Six Nations Round 2 Team Of The Week

Forwards

1. Mako Vunipola

The England loosehead gave a gritty and determined performance in a game that certainly needed one. He also held his own against a experienced Welsh front row, espeicially his opposite man Samson Lee.

2. Ken Owens

A solid performance from the Welsh Hooker showing his consistent reliability in not just the lineout but defensively aswell. In a Welsh side that seems to be having lots of sudden competiton for starting places he seems to be one of the few who has a starting place held down.

3. Andrew Porter

When Tadhg Furlong went down within 5 minutes of the first half Porter was given a chance to show what he can do. He showed that he can live up to the high standards and expectations of the modern day prop at an international level. A good overall display with some excellent powerfull carries.

4. Joe Launchbury

Another very impressive performance from the big man. Defensively sound aswell as a few little attacking flourishes. Yes, i'm talking about that offload to Johnny May for his second try.

5. Grant Gilchrist

Gilchrist is a relatively new player to the Scottish Scene but you wouldn't have known it judging by the way he played. Full of confidence and had a big impact on the match. His Second row Partner Ritchie Gray deserves a mention, him too delivering a quality performance.

6. Aaron Shingler

Shingler has been impressive all year at the Scarlets with his versatile style that has caused many clubs havoc. So it is great to see him continue this play into the six nations. In the England game he seemed to really come into his own during the more open parts of the game, just the way the Scarlets like it.

7. Yacouba Camara

The French national side are often labelled with the tag of being unfit, and although this is fairly said for certain players it was clearly not for Camara. He was constantly lively and was giving the robust Scottish defence something to worry about every time he found any sort of time or space with the ball. One of the stand out players in the Match even if he was on the losing side.

8. Ross Moriarty

I thought that Ross Moriarty was one of the unsung hero's of this round. Big hits on England's key players and some clever reading of the game gives me reason for him to conclude the forwards section of the team of the week.

Backs

9. Greig Laidlaw

This position was one of the hardest to choose. Conor Muarry had a great first half against Italy and could have justifiably made it into this spot. However, the way that Laidlaw controlled the game from 9 and 10, transitioning with ease, was something else. I think Scotland would have been looking at a very different result at 80 minutes if he hadn't dominated the game the way he did.

10. Rhys Patchell

After Eddie Jones tried to get into the head of Scarlets fly half in the lead up to the game it was amusing to see Patchell play very well. Filling Dan Biggars boots was never going to be easy considering his form before his injury. But Patchell seems to be handling it well, he appeared very comfortable and confident with ball in hand and of course it was his kick that led to that dissalowed try that was been so frequently disscussed.

11. Teddy Thomas

The French winger has continued his form from Paris with a brace against Scotland. His startling ability to be able to make cruising past defenders look easy is extraordinary. He is certainly a player that I look forward to watching although, I suspect not one that teams are looking forward to defending against.

12. Owen Farrell

Farrell continues to prove his play making ability with his accurate kicks and passes that make this England team tick over. Played well throughout the Wales game and continued for the full 80 despite taking some big hits.

13. Robbie Henshaw

Losing Henshaw for the rest of the tournament is a big blow for Ireland. Especially, seeing how well he played against Italy. Regardless of his injury it was a standout performance for the Leinsterman, picking up a tidy two tries. A shame that we wont see any more from him this year in the competition.

14. Keith Earls

Earls seems to be the on most on form player in the tournament. Coming into this game you would bet your house on him scoring a try. Sure enough, he did. But perhaps his most impressive moment in the game was his 60m dash for that try saving tackle late on in the game. In a game that Ireland had already won it was a true testament to his commitment and pride to use everything he had left in the tank to deny a try that in the grand scheme of things wouldn't have mattered.

15. Gareth Anscombe

Anscombe was very impressive versus England and showed resilience under the high balls and how he poses an attacking threat too. Possibly even unlucky not to get a try. He also looked very dangerous at 10 and played lead part in the Wales comeback attempt. Many are talking about how great Mike Brown was. Not for me, ordinary in my eyes.