Maggie Alphonsi's team of the Autumn Nations Cup: How many of England's winners make the cut?

[ASFN Admin]

15 Brice Dulin (France) Came into the squad for the last two games and was effective, scoring his first Test try in four years at Twickenham. Accurate kicking out of hand and he helped a young French side. Hugo Keenan had a good debut campaign. 14 Keith Earls (Ireland) Consistent as ever and does the basics so well. Ireland need that experienced figure in the back-three with Rob Kearney gone. A word for Nemani Nadolo on his Test return for Fiji. 13 Giorgi Kveseladze (Georgia) No real standout candidates but that try from Kveseladze in Dublin was sensational, right up there for the try of the Autumn Nations Cup along with May’s wonder score against Ireland. 12 Johnny Williams (Wales) Amazing story, making his professional comeback after recovering from cancer and going on to become a Test player. Adds real physicality to Wales’ midfield. France’s Jonathan Danty has looked good. 11 Jonny May (England) I’ve been impressed by Louis Rees-Zammit, but while he didn't shine as brightly against Wales and France, it has to be May after that wonder try against Ireland to go move second on England’s try-scoring list. 10 Matthieu Jalibert (France) Based on his performance at Twickenham and with Ntamack not available, Jalibert put in a stellar performance against England and gives Fabien Galthie a brilliant alternative option. Still young and full of talent. 9 Gareth Davies (Wales) Not given as many starts as usual but made a huge impact off the bench when Wales used him, helping to turn the game against Italy. Ben Youngs played well for England against Georgia. 1 Mako Vunipola (England) England missed him against France after he was player of the match against Wales in Llanelli. His contribution in the loose is just brilliant with his offloading and passing game. 2 Jamie George (England) Outstanding against Georgia when he grabbed his hat-trick before dropping off a bit in the following games. Luke Cowan-Dickie is providing serious competition off the bench, however. Julian Marchand and Camille Chat are both quality. 3 Tomas Francis (Wales) Helped Sam Parry over for a try against Italy and reconfirmed his status as Wales’ best tighthead prop during this campaign having missed the Six Nations through injury earlier this year. Andrew Porter of Ireland stood out. 4 Maro Itoje (England) Must have made every team of the week and certainly is the player of the tournament. Brilliant in defence, at the breakdown, disrupting opponents’ lineouts and brings energy and leadership to the squad. 5 Bernard le Roux (France) Joe Launchbury has been a machine around the park, as has Iain Henderson too, but Le Roux’s work-rate was excellent in particular in the win over Scotland, making 20 tackes. 6 Tom Curry (England) France have a fine young player in Cameron Woki, but Curry has been consistently outstanding in England’s back row, epitomising their defensive efforts over the past few weeks and strong at the breakdown. 7 Sam Underhill (England) Not as sharp against France as we saw in previous games, with his best performance coming against Wales, but he’s had a fine tournament. Justin Tipuric has been vital for Wales and Hamish Watson rarely performs poorly. 8 Billy Vunipola (England) We saw the best out of Taulupe Faletau against Italy while Caelan Doris has rarely put a foot wrong, but Vunipola has quietly been excellent, getting through tons of carries and tackles.

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