6 Nations Team of the Tournament

15. Halfpenny (Honourable Mention, Hogg/Huget) – Ever reliable under the high ball and kicked well from hand and the spot all tournament. Would have liked to have seen him involved in more attacking phases however...
14. Cuthbert (HM, Venditti) - Is big, strong and has that sevens pace which we saw put to devastating effect against England.
13. Davies – He nicely supplements the Welsh backline and helped the team rack up the most amount of points with his smooth handling and running.
12. Fofana – A rare bright light in an overwhelmingly underwhelming France squad. He was always dangerous with ball in hand and is an elusive runner with deceptive strength. Scored the try of the tournament for me with that superb solo effort vs England (notwithstanding the suspect ‘tackling’)
11. North (HM, Visser) – North is a powerful runner with greater guile than the crash bang centres like Basteraud and Roberts. He made a number of great breaks throughout the tournament and showed what a great finisher he is with that brilliant try at the end against France.
10. Biggar – Biggar stepped up in a big way this championship. He’s been solid in defence, adventurous in attack and showed how good a game manager he can be with confident performances against Italy and England standing out in particular.
9. Phillips – No scrum half was consistently good in my opinion, however I feel Mike Philips offered more than his counterparts. His distribution was generally good and as always he looked to make quick inroads around the ruck area.
8. Parisse/Picamoles – I cannot separate these two exceptional no.8s who I believe were the two best forwards overall of the championship. Parisse was immense, combining flair and tenacity and we saw how much Italy missed him when suspended. Much of the same could be said for Picamoles also who seemed to get over the gain line with every carry and led many positive French counter attacks.
7. Robshaw (HM, Brown) – Although he is not a specialist ‘fetcher’ Robshaw put in a number of high energy, quality performances. He’s a great tackler and consistently slowed opposition ball by being involved in every ruck. Also he is a great captain who leads by example like the (Italian) man just above.
6. Zanni – Much underappreciated and overshadowed by the talismanic Parisse, yet Zanni is every bit as (if not more) effective as a ball carrier and was disruptive at the breakdown.
5. Hamilton – He was effective in the lineout, loves to be involved in mauls and always put in a show of formidable defence.
4. Launchbury – I don’t feel there was a standout lock at no.4, the pre-tournament ‘favourite’ - Richie Gray wasn’t particularly dynamic as in previous years. In Launchbury I saw a young man who always looked assured and will develop into a really special player as he continues to master the finer subtleties of the game.
3. Cole – A technician of the scrum, Cole put in steady performances throughout the championship for England. He got through a lot of work in every match but always displayed great fitness.
2. Hibbard – There was much talk at the start of February about Rory Best being the Lions hooker but the man was flat out terrible for much of this Six Nations. Conversely, Hibbard’s performances have steadily improved and he’s been a strong ball carrying option in addition to a solid thrower at the lineout.
1. Lo Cicero – Yes this is a sentimental pick, and I concede I am not the best judge of the prop forward position however I believe Lo Cicero embodied the resilient Italian spirit and showed age is nothing but a number.

Ian Evans would be in there for me. After a long injury lay off he came back in and has played superbly and played every minute of the championship until substituted on 70 yesterday.

Also Adam Jones. Head and very big shoulders the best tighthead in the NH. I'd be interested to know Coles penalty count because he always seems to give loads away to me. Got schooled yesterday as well.

Ian Evans for me is the welsh player of the tournament

My team:

1.Lo Cicero
2.Richard Hibbard
3.Dan Cole
4.Joe Launchbury
5.Jim Hamilton
6.Sam Warburton (grew in form as tournament went on, and was outstanding yesterday)
7.Chris Robshaw (c)
8.Toby Faletau
9.Ben Youngs
10.Dan Biggar
11.Tim Visser
12.Brad Barritt
13.Wesley Fofana
14.Alex Cuthebert
15.Leigh Halfpenny

doctornickolas wrote:Ian Evans would be in there for me. After a long injury lay off he came back in and has played superbly and played every minute of the championship until substituted on 70 yesterday.

This is very true, I knew I'd forgotten someone - he was very good (at least an honourable mention)

I cannot believe people are selecting Cole after yesterday!

doctornickolas wrote:Ian Evans would be in there for me. After a long injury lay off he came back in and has played superbly and played every minute of the championship until substituted on 70 yesterday.

Also Adam Jones. Head and very big shoulders the best tighthead in the NH. I'd be interested to know Coles penalty count because he always seems to give loads away to me. Got schooled yesterday as well.

I do think Evans played every minute of last years six nations as well? He is a machine

I think Canale has been the best centre by some distance. Easily one of Italy's best players throughout the tournament, definitely up there with Parisse and Zanni. Venditti had an excellent tournament as well.

15. Leigh Halfpenny
14. Mike Brown
13. Wesley Fofana
12. Brad Barritt
11. Alex Cuthbert
10. Dan Biggar
9. Mike Phillips
8. Sergio Parisse
7. Justin Tipuric
6. Chris Robshaw
5. Geoff Parling
4. Ian Evans
3. Adam Jones
2. Richard Hibbard
1. Andrea Lo Cicero

I hope that team dosnt come off as too Welsh biased, but when looking at positions like Hooker and Second Row, not many names stand out.

Coleman and CF - why are you putting Fofana at 13 when he didn't play there even once? Also why would you put the best 12 in the tournament out of position at 13 to cater for Barritt who had a very average tournament.......?

Bizarre.

He did play there, against England and he was immense. Not many other players stand out for me in the middle I’m sorry. I appreciate what Barritt does as a centre, he’s a grafter. I also think other than yesterday Roberts didn’t have a great tournament in attack.

He played 12 against England.....

The Welsh side with Fofana and Parisse

Scarpia wrote:I cannot believe people are selecting Cole after yesterday!

Cole has been consistant all 6ns. Solid at scrum time but outstanding carries, tackles, turnovers and lineout.

Adam Jones is excellant scrummager and that is pretty much it.

Wales plus Picamoles

Artful_Dodger wrote:He played 12 against England.....

You're right, but i still stand by my choice ^_^

To be fair, Fofana best position could well be 13 if (and thats a big if) he was outside a centre with good passing skill. He also moves a lot around the pitch and find himself often on the wing (see both his tries). In modern rugby, centres are not as specialised as they used to be though.

Adam Jones improved his all round game this year his tackles have increased carries improved the man is most likely the best tight head in the world. Forfana is best 12 in 6 nations him and JD or BOD in centre would be amazing

I agree that Adam Jones is the best tight head in this 6N. I would put Domingo as the loosehead and maybe Hibbard as hooker (although I think the Scottish one is quite good). Evans and Hamilton would make a good 2nd row with plenty of grunt. Then its difficult to go past Tipuric , Robshaw, SOB and Zanni as flankers. Number 8 could go to Picamoles or Parisse but its question of style really (sheer power vs agility).
At 9 either Youngs or Laidlaw
For 10 Biggar slightly over Farrel
Centres fofana and tuilagi
Back 3 : halfpenny slightly over hogg with any of north, visser, brown or cuthbert (no big standout for me)

You have give solid opinions for your team whocares but tuilagi has been poor

Yes he wasnt great appart maybe against us but I just like to have a good crashball in my team

But he hasn't been good at that very little yards made Id swap him for italys out side centre and your side is as good as it gets for this tournament

Halfpenny, Cuthbert, Tuilagi, Fofana, Zebo, Biggar, Laidlaw
Domingo, Hibbard, Jones, Ryan, Evans, Zanni, Tipuric, Parisse.

15 Goode
14 Ashton
13 Darcy
12 Lamont
11 Strettle
10 Orquera
9 Care
8 Heaslip
7 Harley
6 Croft
5 Lawes
4 Hamilton
3 Wilson
2 Hartley
1 Marler

"After a long injury lay off he came back in and has played superbly and played every minute of the championship until substituted on 70 yesterday." -- Ian E did the same in last year's 6N Grand Slam - played every min of every match. He is a superb lock and should be on the Lions tour.

Ruby! naughty...

I knew you'd love that one Glas

How is Cole still in anyone's team? He was dominated against Wales, Italy and France. Adam Jones is world class and has got better as the tournament went onwards. If you think back to a certain game in the H-cup these boards were riveting with Cole vs Jones posts with all the English saying how he dominated Jones when the reality was that Bevington can't scrum and Poite was terrible. Jones is cruising into that Lions team.

Rory Best is another one btw, possibly the most overrated player this year.

Trying hard not to be quite as honkingly cycloptic as some of the other punters here:

15. Stuart Hogg
14. Leigh Halfpenny
13. Manu Tualagi
12. Wesley Fofana
11. Alex Cuthbert
10. Dan Biggar
9. Greg Laidlaw
8. Louis Picamoles
7. Justin Tipuric
6. Chris Robshaw
5. Geoff Parling
4. Ian Evans
3. Adam Jones
2. Richard Hibbard
1. Andrea Lo Cicero

Surprised McLean isn't making it into more teams. Looked excellent in the Italy games I saw in a real breakthrough season for them

mid_gen wrote:Surprised McLean isn't making it into more teams. Looked excellent in the Italy games I saw in a real breakthrough season for them

Yeah, he's really progressed nicely since his debut at 10 a few years ago. I think he's thriving at full back as there is less pressure on him. There were quite a few Italian backs who put in great performances throughout the championship - namely McLean, Venditti and Masi

Halfpenny
Cuthbert
Fofana
Roberts
North
Biggar
Philipps
Picamoles
Tipuric
Parisse
Ianto
Coombs
Jones
Hibberd
Jenkins

RubyGuby wrote:15 Goode
14 Ashton
13 Darcy
12 Lamont
11 Strettle
10 Orquera
9 Care
8 Heaslip
7 Harley
6 Croft
5 Lawes
4 Hamilton
3 Wilson
2 Hartley
1 Marler

This team needs michalak at 10

[quote="100%beefy"]

RubyGuby wrote:15 Goode
14 Ashton
13 Darcy
12 Lamont
11 Strettle
10 Michalak
9 Care
8 Heaslip
7 Harley
6 Croft
5 Lawes
4 Hamilton
3 Wilson
2 Hartley
1 Marler

Halfpenny
Venditti
Canale
Fofana
Brown
Orquera
Phillips
Picamole
Tipuric
Robshaw
Evans
Jones
Jones
Ongaro
Domingo

Halfpenny
Cuthbert
Barritt
Fofana
Maitland
Biggar
Parra
Parisse
Tipuric
Zanni
Evans
Launchbury
Adam Jones
Hibbard
Jenkins

I am amazed to see names such as Lo Cicero, Orquera, Brown, Parra, Tuilagi, Zebo, Tipuric, Hamilton, and Youngs...

I was only commenting the other day how Lo Cicero was really struggling in his final season, Orquera had about 60 minutes of decent rugby in him, Brown was a bit of a failed experiment at wing, Parra hardly played, Tuilagi offered little except winning a personal battle with Bast, Zebo, did he even play after that heel flick?, Tipuric played 3 games, was subbed early and 2 of those games he was anonymous, Hamilton was typical Hamilton, big brash but dull, and Youngs was ineffective behind a dominant pack (mostly)

My 15 would look like...

1. Domingo
2. Hibbard (if only for his lineout throwing)
3. Jones
4. Launchbury
5. Evans
6. POM
7. Robshaw
8. Picamoles
9. Phillips
10. Farell
11. North
12. Fofana
13. Barritt
14. Cuthbert
15. 1/2p

There were probably another player in every position unlucky not to make my side...

1. Jenkins (after the Ireland game he was superb (big swallow of humble pie for me)
2. Youngs (played very well when his pack was dominant, totally useless last game though)
3. Cole (couldve displaced Jones easily IMHO)
4. Parling
5. Ryan
6. Wood
7. Zanni
8. Parisse
9. Murray (until last game)
10. Biggar (got stronger and stronger)
11. Maitland
12. No real candidates
13. As above
14. Venditti
15. Kearney (unassumingly solid throughout)

Martyn Williams 100kg (best Cardiff/Wales player ever)
Justin Tupiric 100kg (MOM yesterday and deservedly so)
Tips is the new Nugget.

He's a lot quicker than Williams was.

He's also a lot less gingery

Two ridiculous things yesterday.

First half: Speed on Tipuric chasing Halfpenny's kick. WTF!

Then he ends up on the wing setting up a try with hands that Henson or BOD would be proud kf.

How fast is he actually? He's much much bigger than nugget was and he must be a similar speed to North. Warburton ain't slow either.

It's amazing. Phillips is a extra flanker and with Tipuric and Halfpenny we have 4 wings when attacking.

Grant Ghiraldini Jones
Launchbury Evans
Zanni Picamoles Tipuric
Parra Biggar
North Fofana Canale Maitland
Halfpenny

Grant Ghiraldini Jones - Sounds like a future welsh prop

Glas a du wrote:He's a lot quicker than Williams was.

You're right I reckon and it was mentioned recently "by a pundit" I think that having a lightweight openside was history.
Well Tips showed that was a crock with his MOM performance yesterday.
A nailed on British Lion test 7 in my view with Warbs/Ryan at 6.
In fact, the performance by Wales yesterday was so good that Gats will struggle to include other players from other nations.

There's a few 'lightweight' opensides playing in Wales and we have another two to come from the U20s into professional rugby. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing though because they're all very good opensides.

I'd say there's a real case for Orquera at 10 based on some of the criteria used in the OP; sometimes he's opted for consistency, other times for one good good. Orquera had a blinder against France, and then two good games against England and Ireland, albeit there was a shocker at Murrayfield. I'd still say Farrell was the best 10 of the tournament.

My team would be

15 Huget
14 Halfpenny
13 Hogg
12 Fofana
11 Visser
10 Farrell
9 Youngs

8 Picamoles
7 Tipuric
6 Kelly Brown
5 Parling
4 Launchbury
3 Jones
2 Hibbard
1 Domingo

Metal Tiger wrote:

Scarpia wrote:I cannot believe people are selecting Cole after yesterday!

Cole has been consistant all 6ns. Solid at scrum time but outstanding carries, tackles, turnovers and lineout.

Adam Jones is excellant scrummager and that is pretty much it.

With all due respect I couldn't disagree more. I'd say you haven't been paying proper attention to his tackling game or his carries with ball in hand if you think he's anonymous besides in the scrum. He was at the thick of the action Saturday, his defence and stability standing out for me along with his usual stellar scrummaging.

His fitness has been through the roof since back when Gatland first took charge and he's been solid in all these departments over that time. This is why I've never understood why Cole picks up so much more praise for doing the things Adam has been doing for years. Apart from his usefulness at the breakdown, there's nothing Cole can do which Adam can't at least match, even do better in one or two cases.

Artful_Dodger wrote:I think Canale has been the best centre by some distance. Easily one of Italy's best players throughout the tournament, definitely up there with Parisse and Zanni. Venditti had an excellent tournament as well.

Completely agree re: canale

Halfpenny- very good at everything he did but could have done more. Has outstanding basics.

Cuthbert- great pace and strength. Furthermore times his running lines really well. Great to see wingers entering the line in midfield.

Canale- there were very few good 13's this tournament. Canale has excellent vision and execution, solid defence and was a running threat.

Fofana- the stand out by some distance. Fantastic agility and power in the legs. Good skills and still has a lot of developing ahead of him.

Hogg- not his usual position but was the most effective runner in the tournament, needs to work on constancy in the basics but a very good tournament for him.

Farrell- metronomic with boot and a rock in defence. Line kicking is also very good. He is quite poor at getting the attack going but I thought the quality of 10 this year was appalling.

Youngs- attack minded 9 who links well but does fall down on error count. A bad year for 9's too.

Parisse- best no.8 in the world

Tipuric- should be a lions starter. Pace, work ethic, accuracy, scavenging. Excellent.

Zanni- hugely underrated. At lineout, ruck and in offloading he was exceptional.

Evans- was an absolute rock. Great in the tight and mobile enough to make his presence felt. Very good tournament.

Launchberry- excellent player almost another flanker. Showed he definitely has what it takes.

Jones- good tournament has upped his fitness slightly wins games in the scrum.

Hibbard- looked great whenever he was on. Throwing was good and he was effective in the loose.

Domingo- outstanding player who gave his all. Scrummaging was v good and like most French front row he can get around the pitch well

Metal Tiger wrote:

Scarpia wrote:I cannot believe people are selecting Cole after yesterday!

Cole has been consistant all 6ns. Solid at scrum time but outstanding carries, tackles, turnovers and lineout.

Adam Jones is excellant scrummager and that is pretty much it.

This is so wrong. Cole was the frontrunner going into this tournament. However against France, Italy and Wales he was quite poor. Jones on the other hand started okay, but got much better as the tournament went on. His scrummaging is excellent but I've also noticed he is doing a lot of work around the field. He was unlucky not to get MOTM against Scotland and will be unlucky not to be a candidate for player of the tournament.

Adam Jones is clearly the starter in that 3 jersey.