606 Aviva Premiership Dream Team - TH Prop

Things are currently looking tight in the vote for the Loosehead prop as we move to review the Tighthead contenders. Again we are looking for who has been the standout performer in the AP. The contenders are:

Matt Stevens 16 starts (2 rep)
He retired from England duty to concentrate on club duties and “spend more time with his family”. Stevens is not the most toned rugby player out there, and his distinctive wobblegut shape makes him an easy target for opposition fans. Apparently he is a penalty magnet who cannot scrummage, yet his club form has been good enough to earn selection for his second Lions Tour. His ability to lift his jumpers high into the air with great alacrity has been a key component in Sarries having one of the best lineouts in Europe. Sarries build their team on a work ethic so we have to assume that stevens is a lot more diligent than his shape would suggest.

Dan Cole 10 starts (5 rep)
The England man has only just made enough appearances to qualify for the voting. His form this season in the scrums has been solid, but has seen him contribute to a number of penalty tries. His form has seen him depose Castro as first choice and the Tigers scrum weakens when the Argo/Italian replaces the polar bear. What really helps him stand out is his tackling and work at the breakdown. Leicester attack well from turnover ball, and Cole helps provide it. His 93% tackle completion rate stands up to anyone in the premiership.

James Johnston 21 starts
JJ missed just one regular season game, and for the bulk of the season has been storming round the rugby pitch for Quins. The Quins scrum has been solid all season, and when allowed to drive sideways, have caused problemd for everyone they have faced. Johnston has been a big carrier for Quins. On the downside he has conceded more penalties this season than any other player (A whopping 38, compared to Stevens 22) and it can be argued he has looked a touch disinterested since announcing his move to Saracens.

Brian Mujati 10 starts (7 reps)
At times it has been hard to tell if Mooj was first choice at saints this season, reflected in his appearance tally. Selection for the AP semi final suggests that he is – just. Still a major force for Saints he is not the player that he was. Along with tiny he will try to drag Saints to the AP title before departing for the boulevards of Paris.

Rupert Harden 13 starts (1 rep)
A knee injury brought Harden’s season to a premature end at the start of March and prevented him from pushing to have a second successive tour with England. You have to think though that the England coaches are now looking elsewhere as he failed to feature for the Saxons this season. May well find himself behind the promising Shaun Knight at Glaws next season.

Hoani Tui 11 starts (2 rep)
Well I expected to be writing about Craig Mitchell, but injury and bench warming for wales means that he does not qualify with just 7 appearances. This makes things difficult as I know bugger all about Tui. That he is sponsored by a pub must be worth a few votes?

David Wilson 16 starts
Englands back-up tight head looks like a prop. Barrel- chested with a weather beaten face that reminds me a little of Fran Cotton. It has to be hard to find form as a prop when at regular intervals you are away with England warming the bench – in 9 tests this season he spent 52 minutes on the pitch (and 668 minutes on the bench). Since the end of the 6Ns his form has been excellent in the tight and he has mad good contributions in the loose. He will be hoping to show the England coaches that he has what it takes in Argentina.

Phil Swainston 12 starts (1 rep)
He looked good when Wasps played against Leicester during the AIs, though with 4 props on international duty and a couple more injured the guys selected by Tigers were some way down the pecking order. Other times I have seen Wasps this season the front row have not stood out. That is actually some improvement on recent years as at times they have gone backwards very rapidly. All the players deserve some credit for this – though perhaps not enough to warrant serious consideration for this poll.

Halani Aulika 16 starts (4 rep)
A prop who may well divide opinion in this discussion. He has been arguably the most effective ball carrying forward in the premiership – as demonstrated by his 6 tries. When the LI pack has fired he has been to the fore, but at times his work in the tight has been symptomatic of LI verging form the vey good to the ridiculous. He is not far behind Johnston in the number of penalties conceded.

Henry Thomas has played well enough to feature in EPS training and make the summer tour to Argentina, however he has started just 9 matches for Sale in the premiership so does not qualify for the poll.
Euan Murray is Worcester’s first choice but again has played insufficient matches to qualify.
TH duties at London Welsh have been shared amongst a handful of players, with no individual standing out.

Wilson has been immense for us, but a TH who has scored 11 tries needs to be in the team of the year! He's been great for Irish and is no slouch at scrum time either.

No stand out performers this year. you have to say that Cole, Johnstone and Mujati have all under performed this year. They've still been good, but by their own standards they've had better years.

Again I can't let my club bias get in the way. Harden is a solid player, but is not good enough to win this. Aulika has certainly been interesting, but as with my argument about Vunipola, and even more so in Halani's case his scrummaging is not up to the level of others. I've never been a fan of Wilson, but you have to give the guy credit he has had his best season with Bath by a country mile. Stevens is another who has really shone this season, but for the 2nd time I am forced to go with the player!!

David Wilson gets my vote - I prefer TH to be a better scrummager.

I like my frontrow to have balance.

LH - more mobile
TH- more powerful scrummager.

Discussion for the LH position has been a tad more heated. Both prop positions are close calls atm.

beshocked wrote:David Wilson gets my vote - I prefer TH to be a better scrummager.

I like my frontrow to have balance.

LH - more mobile
TH- more powerful scrummager.

Hey beshocked, we've agreed on something!

Cole has been steadily brilliant all season in a Tigers shirt. Wilson has come on dramatically now he's paired with James and Webber. Swainston has been a great signing for Wasps, still young and giving them a cornerstone in the scrum they desperately needed, not destructive but they seem to concede fewer penalties with him there.

I like the LI prop in the loose but against physical sides that like to attack through the tight he seems to go missing (at least in the games I saw). I like to see a prop do the tight work, scrum and then add to his game from there.

Cole for me.

Wilson has been very good this season, arguably the player he should have been for the past few years. I hope he gets a lot of game time in Argentina as it can't be easy constantly holding tackle bags and bench warming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVP9ozYLDbY

About 20 seconds in is a great run from him.

But so I'm not accused of bias, I am going to have to go with Cole. Everytime I've seen him play for Leicester he has been great and he really has contributed around the park.
I think he has had his worst 6N for England actually and if he was anyone else he might have been swapped for Wilson, but as this poll is for premiership performances, he gets my vote.

Wilson has been great this 2nd half of the season, good to see him stepping up.

Aulika for me.

Not just for his tries and ball carrying, but his scrum work. Has steadied our scrum and made us a strong scrummaging side this season. and for the try he scored v Sale, amazing.

I must confess to being a tad surprised to see Dan Cole in 3rd place here. I think he has been well below his top form for Tigers this season and would be down the list for me.

Anyway, I don't really have a top 3 for this jersey, but my top 2 are...


2. David Wilson

This fella is much maligned at times who decrey him as poor back up for Cole for England, but he has had a mighty impressive season for Bath, and is looks fitter and stronger than he has done in the past. He is a real anchor in the scrum, and would walk into most sides in the AP or Rabo, and I am backing him to shine against Argentina this summer off the back of his excellent club form.


My choice though is...

1. Halani Aulika

Sure there is probably some bias here, but this fella has been unreal for us this season and would be the only London Irish player that I would argue for to be in this seasons dream team. His scrummaging is excellent, and he is a real powerhouse in the loose. 11 tries tells it's own story, but he is not just a big fella who can run, he is a proper prop, who scrums, tackles, smashes rucks and carries in the tight. A monster season from him, and I am praying that he can continue in that vein next season for us.

Went for Cole. Admittedly, partially for his England performances, which I know is not completely fair.

But not sure about Wilson. Never really saw him dominate any of the better Looseheads. Good player, though.

Quite surprised Cole is topping this pool. Obviously he's a good player but with only 10 starts in the season.

beshocked wrote:Quite surprised Cole is topping this pool. Obviously he's a good player but with only 10 starts in the season.

perhaps it points to a lack of decent TH props in the AP

nathan wrote:

beshocked wrote:Quite surprised Cole is topping this pool. Obviously he's a good player but with only 10 starts in the season.

perhaps it points to a lack of decent TH props in the AP

Or a lack of objectivity by the voters?

I think it is a mix of both really. Certainly I would not palce Cole as the stand-out performer across the AP season, but I would say he was the best Premiership prop in European games.

I think that there is always some partisan voting in things like this, in part because we see our own players more. So whilst I voted for Wilson in this poll (which does not mean I think he is better, just his performances across more games ad up to a bigger impact) but voted for Kitchener on the second row poll.

Totally agree LT. Cole is the best TH on that list but Wilson has had the best season.

It is interesting that Stevens hasn't got a single vote, yet is going on the Lions tour.

I think reputation takes over a little on these polls tbh. Cole has been ok in the AP but there has been better performers without doubt.

I missed this, but Stevens has been better than Cole in the AP this year, though if I had to pick one for England/Lions it would be the easiest decision of all time. Wilson's been good too