Autumn Nations Series | Team Of The Week | Round One

Round one of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series is in the unbooked following two highly entertaining clashes.

Kicking things off was a clash between England and New Zealand that went down to the wire as a George Ford drop goal went agonisingly adrift to hand New Zealand a well deserved 24 -22 victory. This resulted completed a clean sweep of England for Scott Robertson’s side in 2024 following the All Blacks 2 – 0 series victory back in July.

North of the border, Scotland flexed their muscles with an annihilation of Fiji, with winger Darcy Graham netting four tries in a 57 – 17 victory for the Scots.

Given the abundance of top-quality performances in round one, picking a team of the week was a challenge, but here is our crack at it!

1. Ellis Genge – England
Hard-nosed, confrontational and physical, the Bristol Bears loosehead gave the All Blacks all they could handle at both scrum time and in open play.

2. Jamie George – England
Chugging along like a diesel-engine Land Rover Defender, George is the perfect captain for England at this moment in time. Bridging the cap between the Saracens-dominated pragmatic era with a new look and flamboyant willingness to play, George marshalled his troops well today.

3. Zander Fagerson – Scotland
Unsurprisingly, the Scotland tighthead had a strong day at scrum time against the rather inexperienced Haereiti Hetet. What was great to see, however, was his willingness to get on the ball and be involved in the attacking game with 7 carries.

4. Maro Itoje – England
It is Itoje’s renaissance season, and we are all just living in his world. Getting back to his absolute best, the Saracens skipper was immense once again against the All Blacks with 14 tackles, 5 carries, and 2 line-out grabs to go with his menacing presence at the breakdown.

5. George Martin – England
Ruling the skies for his side, the hard-hitting Leicester Tiger’s lock won 4 line-outs to go with his 5 carries and jaw-dropping 18 tackles. Operating at the perfect ying to Itoje’s yang, Martin just gets through so much work which frees up his lock partner to pester the opponents.

6. Wallace Sititi – New Zealand
Ladies and gentlemen, if you didn’t already know it, the All Blacks have a superstar in the backrow, and it’s not Ardie Savea (yes, he is a star too). Just months removed from the controversial decision to pick Sititi ahead of the red-hot Hoskins Sotutu, Scott Robertson has been fully vindicated for his brave selection. Fiji’s Meli Derenalagi deserves a shoutout for his strong showing against Scotland.

7. Tom Curry – England
Rugby’s bionic man has returned following what was by all accounts a career-threatening hip surgery. Not only did he return but he absolutely bulldozed All Blacks ball carriers with ferocious intent. Completing 15 tackles and hassling the All Blacks at the breakdown, Curry departed after 59 minutes only to be replaced by his identical twin, who was equally impressive.

8. Ben Earl – England
Just edging out the ever-impressive Ardie Savea, Earl has become the heartbeat of the English pack as their go-to carrier. Topping the charts with 17 carries for 64 meters, 2 defenders beaten, and a whopping 19 tackles made, Earl was everywhere on Saturday.

9. Cam Roigard – New Zealand
Reminding the rugby world what the All Blacks were missing throughout The Rugby Championship, Roigard’s twenty-minute cameo off the bench went a long way to swinging the momentum in his team’s favour. Comparing players to ones from the past is always a challenge, but the 23-year-old really does strike an eerily similar resemblance to the great Fourie du Preez. Ultra smooth with his pass, highly intelligent in how he sees the game and just so good at the basics, Roigard feels like the key man going forward in the scrumhalf position.

10. Marcus Smith – England
Much has been written about the decision to remove Smith from the action when, in reality, he was playing arguably his best game in a white shirt. Threatening the gain line with the famous goose step, fronting up defensively and kicking well from hand, Smith looked assured in the pivot position. If nothing else, Smith will have put doubt in Steve Borthwick’s mind about needing a ‘calming influence’ like Ford on the pitch late in matches. For us, the move going forward feels like bringing Fin Smith on at ten with Marcus shifting to fullback, as he is just that good at the moment.

Former All Black flyhalf sums up English fans thoughts post loss

11. Mark Tele’a – New Zealand
Simply superb once again, the half-South African (yes, we had to get that in there) winger just glides through contact like any other player in world rugby. Leaving English defenders clutching at ghosts for his try, Tele’a’s acceleration off the mark completely wrong-footed the English cover defence.

12. Sione Tuipulotu – Scotland
Scotland’s captain had an assured performance for his match in charge of his country. Not quite popping off the charts in terms of the individual stats with 11 tackles and 6 carries, his playmaking ability opened up space for those around him. Such is his ball-carrying threat, which often occupies multiple defenders even when he is merely a decoy.

13. Huw Jones – Scotland
Once again proving that he is the perfect foil to Tuipulotu, Jones runs some of the best lines in professional rugby. Forming a mind meld with his skipper, Jones has an uncanny ability to let the play develop before entering the line at the perfect moment. Ending his day with 116 meters from 10 carries and 2 tries shows just how lethal he was once again.

14. Darcy Graham
Four tries… Do we need to say any more? Well, if you insist! Returning from a year away from the international game with a heinous injury run, Graham exploded back into the fold. Entering into a battle with his Edinburgh teammate Duhan van der Merwe for the top try scorer in Scottish history. The magician pulled even at 28 each before van der Merwe got one of his own to get to 29! Stay tuned, folks, as this will be a fun battle to track!

15. Will Jordan – New Zealand
Whilst the debate about who the best player in the world is rages on (it’s Dupont), the All Blacks fullback is less than a percentage point behind him. Once again, stealing the show at Twickenham by beating 4 defenders and scoring a superb try by running the perfect line to expose the English rush defence, Jordan was immense for his side and is clearly the best option at fullback for Scott Robertson’s side.