Team of the Week

Some re-watches and deliberations were required for the final international select XV of the calendar year. Once again the Americas floundered with four losses from four but there were individuals in each match who deserved recognition for exceptional performances. Next week’s team will return to the European club season, though there is one last match for Brazil against Portugal to watch.

1 – Lucas Noguera Paz (Argentina) Progressing nicely after long-term injury knocked him out of the top spot and by the time he returned had to play second fiddle to Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro. On the smaller end of international props but more than held his own in the scrum against Dan Cole and always impresses with his workrate in the loose.

2 – Agustín Creevy (Argentina) Ended a grueling campaign with another performance to be proud of. Dead on at the set piece and a huge number of impressions with ball in hand. Won two turnovers in defense and led his team admirably against one of the world’s best teams in 2016.

3 – Ramiro Herrera (Argentina) Virtually perfect in the scrum with no penalties against and no backward steps. Also made an improved contribution around the pitch with a half-dozen carries and a couple heavy tackles. At only 27 it’s a bit scary to thing that his best is yet to come.

4 – Brett Beukeboom (Canada) Can’t be denied this week after another gut-busting effort against Samoa. Repeatedly took the ball on despite facing a blue wall of fearsome tacklers. Has enjoyed his best run of games in a Canadian jersey during the November series and has clearly stamped his desire to stay in the starting role for next year’s World Cup qualifiers.

5 – Evan Olmstead (Canada) Shifted to the blindside flank but with numerous loose forwards in contention we’ve yanked him back into the second row. Very prominent in defense and as always a complete menace at the ruck and maul. Scored a cheeky try from close range and ends the season as Canada’s best forward.

6 – Gonzalo Soto (Uruguay) Pablo Matera had a forceful day for the Pumas at Twickenham but the young Carrasco Polo no8 could not be left out after an excellent performance against Romania. His team came up short, but Soto finally showed his potential after lackluster efforts against Germany and Spain. Dynamic with ball in hand, busy defensively, and dominant in the lineout including two steals on Romanian throws. If he can show this form in the Americas Rugby Championship, a pro contract might not be far behind with an Italian passport also in his favor.

7 – Cléber Dias (Brazil) The Brazilian Tom Wood – a dominant lineout jumper and accurate defender whose tackle count is always at or neat the top. His country’s most prominent forward in the loss to Germany, he has been one of the finds of the season after making his test debut as a replacement against Colombia last December.

8 – Facundo Isa (Argentina) Forced to come on after only five minutes when Leonardo Senatore went down. Stepped up with another tremendous performance with ball in hand. Despite being clearly exhausted, the rampaging Santiago man has still carried the Pumas offense on his back with an astonishing number of carries throughout November.

9 – Agustín Ormaechea (Uruguay) Effective but frustrated against Romania with his scrum thoroughly beaten by the Oaks. Made the most of bad ball and took on the fringe defenses repeatedly by himself, making three clean breaks and giving Uruguay as much as he could before being replaced for the final 15 minutes by Guillermo Lijtenstein.

10 – Connor Braid (Canada) Celebrated a new professional contract with Worcester Warriors by contributing a classy performance against Samoa that very nearly led Canada to an unlikely victory. Tactical kicking was on point including a lovely cross-kick to van der Merwe for a score, while his choices to take on the line always resulted in go-forward.

11 – Santiago Cordero (Argentina) A late switch to fullback might have frazzled Cordero defensively after playing wing all year, but once he settled in his electric footwork returned. Finished off a wonderful team try and caused problems with every carry. Canada’s Conor Trainor had a big second half against Samoa with his explosive running game causing chaos.

12 – Nicolás Freitas (Uruguay) Another young talent who did not shine in prior November outings but stepped up in a big way against Romania. Charged through the defense on several occasions and made a number of stiff tackles to hold the line.

13 – Matías Moroni (Argentina) Happy to be back in the midfield after being pitched out on the wing, his silky running is a contrast to the more direct approach of Matías Orlando. Against England Moroni used pace and guile to rack up metres and good hands to set Cordero free on the outside.

14 – DTH van der Merwe (Canada) Recovered from a very forgettable match against Romania with two tries in a determined effort against Samoa. Not a perfect performance by any means but his sheer desire to score nearly clawed his team back from an overwhelming deficit.

15 – Daniel Sancery (Brazil) The best player in Leipzig for Os Tupis, and arguably the best on the pitch period. Scythed through would-be tacklers with every touch and could have used more help from his shivering teammates. Left a Pro D2 contract to return to Brazil for the Olympics. Easily worthy of a professional contract somewhere.