Aviva Premiership Team of the Year

No longer a position by position vote, just name your team and then I will aggregate the results. As usual only form in the premiership should count. We are looking for the guys who across the full 9 months of the regular season have been performing week-in, week-out.

To help, or to enable mockery and discussion I shall list the various teams from media outlets as they appear in this post.




Guardian

Beale; Ashton, Marchant, Gopperth, Wade; Farrell*, Fotuali'i; Vunipola, Young Armand; Lawes, Itoje, Schonert, George, Vunipola
* Included despite just 6 starts


Telegraph (Will Greenwood)

Veainu; Wade, Hurrell, Barritt, Rokoduguni; Gopperth, Fotuali'i; Waldrom, Young, Wray; Evans, Green, Schonert, Taylor, Genge


Times

Beale; Woodburn, Scott, Gopperth, Wade; Burns, Fotuali'i; Picamoles, Young, Wray; Rhodes, Launchbury; Sinkler. Hibbard, Genge

I think the variety (apart from at 9 and one flank!) from the lists above shows how there is a good mix of top performances in the Jeff at the mo. I'm not even going to try to list a team, but I am surprised Nowell isn't in any of them!

Nowell got a mention in the Times, but with the comment he just had not played enough to edge out Woodburn (just 7 starts)

I'd probably go

Beale
Ashton
Marchant
Gopperth
Wade
Burns
Fotuali
Picamoles
Young
Wray
Rhodes
Launchbury
Schonert
George
Genge

Bit controversial to have no Exeter players but that shows that it's been about team performance not individuals from them.

Goneva needs to be in there!

Rhodes is a 6, don't Times or Beshocked watch Sarries?

Picamoles should be the 8, Guardian manage to cheerlead Sarries without including their best player this season.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Goneva needs to be in there!

Problem is that with Wade surely a shoe-in for one wing slot, only one is available. Goneva certainly has a strong case, but so do Woodburn and Roku (and others). Main problem for Niki is that while he has made a lot of metres, the eventual output has been less than rivals in tries scored (personally and team). Abiding memory of him this season for me will be the absolute butchering of a Try chance at WR when following a Welch break Niki made lots of metres, but then did not trust himself to beat the final defender (Thompstone?) and slowed and came inside letting Lenny make the tackle. Try then and Falcons would have been in the lead, instead Tigers cleared and dominated the rest of the game.

Scottrf wrote:Rhodes is a 6, don't Times or Beshocked watch Sarries?

Picamoles should be the 8, Guardian manage to cheerlead Sarries without including their best player this season.

With the injuries he has played as much at 5 as at 6. Guardian wanted both him and Wray in, so that was the way to shoehorn both. Until his injury Waldrom was in fine form, and the catalyst for Exeter's revival following the slow start to the season. However I suspect his inclusion was more to ensure that Exeter had people in there.

Waldrom is effective at what he does, but come on there is no comparison. We have a pack that gets dominated and a useless backline and he's fantastic every game.

Horstmann has played some at Chiefs at 8 and looks as effective, easier in a functioning pack and team.

I'm struggling to think of stand outs for me at tight head lock and full back to be honest.

Genge Taylor
Rhodes young Picamoles
Robson cipriani
Wade (though if there the whole season solomona) gopperth scott short.

Wray and Rhodes have been two of Saracens best players this season IMO.

Scottrf I would have picked Picamoles at 8. Clearly not Billy V.

Numerous other wingers more deserving than Goneva as Londontiger said.

To give Exeter representation could put Woodburn or Short in. Solomona or Roko were also good wing contenders.

no 7 & 1/2 Cipriani....

Short does look great every game I see, why does he never get plaudits?

Rhodes I agree should be included (I think Sarries most consistent player this season).

Wray seems to fill any 6-8 so where do you put him? I think Young has been the best seven-y 7. Rhodes Young Picamoles is my backline.

Wing is competitive. Wade deserves to be in, but there are a number for the other spot.

Scottrf as I said Rhodes has played in the 2nd row and I don't think there have been many outstanding locks.

Exeter Chiefs players are still mostly unfashionable. Still the perception IMO is they are a team first, individuals 2nd.

Even I think it's a bit silly to shoehorn the likes of Farrell,Billy and Itoje into the Guardian line up.

My own thoughts:

Have to include - Wade, Gopperth, Young, Rhodes

Probably in - Fotuali'i, Picamoles, Genge


Which is only 7 players.



So by position, considering:

FB - Beale (started season late and has also played centre); Veainu (missed a big chunk of the season with concussion); Goode (not as good a season as previous, and missed games with injury); Woodward (sometimes easier to stand out in a porrly performing team)
Wing - Woodburn, Short, Solomona, Ashton (all have their strengths)
Centre - Marchant, Barritt
FH - No standout (with Gopperth having mainly played at centre)
Locks - Most of the England boys have missed too many games, can see the merits in Bryn Evans, while Horwill has been good when not injured.
Front Row - Struggling at TH as so many teams have rotated a lot. Hooker - George has been the best, but has he started enough games?

beshocked wrote:Scottrf as I said Rhodes has played in the 2nd row and I don't think there have been many outstanding locks.

As cover yeah. Last 5 starts at 6.

Lawes has had a good year if we're struggling for names at lock...

Yup cipriani. Tailed off a bit as has Robson but over the season I thought him and gopperth worked brilliantly.

I would have Wilson from Falcons at 6 personally. Bit if a machine when  it comes to tackling. Armand at 7 and Picamoles at 8, even though he started a bit slowly. 

It's hard to pick in certain areas. Sam James at centre has been pretty impressive for Sale and held their midfield together in a difficult season. Who to pick alongside him I'm undecided. Probably go with the Cipriani and Gopperth 10/12 combo that was so impressive before Leinster destroyed it and Cips confidence.

Agree that lock and tighthead is tough. So...

Genge, Taylor, Cole
???, ???
Wilson, Picamoles, Armand
Kahn (just), Cipriani
Gopperth, James
Solomona, Beale, Wade

I'd have Sinkler in there are the TH.

My team:

1 Ellis Genge - 14 starts (plus 8 bench means played in every game). Strong in teh loose with 3 tries and some dominant scrum performances)
2 Tommy Taylor - 16 starts. Like a few Wasps players may have hit a lull in form at the wrong time, but in for teh excellence shown in Autumn, Winter and early Spring
3 Nick Schonert - 17 starts, solid, consistent, shored up the Wuss scrum well. (Few candidates have started at least half their club's matches - Sinckler just 9)
4 Bryn Evans - 21 starts. Solid workhorse, efforts across entire season get him in ahead of more talented contempories
5 James Horwill - 14 starts. Most "successful" lineout operator in the league, and important carrying. Quins always look a much better team when he plays.
6 Michael Rhodes - 17 starts (4 sub). Heartbeat of the Sarries side this season.
7 Thomas Young - 17 starts & 7 tries. Possibly Wasps best player in the premiership this season.
8 Louis Picamoles - 14 starts & 4 tries. MotM (or close to) every time I have seen him this season.
9 Kahn Fotuali'i - 17 starts. Based on the first half of the season would have been Robson, but his form fell away.
10 Danny Cipriani - 16 starts. Survives a drop in form to make my team.
11 Christian Wade - 20 starts and 17 tries. At this level possibly the best attacking winger in the NH.
12 Jimmy Gopperth - 20 starts and 266 points. Whilst I may not like the man, he has been the standout player in the premiership this season for me, demonstrating an atatcking skill I have never seen before. You can teach old dogs new tricks.
13 Joe Marchant - 18 starts and 8 tries. Has fitted into the Quins midfield really well.
14 Denny Solomona - 12 starts and 10 tries. Hate doing this (especially as it means no Exeter players), but his impact has been phenomonal since the cross code switch.
15 No real standouts (Beale missed half the season) so I use a selectors prerogative and select a favourite.

Mine would be based solely on the Prem.
1) Genge
2) Taylor
3) Sinckler
4) Launchbury
5) Lawes
6) Wilson
7) Young
8) Picamoles
9) Fotuali'i
10) Burns
11) Woodburn
12) Gopperth
13) Marchant
14) Wade
15) Marshall

Welly wrote:Mine would be based solely on the Prem.

Hopefully everyone has done taht

Are there so many different choices because the Jeff has been of a higher or lower level of quality this year?

My team would be:
1. Genge
2. Hibbard
3. Schonert
4. Evans
5. Rhodes
6. Wilson
7. Young
8. Picamoles
9. Robson
10. Gopperth
11. Wade
12. Barritt
13. Marchant
14. Roko
15. Marshall

I think there has been so much rotation that the best players by and large have appeared in a minimum number of games.

Not sure if overall the quality is up or down, but based purely on my own team I fell (despite regularly moaning about our performances) that we have played better than we have for a few years, perhaps since the 2012/13 season. Yet we have fallen further behind compared to the current top 3.

Of course this does not include performances in Europe which were a complete and utter babyshambles.

Due to circumstances beyond my control I think I've watched more AP games this season than ever before.

1. Genge
2. Hibbard
3. Sinckler
4. Lawes
5. Horwill
6. Rhodes
7. Young
8. Picamoles
9. Fotuali'i
10. Cipriani
11. Wade
12. Gopperth
13. Marchant
14. Rokoduguni
15. Marshall

Think it's a bit sketchy that some of you are putting Rhodes in the second row, how many games did he actually start there? Good player though, if Saracens had any decency whatsoever they would let Saints take him off their hands in exchange for Callum Clark....

Gopperth player of the season for me.

Gopperth wins RPA player of the year.

I would go for Hougaard at SH, once again his playing coincided with Wuss pulling away from relegation, against Bristol he was unplayable.

I thought Dollman had a good season for Chiefs, but maybe just trying to get one of their players in.

LondonTiger wrote:Gopperth wins RPA player of the year.

Well deserved I'd say.

beshocked wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Gopperth wins RPA player of the year.

Well deserved I'd say.

At 12. I don't think Wasps have looked anywhere near as threatening with him at 10 since the Cips meltdown. He makes an attacking backline play defensive. At 12 he's been a revelation, he's a competent ball carrier and a brilliant alternative when the 10 is under pressure. He likes to get stuck in to the defensive work as well.