Some people are gonna say that it is bit early to have a Super Rugby season XV given the finals are around the corner.
I disagree though - the finals will only involve 6 teams and there are plenty of players in the 9 other teams that missed out who have shown tremendous form this season especially in a losing team.
Some players like Ben Smith are played out of the position they have played in for much of the season but I've fitted in here due to their contributions throughout the season - Ben Smith is high up on the line breaks, offloads lists.
I think this team may be controversial as it lacks many players from the conference leaders, the Chiefs, Brumbies and Bulls - but I think that is possibly a positive indictment of those teams who are true teams and got to where they were due to a total team effort rather than the brilliance of one individual.
This team features many players who have topped the stats charts in Super Rugby this season, i.e. offloads, tackles, line-breaks, tries, points scored, etc. but overall effort has been considered as well.
1.Wyatt Crockett, Crusaders
2.Adriaan Strauss, Cheetahs
3.Ben Tameifuna, Chiefs
4.Juandre Kruger, Bulls
5.Franco van der Merwe, Sharks
6.Pieter Labuschagne, Cheetahs
7.Matt Todd, Crusaders
8.Ben Mowen, Brumbies
9.TJ Perenara, Hurricanes
10.Morne Steyn, Bulls
11.Hosea Gear, Highlanders
12.Ben Smith, Highlanders
13.Rene Ranger, Blues
14.Frank Halai, Blues
15.Charles Piutau, Blues
Laughable!
ReplyDeleteYou can't just pick players out of position to avoid making the tough decisions!
ReplyDeleteThis team is definitely biased towards New Zealand players, I assume that is because you mainly watched the New Zealand teams play. I think Sam Whitelock and Andries Bekker would be my locks. Will Genia is a far better halfback than Perenara. Ben Tameifuna hasn't been good enough to get selected here.
ReplyDeleteFullback is tough, but I would probably pick either Ben Smith or Israel Folau at fullback.