Team of the Week

Well it wasn’t hard to pick most of this week’s team! After a performance like the one from Argentina on Saturday, it was tempting to just pick the Pumas team in its entirety, but somehow we did find room to squeeze in a couple other players.

1 – Marcos Ayerza (ARG) Whatever he was doing, he did such a number on poor Vincent Koch that the poor fella was yanked at half in his run-on debut. Looks in top form heading towards his third World Cup.

2 – Agustin Creevy (ARG) Arguably his finest moment as captain of Los Pumas. Threw himself with reckless abandon into the breakdown, and marched forward in the scrum to a famous victory.

3 – Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (ARG) Has come a long, long way since being a Dragons cast-off. Filled in for Ramiro Herrera and did a more than adequate job of moving the pile.

4 – Tomás Lavanini (ARG) Not quite at his carrying best, but stood tall in the lineout and helped anchor the scrum in place. A frightening sight when heading into a clean-out at full tilt.

5 – Evan Olmstead (CAN) Came on as a first half replacement for Brett Beukeboom and immediately got stuck in. Relishes the contact area and not hard to miss with his mop of hair.

6 – Pablo Matera (ARG) Part of a dominant loose forward trio who proved more than a match for Burger & Co. No longer a young pup, a fully fledged international forward.

7 – Juan Manuel Leguizamón (ARG) Seems just as happy on the side of the scrum as he is at the back. A force at the breakdown, a strong running presence, and even took a couple lineouts.

8 – Leonardo Senatore (ARG) A fine game controlling the ball at the back of the scrum. Extra cover on kicks and acted well as a link man.

9 – Tomás Cubelli (ARG) Hard to remember a better performance from him in a Pumas shirt. Controlled play superbly and helped create two tries.

10 – Juan Martín Hernández (ARG) A close call, with AJ MacGinty also in the discussion, but El Mago was at his best against the Boks and deserves the plaudits. Even with a couple missed kicks it was his best performance at flyhalf in several years.

11 – Juan Imhoff (ARG) A remarkable day for the speedster, who scored the first ever hat trick against the Boks in South Africa and created another. Try-saving tackle on Lwazi Mvovo was the icing on the cake.

12 – Connor Braid (CAN) Good day at the office for Jerónimo de la Fuente as well. Braid ran strongly, defended well, and got his team out of danger with some solid kicking.

13 – Marcelo Bosch (ARG) Looks to have finally regained some form after some slow weeks for club and country. Ran well, distributed, kicked, and back to his best form in defense.

14 – Jeff Hassler (CAN) Gave his all, it was a shame it didn’t end in victory. His offload created a try for Nick Blevins, and a shuddering tackle on Danny Barrett had the crowd on their feet.

15 – Chris Wyles (USA) Kept his team composed and in the game long enough to steal the last minute victory. Settling into the role of captain with a respectable PNC now under his belt.