Team of the week: Lions hopefuls and Super Rugby stars
Monday 17 April 2017 13:37, UK
Which players stood out in the final weekend of action ahead of Warren Gatland's Lions squad announcement on Wednesday?
On April 19, Gatland will announce the players tasked with taking on New Zealand live on Sky Sports News HQ, with this weekend providing those players hopeful of a place a final chance to put their hands up for selection.
No fewer than six players with ambitions of hearing their names announced on Wednesday feature in our team of the week, while some of the men they can expect to face in New Zealand also made the cut.
How many of these players will feature in Warren Gatland's plans? You can have your say using our Lions XV selector.
15. Liam Williams (Scarlets)
Liam Williams added further weight to his Lions cause with a 10-point contribution in the Scarlets' win over the Dragons on Saturday.
While much of the game was an arm-wrestle giving little opportunity to the Welsh region's danger men, the Wales full-back/wing applied the killer blow in the game when he showed pace to go on an arcing run inside the 22, dotting down over the line with nine minutes remaining.
Williams made 12 carries in the match and made a whopping 114 metres, 27 more than his nearest rival while also showcasing his ability with the boot, converting Davies' try and adding a penalty in the 68th minute to hand the Scarlets a vital seven-point lead.
14. Keith Earls (Munster)
The Munster man may have swapped wings in our team of the week to accommodate the Crusaders' speed machine Manasa Mataele but his performance against Ulster was one worthy of an inclusion.
Man-of-the-match Keith Earls was among the try scorers as Munster edged out Ulster 22-20 in the Guinness PRO12 derby at Thomond Park, contributing nine carries in the close-fought encounter.
The win confirmed a home semi-final for Munster and builds momentum ahead of next Saturday's Champions Cup last-four date with Saracens in Dublin.
13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets)
Lions' hopeful Jonathan Davies improved his chances of being named in Gatland's squad on Wednesday with a stand-out display against the Dragons in the Judgement Day battle at the Principality Stadium.
The centre exploited a creaking Dragons defence as the game started to open up after the break with an impressive burst, before he dotted down in the corner after a quick tap penalty on the 60th minute.
12. Francois Steyn (Montpellier)
Montpellier coasted to a nine-try bonus-point 61-22 thrashing of rock-bottom Bayonne to secure a top-six place and keep alive hopes of a top-two finish on Sunday with Francois Steyn showcasing why he is so vital to his team.
Steyn added two tries to Montpellier's tally and set up another but it was his contribution in defence that stood out the most with the centre topping the tackle chart with 11, two more than his nearest rival Bayonne fly-half Benjamin Thiery.
11. Manasa Mataele (Crusaders)
Manasa Mataele scored a first-half hat-trick as the Crusaders dished out a 50-3 annihilation of the Sunwolves.
It was a particularly happy night for the left wing who had nabbed all three of his tries before half-time, as the unbeaten Crusaders charged to their seventh consecutive victory.
Mataele ran in tries in the 29th, 32nd and 38th minutes as the Crusaders jumped from 14-3 ahead to lead 29-3 at half-time, making 86 metres throughout the game from his 10 carries.
10. Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes)
Beauden Barrett demonstrated just how important he was to the Hurricanes' attack, setting up first-half tries for Mark Abbott and Ngani Laumape, with his pace getting him behind the Blues' defence.
He then crossed for a try of his own, capitalising on a dropped Sonny Bill Williams ball in midfield and the fly-half pounced to run 45 metres untouched.
His performance caught the eye of fellow Kiwi fly-half Nick Evans who after the game singled Barrett out for praise: "I think he had a fantastic game, a game changing game for me in terms of how he influenced the game at crucial times and made the right decisions to bring the team back into it."
Notable mention to fly-half Handre Pollard who booted 16 points as the Bulls brought a three-game losing run to an end with a 26-13 win over the Jaguares on Saturday, and Alex Lozowski who kicked Saracens to victory over Northampton Saints.
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Leicester Tigers' scrum-half Ben Youngs made the headlines after an impressive performance in his side's 30-3 victory at home to Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, which prompted head coach Matt O'Connor to describe him as "as good as there is at nine in the world at the moment".
The 27-year-old secured the Tigers a bonus point with a brilliant 72nd-minute solo try from a quickly-taken penalty.
He also stopped a certain try for Falcons winger Vereniki Goneva with a fine last-ditch tackle in the 30th minute with the scores level at 3-3.
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
A belligerent performance from Ellis Genge sees him named at loosehead prop in our team of the week. Genge scored a try in each half to set the Tigers on the way to a vital 30-3 win over Newcastle while putting in six tackles and seven carries.
Just moments before the break Genge, after confirmation from the television match official, forced his way over from close range giving Leicester an 11-3 lead before Ben Youngs sent his team-mate over under the posts and then leaving the field to a standing ovation from the Welford Road faithful.
Job well done for the prop who could well feature, and star, for England over the summer.
2. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
All eyes were on the battle of the hookers at Stadium:MK on Sunday as Dylan Hartley went head to head with Jamie George.
Although it was George who came out on the winning side thanks to Alex Lozowski's last-gasp conversion, it was Hartley who got the better of his opposite man.
It was arguably the England captain's best performance in club colours this season and while George out-tackled his opposite number, not surprisingly given the dominance of Northampton for 70 minutes, Hartley put in four times the amount of carries of George.
He capped off his performance with a try on the 42nd minute, powering through the Saracens' man in the process before taking his leave on 65 minutes, his leadership qualities being sorely missed as Saints' crumbled in the closing stages.
A mention must, however, go to Jack Yeandle of Exeter who put in a massive shift in defence against Harlequins racking up a total of 20 tackles in just 66 minutes.
3. Trevor Nyakane (Bulls)
A huge sense of relief for the Bulls and their fans on Saturday night as their 26-13 win over the Jaguares secured a second win in seven matches.
While the win and scoreboard was dominated by the 16 point contribution from Handre Pollard's boot and tries from Lood de Jager and Travis Ismaiel‚ a man-of-the-match performance from prop Trevor Nyakane was at the heart of the victory.
A force to be reckoned with in the scrum, where the Bulls had a 100 per cent success rate, and in the breakdown, he also found himself second in his side's tackle charts with 13, one behind team-mate Jannes Kirsten.
4. Mark Abbot (Hurricanes)
Mark Abbott takes one of the places in our team of the week second row with a two-try performance to help the Hurricanes seal a 28-24 victory over the Blues at Eden Park.
After crossing for his first before the break, Abbott then barrelled over in the corner after 16 phases of play seven minutes from time to snatch the victory for the Wellington based side.
Away from his tryscoring exploits, Abbot topped the carries stats with 17 and put in the second highest number of tackles with 11.
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Courtney Lawes was the stand-out player at Stadium:MK despite Northampton slipping to a 25-27 defeat at the hands of an under-strength Saracens side.
While team-mates Harry Mallinder and Tom Wood contributed more carries than the England lock, his 12 carries were significant ones providing the backs with quick front-foot ball in a game where the Saints punished some slack Saracens scramble defence.
He was a nuisance around the park and ruled the rolling maul where he used his sizeable frame to disrupt Saracens on a number of occasions.
6. Ollie Griffiths (Dragons)
Another forward with hopes of international honours over the summer is Dragons' flanker Ollie Roberts.
He may have been on the losing side at the Principality Stadium, but the 22-year-old topped the carries stats with a contribution of 16 for his team while also finding himself top of the pile when it comes to tackles, with a total of 15.
7. Antoine Battut (Montpellier)
Antoine Battut was a stand-out performer in a comprehensive victory for Montpellier over Bayonne. The flanker crossed in the opening quarter of the 61-22 rout.
He put in eight tackles in a match where his side were on the attack more often than not while he also made 44 metres from his eight carries and putting in a try-scoring pass.
8. Kieran Read (Crusaders)
It didn't take the All Blacks captain long to make his mark on his first Crusaders' game of the year powering his way over the try line after just 12 minutes.
It wasn't just on the scoreboard that Read had an impact however, beating four defenders and making a couple of clean breaks while also contributing at lineout time.
