Team of the Week

With Pro D2 on a mid-season break and a number of Americas players getting the week off elsewhere, things were a little sticky this week, but we’ve just about managed to throw together a group of players to take the pitch for us… almost anyway…

1 – Matías Agüero (Leicester) With no starters to choose from this week we’ll pluck one from the reserves. Good support work in the final quarter directly led to a score for Laurence Pearce.

2 – Martín García Veiga (Jersey) Gave everything in the mud at Mennaye before being subbed at 50 minutes. His side couldn’t pull out the win but not for lack of effort.

3 – Francisco Gomez Kodela (Bordeaux) Set the platform at the scrum and put in his share of dirty work to leave his side with a healthy lead after an hour.

4 – Manuel Carizza (Racing 92) Managed to get through a full 80 minutes on the front lines in a titanic victory over Clermont at Marcel Michelin. A beacon in the lineout and mobile around the pitch.

5 – Rodrigo Capó Ortega (Castres) Led Olympique to a dominant victory over Brive. Outstanding work rate especially with a man in the bin, his break and offload led to a try for Julien Caminati.

6 – Aaron Flagg (Moseley) Didn’t get the win against a tough Bedford side, but the big lad put in the hard yards in a combative effort at Billesley Common.

7 – Aaron Carpenter (Cornish Pirates) Another brilliant effort for the skipper, scoring a try early from a maul and leading his troops through the much to their 3rd straight league win.

8 – Jebb Sinclair (London Irish) Came on as a replacement for the final quarter against Saints and made a total nuisance of himself. Was actually at lock but we need a back row, so he’ll do nicely.

9 – Nobody Nothingdoing (unattached) That’s right, with zero halfbacks or even part-timers in action, we’ll have to play a man down this week. With this group it’s probably 10-man rugby all day anyway.

10 – AJ MacGinty (Connacht) Returned from injury and come on early in the second half to score Connacht’s only points against Ulster. His hack ahead nearly resulted in a score.

11 – Horacio Agulla (Bath) Finally got some game time and made the most of it with a well-finished try in the left corner, showing good strength in the tackle to score. Hopes to see more action in the New Year.

12 – Gonzalo García (Zebre) Missed a long-range shot at goal but ran hard in the fog and tackled all day to help the Zebras come away with an injury-time victory against rivals Treviso.

13 – Ciaran Hearn (London Irish) Played more like an extra loose forward than a back as he hardly saw the ball. Top commitment to the tackle and the breakdown, he was still noticeable as the Exiles upset Saints at the Madejski.

14 – DTH van der Merwe (Scarlets) Lined up on the left wing but popped up everywhere as usual. Jeff Hassler’s late withdrawal meant that his head-to-head battle was against Hanno Dirksen.

15 – Chris Wyles (Saracens) Another who played wing, but this team needs a fullback so he’s the man. Probably wishes he didn’t have to wear that awful tie-dye shirt for Sarries, but colours aside he put in a typical professional effort against in-form Wasps for a big win at the Ricoh.