Australian team of the week - FYI

[BDAVEY]

Australian team of the week April 6, 2010 - 11:18AM
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15. James O'Connor (Force). Photo: Getty Images


Each week, Greg Growden and Rupert Guinness pick the form Australian Super 14 team.

15 James O'Connor (Force) (4)*
14 Digby Ioane (Reds) (6)
13 Rob Horne (Waratahs) (2)
12 Berrick Barnes (Waratahs) (1)
11 Drew Mitchell (Waratahs) (5)
10 Quade Cooper (Reds) (4)
9 Chris O'Young (Force) (1)
8 Matt Hodgson (Force) (3)
7 David Pocock (Force) (1)
6 David Dennis (Waratahs) (1)
5 Dean Mumm (Waratahs) (4)
4 Nathan Sharpe (Force)(6)
3 Al Baxter (Waratahs) (5)
2 Ben Whittaker (Force)(1)
1 Benn Robinson (Waratahs) (4)

[BeeJay]

Six Force men! And Whittaker in there too! Fantastic, and well deserved!

[Ecky]

Interestingly, from rugby365, the S14 team o'the week is:

15 - Peter Hynes (Reds):
Quality players will stand out even in a losing cause!
Bubbling under: Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)

14 - Joe Rokocoko (Blues):
He is fast regaining his best form and could soon challenge for an All Black spot again.
Bubbling under: Sean Maitland (Crusaders)

13 - Rene Ranger (Blues):
What a revelation he has been in the midfield this season...
Bubbling under: Robbie Fruean (Crusaders)

12 - Ma'a Nonu (Hurricanes):
Perhaps not the most consistent player, but an awesome sight to behold when he hits his straps.
Bubbling under: Stephen Donald (Chiefs)

11 - Digby Ioane (Reds):
He would probably perform very well even if you play him at prop. Such a livewire.
Bubbling under: Drew Mitchell (Waratahs)

10 - Quade Cooper (Reds):
Without doubt Australia's best flyhalf and also the form No.10 in the competition.
Bubbling under: Mike Delany (Chiefs)

9 - Will Genia (Reds):
Much of the Reds' revival has been based on his genius.
Bubbling under: Brendon Leonard (Chiefs)

8 - Matt Hodgson :
His physicality caught the normally impressive Stormers off-guard and knocked them off their stride in Perth.
Bubbling under: Pierre Spies (Bulls)

7 - David Pocock :
Now the Stormers know why his nickname is 'Bam-bam'... he hits you twice as hard. (Yes, we know he is named after the Flintstones character!)
Bubbling under: Willem Alberts (Sharks)

6 - Jacques Botes (Sharks):
Without doubt his best game of the season... and just when people were beginning to write him off.
Bubbling under: Jerome Kaino (Blues)

5 - Nathan Sharpe :
He has been a pillar of strength in a struggling Force side and gets just reward for yet another standout performance.
Bubbling under: Andries Bekker (Stormers)

4 - Steven Sykes (Sharks):
He has grown into the role of the Sharks' enforcer and is likely to have plenty of Green and Gold in his future if he keeps improving this way.
Bubbling under: Brad Thorn (Crusaders)

3 - Al Baxter (Waratahs):
He may not be everybody's first choice as a scrummager, but his all-round game was immense. And then there's that first-ever Super Rugby try, too...
Bubbling under: Owen Franks (Crusaders)

2 - Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks):
He showed just how effective he can be when his focus is on the game.
Bubbling under: Keven Mealamu (Blues)

1 - Benn Robinson (Waratahs):
Still one of the most destructive scrummagers in the tournament and he also gets around the park like a loose forward.
Bubbling under: Charlie Faumuina (Blues)

[BDAVEY]

rugby heaven.com just looking at the aussies

[hertryk]

Nathan has been in there 6 times....What a guy, what a player....what a Captain...
Congrats to Chris O'Young stirling effort...Well Done to all our boys...

[tragic]

Nice to see Chris O in there as well.

[Burgs]

Genia was twice of O'Young for mine and agree Hynes over (a pretty good) JO'C.
Faingai for Barnes too, Barnes isn't really doing much for me lately.

[GIGS20]

RugbyHeaven teams tend to be picked based upon the result more than the performance.

I thought Genia was good in a well beaten team....I I thought Hynes and JOC was a bit of a coin toss.

I didn't think there was a 12 worth mentioning in Oz this weekend, maybe we could put Inman in 12 instead of Faingaa......certainly Inman was the second #13, and beat Faingaa as well IMHO.

I know that would never happen, but it should!

[BDAVEY]

nO Brumbies last week either...BYE

[James]

RugbyHeaven teams tend to be picked based upon the result more than the performance.

I thought Genia was good in a well beaten team....I I thought Hynes and JOC was a bit of a coin toss.

I didn't think there was a 12 worth mentioning in Oz this weekend, maybe we could put Inman in 12 instead of Faingaa......certainly Inman was the second #13, and beat Faingaa as well IMHO.

I know that would never happen, but it should!

Close. It's based on the result + 2 Waratahs.

I actually thought JOC had a pretty average game compared to the norm. 2 missed penalties, a couple of dodgy decisions and a dropped ball or two.

[GIGS20]

Thats true James, But Hynes didn't exactly have a blinder either. and the Reds lost....look at how you have to play in a losing team to make it to that list.....Nobody on the planet played a better 11 or 10 than Digby and Quade this week.

[zimeric]

I thought Genia had an average game, the Sharks targetted him, shut him down and he didnt break the line like he usually does, Chrisso had a similar game but was probably picked as he was on the winning team.

[GIGS20]

Yeah, that was one of several coin tosses there Zim. I certainly didn't think Chrisso had the game he had against the Bulls, but Genia was pretty ordinary.

I wonder if (like me) RH assesses performance based upon expectation.

When I fill in the player voting, I tend to give a 5 to a bloke who did pretty much what I think he should have and higher if I've got a nice surprise. I guess that's not really fair on Bam et al, but I've score a lot higher this season than others because of all the rookies (I think I gave Ted Postal a 9)

[zimeric]

I tend to score the guys - bad game 0-5 average to good game 6-8 and great game 9-10

[GIGS20]

Well I do too, but a bad game is different between Bam and Chrisso for instance.

If Bam holds his own, I call that a bad game, if Chrisso holds his own I call that a good game