European Rugby
The Scrum.com Team of the Week
Scrum.com
January 5, 2009

After another bruising set of fixtures in the Guinness Premiership, Magners League and Top 14 this past week there were certain players who stood out from the pack. We give you a round-up of the best in the business in our Team of the Week.

1.Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
- London Irish's England U20 prop provided a boisterous presence in the loose as the Exiles crushed Newcastle at the Madejski, and his powerful display was capped by a fine try.

2. Pieter Dixon (Bath)
- Dixon took his opportunity in the first team with Lee Mears rested, piling over to score Bath's second try after the lineout had secured his throw close to the Leicester line.

3. Julian White (Leicester)
- White may be getting on a bit now, and his contribution around the park is hardly dynamic, but his hard-nosed style still makes him the most destructive prop in the Premiership.

4. Trevor Hogan (Leinster)
- It's been a week for try-scoring forwards, and Hogan scored a textbook forward's try from the Leinster eight against Connacht at a vital point in a tightly contested match.

5. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
- Supreme in the line-out and an always willing ball carrier, Wyn-Jones was tipped for Lions glory by opposite number Paul Tito after the Ospreys' win over the Blues on New Year's Eve.

6. Tom Croft (Leicester)
- Croft rounded off a fine Christmas period by scoring both of Leicester's tries as they scraped past Bath at Welford Road, England may rely heavily on his talents during the Six Nations.

7. Serge Betsen (Wasps)
- The French warhorse was magnificent against Harlequins at Adams Park, making upwards of 20 tackles as the Wasps defence finally discovered its edge.

8. Filo Tiatia (Ospreys)
- Another veteran campaigner, former All Black Tiatia showed Blues No.8 Andy Powell a few secrets about ball-carrying before crossing for the winning score at the Arms Park.

9. Danny Care (Harlequins)
- Always tenacious and sharp, Care's instinctive try against Wasps, chipping over an out-of-position Danny Cipriani before collecting to score, lit up a game otherwise dominated by defence.

10. Ian Humphreys (Ulster)
- While Bath fly-half Butch James and Connacht pivot Ian Keatley both deserve mention, it's Ulster's Ian Humphreys that tops this week's list at 10 after his complete display in helping Ulster thrash Munster at Thomond Park.

11. Napolioni Nalaga (Clermont Auvergne)
- Clermont's Fijian wing blitzed Toulon almost single-handedly on Saturday, crossing for four tries in a 32-5 win.

12. Graeme Morrison (Glasgow)
- Morrison's return from injury has been a big boost for Glasgow, and he showed his importance with a fine step and powerful finish for a crucial try against Edinburgh on Friday.

13. Darren Cave (Ulster)
- The deceptively quick Cave has been making strides towards Ireland selection with a rejuvenated Ulster side, continuing his recent good form with a try in his side's rousing win over Munster.

14. Chris Bishay (Wasps)
- Yanked from the subs bench after Paul Sackey was ousted from the Wasps lineup by the England management, Bishay took it in his stride and popped up to round off a superb team score against Quins.

15. Ben Foden (Northampton)
- Having bounced between scrum-half and fullback during his time with the Saints, Foden showed his potency from 15 against Bristol, dancing through several tackles to score a superb solo try.

© Scrum.com

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.