Is this the 2016/17 Aviva Premiership team of the year?
Dan Johansson takes us through his Aviva Premiership XV for 2016/17.
As the Premiership season draws to a conclusion, it’s about time we drew up the definitive, objective, totally final, inarguable, absolute, unquestionable team of the year. My word is final and any dissent in the comment sections will be met with swift and violent retribution. Got that? Good.
15: Kurtley Beale (Wasps)
He knackered his leg before the ink was even dry on his Wasps contract, but Beale rebounded to become a major cog in one of the most formidable attacking units in the league. He’ll return down under having majorly rehabbed his career and resume his Wallaby ways.
14: Jack Nowell (Exeter)
That Nowell is Exeter’s only representative on this list is due to their penchant for team-cohesion over big-name stars, but Nowell’s been having a house party down in Devon for ages now and has thoroughly earned his Lions jersey.
13: Elliot Daly (Wasps)
There’s a good chance some of Daly’s monstrous kicks are still orbiting the planet, but a hell of a boot isn’t all he’s got going for him. A string of stellar performances for Wasps landed him a nomination for RPA player of the year.
12: Harry Mallinder (Northampton)
Okay so his defence has resembled a revolving door at times but he’s been at the heart of everything good for Saints’ newfound attacking game and has earned an apprenticeship on the England tour to Argentina. Plus my mum thinks he’s “a lovely lad” so I had to include him.
11: Christian Wade (Wasps)
Another RPA nominee, Wade’s status as the league’s top-try scorer somehow doesn’t seem to be enough to overcome his lack of defensive size in Eddie Jones’ eyes. Still, he’s in my team so up yours Eddie.
10: Jimmy Gopperth (Wasps)
I’m fairly certain Jimmy Gopperth was the name of a background character in an early episode of Only Fools and Horses, but it turns out he’s bloody good at rugby too. Jimmy G spent several years being fine at a few different clubs before rocking up at Wasps and turning into one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere pretty much overnight at the age of 33.
9: Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath)
Given a new lease of life after his move from Northampton, Fotuali’i was at one stage the turnover king of the Premiership. A mixed season for Bath has prevented him showing off all his talents but for a player once talked about as the best 9 in Europe he’s certainly back on form.
1: Ellis Genge (Leicester)
Having embarrassed Kieran Brookes in the East Midlands derby, Genge can now add scrummaging to his list of proven talents. Previously it was his ball carrying and aggression doing the talking for him – and the fact he once promised to beat up Richard Cockerill has probably won over a few fans as well.
2: Jamie George (Saracens)
He’s usurped the England captain for a Lions berth and captained the champions. Decent lineout stats and aggressive work in the loose have positioned George as The Next Big Thing hooker-wise, though the likes of Harry Thacker and Tommy Taylor might have something to say about that.
3: Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Essentially one of those giant American fridge-freezers with legs, watching Sinckler knocking opponents over is like that round in Takeshi’s Castle where they chucked a giant bowling ball at people dressed as skittles. Graduating from benchwarmer to Lions tourist this season has put Sinckler firmly on peoples’ radar.
4: Courtney Lawes (Northampton)
Reinventing himself as a ball-carrying, turnover-winning lineout specialist in addition to his previous life as a professional fly-half crippler, Lawes has stepped up in the past twelve months from “good athlete” to genuinely world class. Plus he’s still smashing defenceless half-backs.
5: Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
How is he not on the Lions tour? Just…how? I mean… What? Seriously? Get it together Warren.
6: Ross Moriarty (Gloucester)
Some seriously impressive performances in two shades of red have led to Moriarty being talked about as the future of the Welsh back-row, and a nomination for RPA Young Player of the Year means the Cherry & Whites may have a hard time keeping him at Kingsholm if one of the Welsh regions fancy getting the chequebook out.
7: Jackson Wray (Saracens)
With a name like an 80s hair-metal drummer, Wray has slowly established himself as one of the first players on the Saracens team sheet. Somehow, he keeps getting overlooked for international honours but his all-round game has evolved significantly to the point where an England cap is surely just a matter of time.
8: Louis Picamoles (Northampton)
With some truly impressive carrying and sublime offloads, King Louis has been kicking derrière and taking names all season long for the Saints. Quite possibly the premiership signing of the season, and if rumours are to be believed, it’s no surprise the Top 14 are trying to lure him back to France.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments