The Thursday Two-up: Players of the Rugby Championship

So the Rugby Championship has been run and won, and though it played out as tightly as anyone can remember through the first month or so, it finished as pundits of all persuasions probably expected.

But before we put the two-up panel in the rack for a month – we’ll be back in time for the spring tour fixtures – the best way to wrap up the Rugby Championship is to name a few names.

And as always, we’ll be interested to see who you guys come back with as your own players of the TRC.

As is almost always the case in these exercises, consensus is far from assured.

Brett McKay, Harry Jones and Geoff Parkes debate the team of the tournament in The Roar Rugby Podcast

Question 1: Who was your player of the Rugby Championship – from the sides other than your own – and why?

Brett

This is another tough question I’ve set for myself and the rest of the panel, and it’s genuinely difficult to try and angle for one player above a handful of several very good players this tournament.

But that’s what I have to do – though it’s only while compiling the guys’ answers that I can now see why the question I posed to extract one player each has been read as one player per team. Not to worry, they’re all worthy of mention.

So I immediately went to Malcolm Marx for his impact and Sam Whitelock for his consistency, but the name I finally landed on combined both.

Pablo Matera was absolutely phenomenal for Los Pumas. Argentina had a proper battery of well-performed forwards, all of them getting through a mountain of work.

Matera led the way here. Sixty tackles and 60 carries over the course of six games give him a nice and neat double-double average per game, which even having shed the captaincy a few years ago for sins of several years before that, led the way for the Argentinians, who played with a level of physicality and intensity they’ve not previously been known for. A shout-out to their new coach for this, obviously.

He took a while to get into the swing of Super Rugby this season and he was one of the Crusaders’ best by the time they lifted the new Super Rugby Pacific cup. Who knew he was just warming up.

(Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Digger

A few players immediately spring to mind: Marika Koroibete for sheer work rate and enthusiasm, all of Argentina’s loose forwards were outstanding along with Julian Montoya, and Eben Etzebeth and Frans Malherbe were consistently good which you come to expect.

But the one player who stands out to me was Malcolm Marx.

I cannot think of another player within the championship who provides such a pivotal difference as a starter.

Most sides can do without a player now and then, but I think the Springboks are two very different things whether Marx is involved or not.

Geoff

Rob Valetini looked to have this sewn up for Australia before Aussie Pete Samu’s stunning late-rails run took it off him. It was interesting timing given Michael Hooper’s indication that he will rejoin the squad for the spring tour.

It was a loose forward battle in Argentina too. Marcos Kremer edges out Juan Martín Gonzalez only because, of the two of them, he’s the one I’d least like to run into in a dark alley and have to explain why he missed out.

South Africa’s player of the tournament is easy. Not Frans Steyn waddling the ball up and spraying kicks for touch, not Willie Le Roux sitting down on the job against Gonzales, not Elton Jantjies actually on the job, but Malcolm Marx – an improved thrower and a beast around the field.

(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Harry

What a wild ride! I cannot imagine two more different Tests between the same teams as the games I attended in Adelaide and Sydney. And yet that was the case for each two-Test bracket between the Rugby Championship teams in 2022 – except perhaps for South Africa versus Argentina, which seemed to follow a familiar script of 30-10, 10-30 and a final score many said ‘flattered’ the winner.

But the All Blacks turnarounds in Johannesburg, Auckland and Hamilton were remarkable, as was the San Juan backlash. Thanks to Laidlaw for having me back on this panel. Some weeks we were in a chattery every single day: instant pod, long-form pod, two-up, wash-up, down low and everything in between.

For the player of the championship, I say hola to Juan Martin Gonzalez. Mucho gusto.

Yes, he had his hermanos grim – Marcos Kremer and Pablo Matera – doing a lot of dirty work for him. But still, he made 54 hard tackles, claimed 12 lineouts, and still had the energy to make four line breaks. The wild thing is he finished all four of them!

He has forgotten how not to score tries. His strike rate is better than a construction union in Milan. His step of Willie le Roux was filthy in the purest possible way.

I also feel proprietary pod pride because when we had Pumas legend Marcelo Bosch on, I used my inside intel from Nobrain to list Juan Martin as one of the four Pumas to watch.

Welcome to the big time, you big fleet-footed lad.

(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Nobes

I am going to take advantage of this last instalment for the Rugby Championship to thank Brett and the others for having me back on the panel, which for me is very nice. Above all, thank all those who make comments that are often very enriching. Thank you all very much.

It seems a bit unfair to name a single player in a sport like rugby, which I consider a true team sport, therefore I am going to take the audacity to name three per team who, beyond statistics, caught my attention for their game in this Rugby Championship.

All Blacks

The hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, who I hadn’t seen play, seemed to me to be a very complete player. Rieko Ioane established himself as a force in midfield, and Jordie Barrett went from minor to major and ended up playing at a very good level in another position.

Springboks

Jasper Wiese is definitely one of the best ball carriers, Damien de Allende always broke the line of advantage, while Malcolm Marx is the best of the Springboks.

Wallabies

I hadn’t seen Andrew Kellaway play, and he impressed me very much, though I do not know whether he is a fullback or winger yet. Pete Samu was all over the field, and Rob Valetini always raised his hand asking for the ball and gaining meters.

Question 2: Who was then your player of the tourney from your side? And how hard a pick was it?

Brett

The easy starting point for the Wallabies’ best is the three guys who made the podcast’s team on Wednesday – check it out if you’ve not had a listen; how we got there might be more interesting than who we named in each position – Marika Koroibete, Allan Ala’alatoa and Pete Samu. Plus Rob Valetini, who featured well in discussions around No. 8.

But it’s hard to look past Samu.

He can’t be judged by numbers alone. Whereas the Argentinian back rowers and skipper Julian Montoya dominated the tackle and carry numbers and Valetini polled better than expected across about four different measures, Samu doesn’t feature in any of them, almost certainly because he came off the bench for the first four games of the Rugby Championship.

But the impact he had on games when he did come on for the Wallabies was incredible.

It might only have been a couple of carries, a tackle bust or two and an offload here and there, but they were often the start (or the end) of a promising Wallabies play that ended in points, including two tries himself.

By the time the Bledisloe Cup Tests arrived, Samu had certainly earned his chance to start, and his performances in those two starts – despite two very opposite team performances – were superb.

So good, in fact, that the Australian No. 7 jersey now looks his to lose, and much of the talk in recent days of Michael Hooper’s possible return for the spring Tour has centred on him playing the same sort of impact bench role that Samu perfected through the first seven Test matches of 2022.

Digger

This is a very hard pick.

Ardie Savea has had a season to remember, Sam Whitelock has shown his importance to the side, Jordie Barrett has been above par all season long and Richie Mo’unga has provided plenty as well.

But the players that really stood out to me were a rejuvenated starting front row that has really laid the foundations and turned a poor start into a platform for a successful tournament.

I actually cannot separate the three of them: Ethan De Groot, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Tyrel Lomax.

Given that every punter was calling for De Groot and Taukei’aho to play for some time, I would be inclined to give it to Lomax.

Frankly, no-one, including me, would have picked him. Yet he has taken the opportunity, boots and all, and shored up a problem pivotal position for New Zealand that has allowed this side to put their best foot forward.

It all starts with your tighthead, and Lomax should be acknowledged for his stellar tournament.

(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

Geoff

New Zealand’s player of the tournament is a race in three.

Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho has become a first-choice selection in an indecently quick time for no reason other than he’s really, really good.

Rieko Ioane still has question marks and asterisks all over his name but, gee, what a weapon he is with the ball at the centre. There’s an old saying that there’s no substitute for pace, and it’s Ioane’s pace off the mark, an his desire to use it along with a decent dollop of power in his hips that make him such a handful.

Sure, there’s some tidying up still needed, but all sides would gag for his run metres.

It sounds weird to describe how a player as aged as Sam Whitelock – who’s about to turn 34 – improved over the course of the season, but that’s exactly what happened.

Solid with the ball, accurate on the tackle and always good for a few lineout steals at crucial moments, Whitelock has laid low any concerns about him making it through to next year’s World Cup.

Furore over coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane aside, Whitelock’s steady leadership influence came to the fore as the tournament progressed. Highly impressive.

Harry

The Springboks player who made the biggest difference in having the same number of wins (four) as the All Blacks was Jaden Hendrickse.

He’s only 22. He was seven years old when Frans Steyn starred at the World Cup in France in 2007.

Hendrickse is a big nine. Six feet tall and 90 kilos after a braai.

He seems to have time. He sees space but does not ram it in like Faf de Klerk. He milks it, stalks it.

His kicks have that dead sound, like a car smash a few blocks away.

His dummies are old school. He sells them with his feet too.

Guess which game he didn’t play in.

Nobes

Here it was very difficult for me to choose since there are several who delivered on my expectations that they would have a good tournament but several others who surprised me with their level and were not on my list.

Forwards

There are two who I expected a high performance from and who delivered: Julian Montoya and Marcos Kremer. Both played a lot and did not drop in any game.

The surprise was Juan Marin Gonzalez: Very young and just making his name at this level, it seemed that he had played several championships the way he performed.

Backs

Emiliano Boffelli was the best player catching defensive and offensive balls and contributed many points from the tee, being the tournament’s top scorer along with Richie Mo’unga.

Juan Cruz Mallia

He played all the games, providing great aerial security both defending and attacking. He practically made no mistakes and was a help valve for Santiago Carreras as an option in attack.

Over to you. Which player impressed you most through the tournament from sides other than yours?

And who was your team’s player of the Rugby Championship?