being the other.
We've elected the latter into our XV because of the fact his task, trying to depose the Dublin hosts, was assuredly greater—not to mention his total of 16 tackles was the most managed by any player this weekend.
Gilchrist proved difficult to disrupt at the line-out and was ever willing to play first receiver in the name of rumbling for a few useful yards.
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6 of 63. Marcel van der Merwe, South Africa
Going against the grain of open-play impact, Marcel van der Merwe's effect on the Argentina result was almost exclusively limited to the set piece, where he had a hand in disassembling the Pumas pack.
Having given such a strong account of themselves during the Rugby Championship, Daniel Hourcade's men simply crumbled to pieces on Saturday and lost five of their eight scrum put-ins.
Van der Merwe made 21-year-old Argentina loosehead Lucas Noguera Paz look green by comparison, giving Heyneke Meyer a selection dilemma ahead of the World Cup.
2. Dane Coles, New Zealand
The suspicion continues to grow that Dane Coles is and always has been a centre masquerading as a hooker for all his professional years, scoring his fourth try in seven Test outings on Saturday.
The Wallabies were the latest side to fall victim to Coles' unassuming turn of pace as he raced in for another long-range score, although his line-out throwing could still do with improvement.
Nevertheless, gift the All Blacks No. 2 a yard of space at your own peril.
1. Vincent Debaty, France
England's set piece was far from its best against the onslaught of Les Bleus on Saturday, but whereas Kieran Brookes and Mako Vunipola struggled to find their footing at times, Vincent Debaty was at his best.
The loosehead showed a special thirst to carry against the English too, finishing with 48 metres to his name from eight carries, leaving Picamoles (14) and Nyanga (10) as the only French forwards who attempted more.
Debaty turned the screw on the inexperienced Brookes and the pressure told as England gave away penalties at the scrum and conceded possession on two of their own feeds.
All statistics come courtesy of ESPN Scrum.
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