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Super Rugby Round 8: Aussie team of the week

7th April, 2014
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James Horwill sticking with Harlequins. (Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
Roar Guru
7th April, 2014
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I know I promised a clash of the ‘stache article this week, but I’m going to have to renege.

I think some of them have turned into beards or were shaved off. Only Scott Higginbotham and Nic White had what I’d clearly class as a moustache, but what magnificent specimens they have!

But to the actual rugby, where there were some good matches on the weekend. I was initially a little nonplussed in some positions, but after checking my notes and reviewing the stats this actually turned out to be one of the easier weeks to pick a team.

1. Pekahou Cowan
We start off with a newcomer to the team of the week for this season in Pekahou Cowan. He scrummed very well against his Reds counterparts and was a workhorse around the field with nine carries for 29 metres and nine tackles.

2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
A bad week at the office for most Australian hookers. Nathan Charles tried his heart out and James Hanson went okay, but I’m going to give the guernseyto Polota-Nau. Not an exceptional performance, but he threw himself into everything as usual.

3. Ben Alexander
Others with a lot better knowledge of front row play have commented that Alexander seems rejuvenated this year. He has always been pretty good around the park but now that is the icing on the cake, the cake being some solid scrummaging against a fantastic Blues front row of Tony Woodcock and Charlie Faumuina. Props love cake analogies.

4. Hugh Pyle
All of our locks played well on the weekend. Scott Fardy was maybe a bit quieter than usual, Rob Simmons was his normal self, while Sam Wykes and Will Skelton both had pretty good games. Skelton made a lot of mistakes and is still very raw, but this sort of match is exactly what he needs for his development.

Hugh Pyle gets the nod again. Such a shame he is going to France next year.

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5. James Horwill
James Horwill was gutted after the match. I know it was more emotional exhaustion than physical but if you look at his numbers, he had good reason for some physical exhaustion as well – 10 runs for 30 metres and 11 tackles.

Those figures are well ahead of any other lock on the weekend. It’s nice to see him finding some form coming into the second half of the season.

6. Angus Cottrell
Angus Cottrell is the No. 6 I really noticed on the weekend, and not always for the right reasons – he was yellow-carded, and the 10-minute period when he was off was the only time the Reds seemed dominant. Maybe that points to his influence when he was on.

Like all the Force forwards, he plays with such raw-boned ferocity. Surprisingly Sean McMahon and Jordan Smiler both had better stats than Cottrell, but the latter had more influence on his team getting the win.

7. Michael Hooper
Beau Robinson had it all over Matt Hodgson in the conference grudge match of the week. After the form Hodgson has been in, that surprised me. Robinson topped the tackle count for all Australian players on the weekend with 18, but despite these heroics he couldn’t drag his team over the line.

Michael Hooper only made seven tackles in comparison but ran the ball 10 times to Robinson’s four. It’s a tough call, but I’m giving it to Hooper for the quality of his game against a tough opponent on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

8. Ben McCalman
Ben McCalman was straight back into his groove of this season with 13 runs, one try and eight tackles. He’s another guy you could suggest that were it not for his contribution, the Western Force would likely not have won this one.

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9. Nic White
Like Jesse Mogg and perhaps Quade Cooper of old, when Nic White gets it wrong, it all seems to go really pear-shaped. But when he gets it right, he’s a very, very good halfback.

I may have also given him bonus points for the moustache. Looks like he should be holding up a stagecoach.

10. Quade Cooper
Pretty clear cut this one. Cooper was by far the best 10 of the weekend and the stats back him up – the most carries, four defenders beaten (next most being one), four offloads, two try assists and more tackles than any other Aussie 10.

11. Robbie Coleman
While he didn’t make the most metres, Coleman made the most runs and bagged himself yet another try.

12. Pat McCabe
Kyle Godwin played one of his best games of the season with 12 runs and 15 tackles. McCabe made only six tackles in comparison and had the same number of runs but it was the quality of those runs that has won him this spot this weekend, as well as his passing game.

13. Ben Tapuai
It’s like a switch was thrown in Tapuai’s head a few weeks back because he has seemed a different player since. He’s very dangerous and elusive in attack, and made more tackles than both Adam Ashley-Cooper and Tevita Kuridrani.

14. Luke Morahan
Not much separating Morahan, Tomane or Davies this weekend, but I’ll give it to Morahan for scoring a try to help get the win over his old team.

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15. Jesse Mogg
I mistakenly picked a New Zealander in this spot last week with Jason Woodward. This weekend I could easily have done the same with either Woodward or Jayden Hayward, both of whom had great games and bagged a try each as reward.

But it was Jesse Mogg who made the most runs, the most metres, beat the most defenders and had the most clean breaks, topping it off with a great kicking game. He made a big statement about deserving a Wallabies recall, and with Folau a certainty Mogg may be able to put his left boot to use from the right wing.

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