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Mon 31 Oct 2011 | 10:28
Rugby World Cup 2011 Team of the Tournament

41
Comments

Rugby World Cup 2011 finished just over a week ago, so since then a few different sectors of the media have been stringing together their respective Teams of the Tournament. Here's a few to mull over, as well as a surprisingly balanced one from Reunion in New Zealand.

Today we take a look at who impressed the most at the tournament, and how selections vary across the board for a RWC 2011 dream team. We also welcome your selections, as it's always a hotly debated topic among fans.

The main video here is from the Reunion show in New Zealand. They have a nicely balanced team that quite refreshingly features players from a number of different countries. It would have been tempting for them to shove in a whole load of All Blacks, but as you'll see, they only have five. 

Below are another three teams from three different sources. There's a few common trends, namely with Lionel Nallet, Jerome Kaino, and Israel Dagg all being picked. There's also a few positional switches, and allowance for injured players in some cases. 

The Guardian
1. Tony Woodcock (New Zealand), 2. Marius Tincu (Romania), 3. Adam Jones (Wales), 4. Brad Thorn (New Zealand), 5. Lionel Nallet (France), 6. Jerome Kaino (New Zealand), 7. David Pocock (Australia), 8. Imanol Harinordoquy (France), 9. Mike Phillips (Wales), 10. Dan Carter (New Zealand), 11. George North (Wales), 12. Jamie Roberts (Wales), 13. Conrad Smith (New Zealand), 14. Vincent Clerc (France), 15. Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

New Zealand Herald 
1. Cian Healey (Ireland) 2. Stephen Moore (Australia) 3.Owen Franks (New Zealand) 4. Lionel Nallet (France) 5. Victor Matfield (South Africa) 6. Jerome Kaino (New Zealand) 7. Sean O’Brien (Ireland) 8. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina) 9. Dimitri Yachvilli (France) 10. Rhys Priestland (Wales) 11 George North (Wales) 12 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand) 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland) 14. James O’Connor (Australia) 15. Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

ITV 
1. Jean-Baptiste Poux (France) 2. Keven Mealamu (New Zealand) 3. Adam Jones (Wales) 4. Brad Thorn (New Zealand) 5. Lionel Nallet (France) 6. Jerome Kaino (New Zealand) 7. Sam Warburton (Wales) 8. Imanol Harinorduquy (France) 9. Mike Phillips (Wales) 10. Rhys Priestland (Wales) 11. James O'Connor (Australia) 12. Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand) 13. Jamie Roberts (Wales) 14. Vincent Clerc (France) 15. Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

Have a look through these, as well as the Reunion selection, and let us know what you think. 

Note: Credit to Reunion for the video
 

Posted By: Grant Constable

41 Comments

  • keepitreal
    1:46 PM 01/01/2013

    1.Rodrigo Roncero
    2.Kevin Mealamu
    3.Owen Franks (more efficient than adam jones)
    4.Brad Thorne
    5.Patricio Albacete (won nearly all his line outs an lead Argentina's forward pack with Juan Fernandez Lobbe)
    6.Jerome Kaino
    7.David Pocock
    8.Imanol Haridordoquy (Fernandez Lobbe bowed out too soon)
    9.Mike Philips (Will Guinea didn't shine as much as he could of)
    10.Dan Carter (he is by far the best in the world)
    11.George North
    12.Ma'a Nonu
    13.Jaque Fourie (everybody seems to forget him)
    14.Cory Jane
    15.Israel Dagg (no doubt, don't know why people are doubting)

  • 12fieldkh1
    2:01 PM 09/01/2012

    dan carter played 2 games, against tonga, and a very below average france, so how can you consider him for team of the tourny

  • dutchie
    5:34 PM 11/11/2011

    1. Cian Healy
    2. William Servat
    3. Adam Jones
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. James Horwill
    6. Thierry Dusautoir
    7. Sam Warburton
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy
    9. Mike Phillips (or Yachvili)
    10. Rhys Priestland (Trinh-duc if he had played more, he was great in the final)
    11. George North
    12. Ma'a. Nonu
    13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
    14. Cory Jane
    15. Israel Dagg

  • dutchie
    5:34 PM 11/11/2011

    1. Cian Healy
    2. William Servat
    3. Adam Jones
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. James Horwill
    6. Thierry Dusautoir
    7. Sam Warburton
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy
    9. Mike Phillips (or Yachvili)
    10. Rhys Priestland (Trinh-duc if he had played more, he was great in the final)
    11. George North
    12. Ma'a. Nonu
    13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
    14. Cory Jane
    15. Israel Dagg

  • rugbydas
    6:11 PM 06/11/2011

    word.

  • moddeur
    6:25 PM 04/11/2011

    Everyone knows that McCaw has an invisibility cloak, gift of Bilbo Baggins.

  • pretzel
    12:19 PM 04/11/2011

    Other reasons it comes out slower is the laws against using the boot...

    In the old days Richie would come out of those rucks with more stripes than a zebra, these days its rare anyone can use the boot, generally the scrum half gets a dig in, but i have seen penalties for that too....so someone like mccaw who you said "played well" in the final, can do a lot more with less "punishments"...

    I don't fault the guy, you do what you can in rugby. At the end of the day he played the most disruptive game he could (which is what a 7 does) and played to the referee.

    I do somehow wonder if there is some sort of psychological fear about carding him, i know it sounds conspiracy theorist but i'd imagine many other 7's would be booked if they did what he did....or maybe he is good at doing it on the otherside from the ref :/

  • 6:02 AM 04/11/2011

    - Adam Jones. When he didn't play in the Bronze the Welsh scrum lost to the Aussies' backup 2nd row. There is nothing more to say!

    - Stephen Moore. A beast in the open and one of the main reasons the Aussies had such a solid D. Solid counter-rucker. Mealamu still best in the tourney, though.

    - Wings: overall kind of a disappointment this WC. Clerc was really not that good during the tournament, he is getting a lot of nominations only as a consolation for France (sort of like Dusatoir player of the year). Ioane was very threatening and deserved man of the match for AUS against Italy. Unfortunately hurt for a good chunk of the tourney. Corey Jane was rock solid at 14, as was Kahui at 11. And Ashton -- okay, he is a douche, and I hate swan dives, but certainly you can't fault him for England's poor performance? He did everything that was asked of him and scored 4 or 5 tries. Tough to fault the man.

    McCaw vs. Pockok. Pockok had the single most disruptive game of the WC by any player vs. SA, no question about it. But McCaw was still more decisive in the semi and final, he played well in both of them and outplayed Pockok in the former. It's a passing of the torch but the nod goes to McCaw. Btw I was watching some old footage of 2001 3N and it is amazing the impact that these modern fetchers have on the game. The ball used to come out of rucks much more quickly than it does now! Not sure if it is an improvement....

  • pretzel
    3:00 PM 03/11/2011

    Im surprised no one has included Joubert in their teams, I thought he played fantastically for the AB's. ;)

  • pretzel
    2:59 PM 03/11/2011

    Im surprised no one has included Joubert in their teams, I thought he played fantastically for the AB's. ;)

  • moddeur
    1:45 PM 03/11/2011

    I realize that we are bound to name players from the bigger teams, in all fairness i think Gorgodze (Georgia) is an awesome player, so are Tekori, Castrogiovanni and a few others, but there just isn't enough room for everyone.

    1. Cian Healy
    2. William Servat
    3. Owen Franks / Nicolas Mas
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. Luke Charteris
    6. Thierry Dusautoir
    7. Sam Warburton (who in the world is McCaw??)
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy
    9. Will Genia
    10. Dan Carter
    11. Shane Williams
    12. Frans Steyn
    13. Conrad Smith
    14. Cory Jane
    15. Paul Williams / Kurtley Beale

  • sangdue
    8:07 AM 03/11/2011

    I know that, this is a list of my personal favorites without any remark to their playing position. As a alternative dream team...if you like.

  • ellliotjack
    1:31 AM 03/11/2011

    http://www.youtube.com/user/EllliotJack4

    check out my channel

  • lloyd_wallace
    11:11 PM 02/11/2011

    You do know that Adam Kleeburger is a flanker you silly person

  • lloyd_wallace
    11:11 PM 02/11/2011

    You do know that Adam Kleeburger is a flanker you silly person

  • pretzel
    3:39 PM 02/11/2011

    I find most of the lists on here are the sort of:

    "If they are on top form blah blah blah then this is what I will pick" rather than a sort of numerically based, "how many games did they play, did they play well, who did they play, who do they play for" sort of set up....

    As others have stated I found the majority of the "big" names who we normally watch and wait and (sometimes love to watch play) seemed to under perform this world cup...

    - Wlkinson... ok, im sure many of you hate him but he is a "good player" (generally) he had a shocker of a world cup.
    - Carter, again a brilliant player, but two games, against weak opposition (relatively) doesn't constitute a brilliant RWC 2011 player, in my eyes....
    - Matfield.... I'm sorry... WHO?!?!? the guy was tearfully silent this WC... the guy was a good second row... but that was it, nothing that put him head and shoulders above everyone else... (unlike the RWC 2007 Matfield I know)
    - BOD... oh come on, I mean I love watching the guy play, but he showed little this competition... which is hugely surprising, and hugely disappointing...

    As I said, the whole thing is a bit of a "dream team" type of set up, and not really reflective on players performances, I mean Dusatoir won player of the tournament yet he is not in any of the line ups from the 3 articles... so who got it right/wrong?

  • nemo34
    1:32 PM 02/11/2011

    Without taking into account injured players, ...

    1 - Cian Healey
    2 - Bismark Duplessis
    3 - Adam Jones
    4 - Thorn
    5 - Horwill
    6 - Dusautoir
    7 - Gorgodze (Georgia)
    8 - Harinordoquy
    9 - Phillips
    10 - Carter
    11 - Kahui
    12 - Roberts
    13 - Smith
    14 - Clerc
    15 - Dagg

  • demosys
    11:28 PM 01/11/2011

    Nice One !

  • pretzel
    9:03 PM 01/11/2011

    I sort of wondered that as well... I mean the guy is a good player no question about that, but basing the lists on "team of the tournament"...how can DC possibly be considered...

  • pretzel
    9:00 PM 01/11/2011

    I find it ironic you questioned Nallet's performances yet you put POC in your team. Personally I found POC to be lacking a huge amount of input this world cup, i didn't anything or at least much of what he did was inspiring...

  • gallego
    6:57 PM 01/11/2011

    1. Woodcock, 2. Mealamu, 3. A. Jones; 4. Horwill, 5. Nallet; 6. Kaino, 7. Warburton, 8. Harinordoquy. 9. Phillips, 10. Priestland; 11. Jane; 12. Nonu, 13. Smith; 14. Clerc, 15. Dagg.

  • johndoe
    6:56 PM 01/11/2011

    I don't understand why Kaino has been selected at 6 in nearly every RWC XV. I've seen a few with hum there but I really didn't find him that great during the RWC. He was solid, but that's it. Not particularly great in any aspect of play. And there are so many poor choices and players out of position in those 3 teams there.

    Guardian: Carter as 10? He only played 2 matches against poor opposition. Harinordoquy played really well towards the end, but for the majority of matches he was not good. Same goes for Clerc except he didn't play as well at the end. There were much more obvious choices for those positions.

    New Zealand Herald: Victor Matfield was average all tournament compared to his usual standard. And there were better options at 8 and 9 than Lobbe and Yachvilli. And I'm an Irish fan, but BOD as the best 13 in the tournament? Don't think so.

    ITV: Just more of the same really.

  • guy
    5:46 PM 01/11/2011

    How about Brussow vs Samoa?

  • fettsack
    3:14 PM 01/11/2011

    1.Woodcock
    2.Servat
    3.Adam Jones
    4.Nallet
    5.Thorn
    6.Dussautoir
    7.Pocock
    8.Harinordoquy
    9.Phillips
    10.Priestland or Cruden
    11.Ioani
    12.Nonu
    13.Roberts
    14.North
    15.Dagg.
    Dagg and Harinordoquy are clearly 100% in this team of the tournament.
    I didn't put any south africans because I barely saw them play.

  • rbieshaw
    12:46 PM 01/11/2011

    1. Cian Healy
    2. Bismark du Plessis
    3. Adam Jones
    4. Victor Matfield
    5. James Horwill (captain)
    6. Stephen Ferris
    7. Richie McCaw (outclassed Pocock in semi-final)
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy (maybe Sergio Parisse but can't tell if he's the best because of the team around him)

    9. Dimitri Yachvilli
    10. Dan Carter (only Morne Steyn came close)
    11. Digby Ionane
    12. Ma'a Nonu
    13. Aurelie Rougerie
    14. George North
    15. Israel Dagg (would be Beale if he would have been fit to showcase his quality)

  • tccalvin
    12:17 PM 01/11/2011

    Best dive, Clerc or Clerc?

  • stroudos
    11:20 AM 01/11/2011

    Xenophile, you may ignore the last bit in my comment below complaining about people not selecting Pacific Islanders in their nominations. I really think Paul Williams was one of the stand-out players of the tournament.

  • stroudos
    11:06 AM 01/11/2011

    I'd go along with the majority in most positions, but would like to put forward these lot also:

    9 - Taniela Moa (Tonga), who was particularly awesome against France. In all games he seemed to be playing a couple of positions (scrum-half + back-row).

    10 - Tusi Pisi - Gave the Samaons a shape and structure that in the past has been lacking.

    15 - Paul Williams - had an awesome tourny and I also feel a strong sense of vicarious indignation on his behalf, for the wrong yellow for a solid tacke against Namibia and the outrageous red v SA following Brussow's despicable theatrics.

    8 - 100% agree with Harinordoquy, (who it seems has every single nomination so far, bar the NZ Herald), however an honourable mention for George Stowers I think is deserved. Couple of good tries, an absolute beast in attack and Richie-esque in his pushing the limits of how much of a nuisance you can make yourself at the breakdown.

    7 - I would like to have seen someone like Gorgodze, Jacque Burger or Finau Maka given some nod of acknowledgement here for the contributions they made despite their teams having to play on the back-foot most of the time.

    It's no coincidence that nearly all my additional nominees are Pacific islanders. I don't have an islander agenda as such, but I do think the way Samoa and Tonga stepped up to the challenge this tourny and the individual performances of some of their players merits their inclusion in these lists. In fact, I think it's a bit perverse that no-one else so far has deigned to show them the recognition they deserve.

  • xenophile
    10:12 AM 01/11/2011

    This would be my XV based on flair and heart. Although they might not have been the "stars" of the tournament they certainly impressed me.

    1. Rodrigo Ronsero
    2. Bismark du Plessis
    3. Owen Franks
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. Victor Matfield
    6. Thierry Dusautoir
    7. Schalk Burger (although Kleeberger was one of my RWC favourites)
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy
    9. Francois Hougaard
    10. Rhys Priestland
    11. George North
    12. Jamie Roberts
    13. Richard Kahui
    14. James O'Connor
    15. Paul Williams

  • eggman
    10:01 AM 01/11/2011

    1. Cian Healy
    2. William Servat
    3. Adam Jones
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. Victor Matfield (Singlehandidly obliterated the Aussie lineout)
    6. Thierry Dusautoir (Kaino close secon)
    7. David Pocock (I think indivdually he's better than McCaw, who usually beats Pocock because he's got the superior pack as backup)
    8. Harinordoquy
    9. Prir Weepu
    10. Rhys Priestland
    11. Cory Jane (Switching Sides)
    12. Jamie Roberts
    13. Conrad Smith (Rougerie close second)
    14. James O'Connor (George North close second)
    15. Israel Dagg (Pity Beale was injured for the semis, I think he is the better overall fullback)

  • 4:13 AM 01/11/2011

    Hmmm...there seems to be some disagreement; let me put this matter to rest:

    1 - Harinordoquy
    2 - Harinordoquy
    3 - Harinordoquy
    4 - Harinordoquy
    ...
    10 - Quade Cooper, just to agitate some more kiwis
    ...
    14 - Harinordoquy
    15 - Harinordoquy

    You're welcome.

  • welshosprey
    1:41 AM 01/11/2011

    How the hell can they put dan carter at 10? Didnt he only play like 2 games?

  • vwadia
    1:41 AM 01/11/2011

    1-Cian Healy
    2-Keven Mealamu
    3-Adam Jones
    4-Brad thorn
    5-Lionel Nallet
    6-Theirry Dusautoir
    7-Richie Mccaw
    8-Imanol Harinordoquy
    9-Mike Phillips
    10-Dan Carter
    11-Shane Williams
    12-Ma'a Nonu
    13-Jamie Roberts
    14-Cory Jane/Chris Ashton
    15-James O'Connor/Israel Dagg

  • vwadia
    1:33 AM 01/11/2011

    I'm surprised no one picked Mccaw at 7...he was in every ruck and he played magnificently even with an injured foot! He took all the other openside flankers to school....especially David Pocock. And its Dusatoir at 6 for me..

  • detigny
    12:56 AM 01/11/2011

    1-rodrigo roncero
    2-william servat
    3-owen franks
    4-brad thorn
    5-lionel nallet
    6-thierry dusautoir
    7-david pocock
    8-imanol harinordoquy
    9-will genia
    10-morne steyn
    11-george north
    12-jamie roberts
    13-ma'a nonu
    14-james o'connor/cory jane
    15-israel dagg

  • demosys
    12:51 AM 01/11/2011

    1- Tony Woodcock
    2- William Servat
    3- Adam Jones
    4- Brad Thorn
    5- Lionel Nallet
    6 - David Pockock
    7- Julien Bonnaire
    8- Imanol Harinordoquy
    9- Piri Weepu
    10- Ryhs Priestland
    11- James O'Connor
    12- Jamie Roberts
    13- Conrad Smith
    14- Vincent Clerc
    15 - Israel Dagg

  • reality
    12:28 AM 01/11/2011

    Oh yeah, I forgot to leave my 15.

    1. Cian Healy
    2. William Servat
    3. Adam Jones
    4. Brad Thorn
    5. Paul O'Connell
    6. Thierry Dusatoir
    7. David Pocock
    8. Imanol Harinordoquy
    9. Mike Philips
    10. Dan Carter/Ryhs Priestland
    11. George North
    12. Jamie Roberts
    13. Conrad Smith
    14. Richard Kahui
    15. Israel Dagg

  • lenulid
    12:17 AM 01/11/2011

    Warburton was the bst player of the tournament. Figallo was up there too.

  • reality
    12:16 AM 01/11/2011

    Surely some of these choices are a joke. I mean, Kaino? He was so average. Surely Dusatoir was the obvious choice there? And Lionel Nallet? Did he really play that well? I barely even noticed him. Same goes for Clerc. And one says Roberts at outside centre, and one says O'Driscoll? Roberts is an inside centre, so he obviously wouldn't be as good at outside. And O'Driscoll, after D'arcy and Earls was probably Ireland's worst player. He did nothing for the whole tournament except make mistakes and miss tackles. I really wish someone who didn't have an agenda and who isn't a complete fool could do an unbiased 15.

  • cheyanqui
    12:14 AM 01/11/2011

    1 Jean Baptiste Poux
    2 Marius Tincu
    3 Adam Jones
    4 Lionel Nallet (tough choice over Matfield, but Nallet's lineout prowess took them just a little further)
    5 Danie Roussow (great, great workrate; honorable mention to Horwill)
    6 Thierry Dusautoir (sucker MCs call him sire)
    7 Jacques Burger (yes, over Warburton, McCaw, and Pocock -- did so much with little support, and over Warburton, whose ill advised tackle left his team short for 60+ minutes)
    8 Imanol Harinordoquy (Gorgodze was my guy until Imanol stepped it up in the knock-outs; Fernandez Lobbe bowed out too early)
    9 Kahn Fotuali'I (edges Mike Phillips and Piru Weepu)
    10 Rhys Priestland (sorry Dan Carter -- playing in two pool games, only one of which mattered much (vs France) doesn't get him in -- another "might have been" if he stayed healthier longer)
    11 George North (picked to the opposite wing for V. Clerc)
    12 Jamie Roberts
    13 BOD (yes over Conrad Smith -- who was great, but had much better players around him to create space)
    14 Vincent Clerc
    15 Israel Dagg

  • robb_
    11:49 PM 31/10/2011

    Surely Dusautoir has to get a mention at 7? And Richie?

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