Team of the Week: Looking rosy
Although Ireland notched the biggest victory, our Six Nations team is dominated by the Red Rose of England after their victory over Wales at Twickenham.
Having ended Welsh hopes of retaining their title to claim the Triple Crown for the first time since 2003, England head into their final match against Italy next week with their title hopes still alive.
Their performance against the defending champions, who were not able to score a try at Twickenham, earned them seven spots in our starting line-up.
They are followed by Ireland who gave Brian O'Driscoll the perfect Dublin send-off with a drubbing of Italy which puts them at the top of the standings ahead of their showdown with France in Paris last week, and also saw them claim four spots in our side.
France were less than convincing in their late victory over Scotland at Murrayfield and have just two players in our team whilst Wales and Scotland make up the numbers with one player each.
Things are a bit more even in our Bubbling under side with five Englishmen, three Scots, two Italians, two Irishmen and one Welshman cracking the nod.
Here is our weekly selection:
15 – Mike Brown (England): He continues his fine form this season, never caught out of position and poses a significant threat on the counter-attack as well.
Bubbling under: Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
14 – Yoann Huget (France): Scored the crucial intercept try, but added so much more with some piercing runs and good tackling.
Bubbling under: Andrew Trimble (Ireland)
13 – Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland): Signed off in Dublin with a typically classy performance that saw him create a number of tries as Ireland dominated Italy to set up a massive final match for the veteran centre in Paris.
Bubbling under: Luther Burrell (England)
12 – Billy Twelvetrees (England): One of his most assured performances in an England jersey. Managed to keep big Jamie Roberts relatively quiet and showed his value on attack with a perfectly weighted grubber for Luther Burrell's try.
Bubbling under: Jamie Roberts (Wales)
11 – Jonny May (England): He may still be a bit rough around the edges, but there is no faulting his work rate and enthusiasm which proved valuable against a dangerous Welsh backline.
Bubbling under: Leonardo Sarto (Italy)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (Ireland): O'Driscoll may have stole the limelight in Dublin, but Ireland's victory was engineered by Sexton who scored two tries of his own in a dominant display.
Bubbling under: Owen Farrell (England)
9 – Danny Care (England): Rewarded for quick-thinking with his try and generally posed a constant threat with his pace and urgency around the rucks.
Bubbling under: Greg Laidlaw (Scotland)
8 – Dave Denton (Scotland): A tireless effort from the athletic loose forward who got through a ton of work on defence and ran hard at the French all day to win the man of the match award despite being on the losing team.
Bubbling under: Ben Morgan (England)
7 – Chris Robshaw (England): The England skipper usually leads by example and this was no different as his team managed to keep the Welsh from scoring a try in a committed defensive effort.
Bubbling under: Sam Warburton (Wales)
6 – Tom Wood (England): Made ground in both attack and defence to get his team on the front foot. His consistency has been a real boost for his team this season.
Bubbling under: Iain Henderson (Ireland)
5 – Paul O'Connell (Ireland): The grizzled veteran was central to the ascendency the Irish pack enjoyed in the tight phases of the game in another physical outing.
Bubbling under: Courtney Lawes (England)
4 – Pascal Pape (France): The French skipper put in a big shift under some significant pressure from his opposite number and was rewarded with a narrow victory.
Bubbling under: Richie Gray (Scotland)
3 – David Wilson (England): Had the wood over Gethin Jenkins in the scrums, and even broke the line on a great run into the Welsh 22.
Bubbling under: Nicolas Mas (France)
2 – Richard Hibbard (Wales): A physical performance from the Welsh hooker who was solid in the set-pieces and made some big hits as well.
Bubbling under: Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
1 – Cian Healy (Ireland): A powerful performance up front, adding immense value in the scrums and mauls, and he got on the scoresheet as well.
Bubbling under: Joe Marler (England)
Our individual selections:
Jan de Koning XV: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Cian Healy.
Matthew Riches XV: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Danny Care, 8 David Denton, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Richie Gray, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Darryn Pollock XV: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Danny Care, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Cian Healy.
Paul Dobson XV: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Devin Toner, 3 David Wilson, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Cian Healy.
Michael de Vries XV: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Jonathon Sexton, 9 Danny Care, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 David Wilson, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Cian Healy.
Previous selections:
Team of the Week – Round One: 15 Rob Kearney (Ireland), 14 Yoann Huget (France), 13 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland), 12 Jamie Roberts (Wales), 11 David Kearney (Ireland), 10 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), 9 Danny Care (England), 8 Sergio Parisse (Italy), 7 Chris Robshaw (England), 6 Yannick Nyanga (France), 5 Pascal Papé (France), 4 Devin Toner (Ireland), 3 Nicolas Mas (France), 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy), 1 Cian Healy (Ireland).
Team of the Week – Round Two: 15 Rob Kearney (Ireland), 14 Yoann Huget (France), 13 Luther Burrell (England), 12 Wesley Fofana (France), 11 Dave Kearney (Ireland), 10 Johnny Sexton (Ireland), 9 Conor Murray (Ireland), 8 Louis Picamoles (France), 7 Chris Robshaw (England), 6 Peter O'Mahony (Ireland), 5 Paul O'Connell (Ireland), 4 Pascal Papé (France), 3 Mike Ross (Ireland), 2 Dylan Hartley (England), 1 Cian Healy (Ireland).
Team of the Week – Round Three: 15 Mike Brown (England), 14 Yoann Huget (France), 13 Alex Dunbar (Scotland), 12 Jamie Roberts (Wales), 11 Sean Lamont (Scotland), 10 Owen Farrell (England), 9 Danny Care (England), 8 Sergio Parisse (Italy), 7 Sam Warburton (Wales), 6 Yannick Nyanga (France), 5 Joshua Furno (Italy), 4 Luke Charteris (Wales), 3 Adam Jones (Wales), 2 Dylan Hartley (England), 1 Gethin Jenkins (Wales).
