PRO Rugby Form Team – 1st Quarter

As there’s only two games each week and in some cases only one it doesn’t really make sense to choose an entirely PRO-centric weekly team (unless we have to!) so instead we’ve opted to take a quarterly approach. With a 16 week season we’ll select a form team after each four-week block, after which we’ll give you our inaugural PRO Rugby Dream Team. Below are the players who have impressed us the most during the first four weeks. Who will put their hand up over the next four?

 

FRONT ROW

1 Luke White (Denver)

2 Zach Fenoglio (Denver)

3 Ben Tarr (Denver)

There was no debate required here. The Denver pack has made mincemeat of every scrum they’ve faced so far, and their individual contributions in the loose are secondary in consideration only, not quality. Denver now have the problem of having both Tarr and fit-again Chris Baumann to choose from at tighthead, a rather advantageous position. Fenoglio looks in top form and can probably expect to see an immediate recall to the Eagles in June regardless of the severity of Tom Coolican’s injury.

Elsewhere the Sacramento front row has also done well. Valdemar Lee-Lo seems to have adjusted favorably to the loosehead position and Olive Kilifi continues his upward slant in performance at the elite level. Ray Barkwill is performing as advertised. Hubert Buydens has done well in a slightly under-fire San Diego pack, while Joe Taufete’e has just returned and should command attention in the second quarter.

 

SECOND ROW

4 Pierce Dargan (Ohio)

5 Sione Sina (Sacramento)

The weakest position in PRO Rugby in terms of international prospects. It’s like a league full of safeties and someone has to move up to the line. Dargan has been dogged in the loose and is essentially an extra loose forward for Ohio, while his new second row mate Kyle Baillie, while bigger, also looks more at home on the blindside. Sina is the bruiser in defense for Sacramento, and his bulk looks to be helping out in the scrum. Christian Wiessing and David Dolinar have high work rates, again like extra flankers. Brodie Orth and Brian Doyle have not seen much time with injury, while Ben Landry has just finished a trial camp with the Seattle Seahawks this past weekend and has yet to make an appearance.

 

BACK ROW

6 Filippo Ferrarini (Ohio)

7 Matt Hughston (Ohio)

8 Sebastián Kalm (Ohio)

Once again we’ve opted to select an entire unit en masse. Ohio’s tight five have been solid – their loose forwards have been outstanding. The combination of dual-opensides in Ferrarini and Hughston has worked a charm. Ferrarini does the dirty work, and Hughston is the man in perpetual motion, constantly on the shoulder as a support player or winning turnovers at the tackle. Kalm is the all-action marauding no8, the smallest at his position in the competition but absolutely electric with ball in hand.

Pedrie Wannenburg has absolutely lived up to his billing to lead the Denver side and is unlucky not to get the nod. John Quill has looked solid for Sacramento, and Cecil Garber is picking up steam for San Diego. His back row neighbor Sione Tu’ihalamaka has certainly not gone unnoticed with his powerful carrying. Sam Finau looks the best of a struggling pack in San Francisco, though his teammate David Tameilau looks to be waking up after a slow start.

 

HALFBACKS

9 Shaun Davies (Ohio)

10 Kurt Morath (San Diego)

On form Davies is the clear leader at scrumhalf, keeping the defense on their toes and providing quick service for his team’s rapid-fire offense. Niku Kruger has been solid for Denver, and there is a real battle at San Diego brewing between Charlie Purdon and Tom Bliss.

Flyhalf has been something of a pleasant surprise, with several players putting up their hand. JP Eloff has been a live-wire attacker for Ohio, and Will Magie has thrust his name into the Eagles conversation with some fine work in Denver. Harry Bennett also looked good for Sacramento before a knee injury struck him down. In the end we’ve opted for the most consistent of the bunch, San Diego’s Kurt Morath, but the margin is very small indeed.

 

MIDFIELD

12 Chad London (Denver)

13 Ryan Matyas (San Diego)

London is the form center in the competition, making his mark in every game and maintaining the high standards he set for himself in the Americas Rugby Championship. He’s played mostly outside center but we’ve opted to shift him in to make room for Matyas, who has been a classy attacker for San Diego.

Both Roland Suniula and Ahmad Harajly were in the running from Ohio, and Ata Malifa has done surprisingly well for Denver in a relatively new position. Mirco Bergamasco seems to be heating up in Sacramento, and San Francisco’s Volney Rouse is a victim of his versatility. His teammate Nick Blevins has shown plenty of physicality.

 

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 Phil Mackenzie (San Diego)

14 Pila Iongi (San Francisco)

15 Mike Te’o (San Diego)

This was a weird one. Iongi has only just arrived but in two games has left a considerable impression. Mackenzie has played in the midfield mostly but we started against San Francisco on the wing and we felt we deserved a spot for his leadership and hard-nosed running. The two Ohio battering rams Mason Baum and Spike Davis have looked good on the front foot. Tim Stanfill’s pace earned him a look, and Takudzwa Ngwenya’s account is now open.

At fullback the simple choice was Te’o. His counter-attacking skills have proved unparalleled thus far. We haven’t seen him under a lot of pressure yet, but we can only choose from what we’ve been given. Garrett Brewer has shown good skills and moments of brilliance, and aforementioned Harajly is a dangerous runner either from fullback or outside center.