Team of the Week

The terrible events in Paris caused a number of games to be postponed, but we’ve still managed to put together a quality XV of players who were in action elsewhere.

1 – Marcos Ayerza (Leicester) Good day at the office for the Tigers stalwart as he played a leading role in a dominant pack to start the European season off in style.

2 – Agustín Costa Repetto (Tarbes) Veteran rake fronted up in a big way against a high profile Perpignan pack. Set the platform for a narrow victory.

3 – Juan Figallo (Saracens) Put in a solid half-hour up against Georgian bull Vasil Kakovin and helped his London club to a convincing victory over an out-of-sorts Toulouse.

4 – Brett Beukeboom (Cornish Pirates) Not the greatest day at the lineout but a key part of a dominant scrum that set the platform for the big win over London Welsh.

5 – Aaron Flagg (Moseley) Moved from back row to lock this week and played a big part in an incredible second-half comeback to beat Ealing after being down 31-5 at the break.

6 – Justin Blanchet (Bedford) Returned to the lineup in style, putting in nearly 70 minutes of gusto as the Blues hammered Scarlets Selects in Carmarthen.

7 – Kyle Gilmour (Rotherham) Good effort despite a narrow loss to Leinster ‘A’ in his run-on debut. High work rate helped Titans stick in the match in wet conditions before a late drop goal sank hopes of an upset victory.

8 – Aaron Carpenter (Cornish Pirates) Come on as a replacement before the half and ran strongly from the base. Big run set up a key score for Jack Arnott.

9 – Nicolas Vergallo (Tarbes) Former Pumas star combined with countryman Sébastien Poet to control the game keep the Pyrénées forwards on the front foot.

10 – AJ MacGinty (Connacht) A memorable first start in -20 degree Krasnoyarsk. Three penalty goals and a cross-field kick to Rory Parata for the bonus point try.

11 – Chris Wyles (Saracens) Two tries as Saracens trounced Toulouse at Allianz Park. Looks happy to be back in a winning side after a disappointing World Cup with the Eagles.

12 – Thretton Palamo (London Welsh) Couldn’t come away with a win, but caused enough problems in the midfield to keep his side in the game against Pirates.

13 – Facundo Panceyra Garrido (Córdoba) A fine effort in the Campeonato from the big centre, who followed up a strong game last week with another powerful performance in the midfield as his side edged Cuyo at Los Tordos in Mendoza.

14 – Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz) Another good week for ‘Zee’, who got his team rolling with a fine finish from a loose ball pickup to help BOPB defeat Narbonne.

15 – Matt Evans (Cornish Pirates) Captained the side to a sweet victory over Welsh. Huge line break early on created the space for their first try.