RWC Team of the Tournament

leakyboots

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/ne...ook+dream+team

The Official Team of the Tournament (well what seems to be a 'facebook dream team', wouldn't read too much into it but it's reasonably accurate for me)

Healy and O'Brien unlucky not to be there. O'Driscoll shouldn't be there at all.

For the past two weeks, fans of the official Rugby World Cup facebook page have been voting on which players would make their RWC 2011 Dream Team. Based on suggestions from the online community, a shortlist of names per position was created each day and put to the vote, with over 160,000 votes being cast along the way.


Our final 15 is below. We think they would compete with any of the great sides to have played at Rugby World Cup's.


Jean-Baptiste Poux FRA

The french prop has now played in three Rugby World Cups and was ever present in the French team on their run to the final. A leader on the field and 100% committed to the team effort, Poux has shown he deserves his place in your Dream Team.



Keven Mealamu NZL

A firm fans favourite, Keven Mealamu scored his second Rugby World Cup try at this year’s tournament. His appearance against France in the final saw him equal Sean Fitzpatrick record as New Zealand's most capped hooker with 92 test caps.



Owen Franks NZL

A phenomenal tackler, the younger Franks brother has been described as the unsung hero of this year's All Blacks side. A self confessed rugby obsessive who, at only 23, has a very bright future ahead of him.



Brad Thorn NZL

Brad Thorn was your choice for the #4 shirt by a considerable margin. He featured in all seven of New Zealand's RWC 2011 victories, scoring a try along the way. The final against France was last appearance as an All Black but his performance will be remembered for a long time to come.



Paul O'Connell IRE

Voted Man of the Match in Ireland's first match of RWC 2011, Paul O'Connell was the overwhelming favourite for the #5 shirt in your Dream Team. Appearing in his third RWC, O'Connell was the heartbeat of the Irish side on their run to the quarter finals.



Thierry Dusautoir FRA

Thierry Dusautoir beat off some stiff competition to land his place as #6 in your Dream Team. It caps a fine year for the France captain after leading his team to RWC Final, as well as being named IRB player of the Year Award.



Richie McCaw NZL

RWC winning captain Richie McCaw became the fourth All Black in your Dream Team after taking a huge percentage of the vote for the #7 shirt. His stand out performances in both the semi-final and the Final were achieved whilst carrying a foot injury, making his place in your team all the more deserved.



Imanol Harinordoquy FRA

Imanol Harinordoquy leads by example. He dominates in the air. He picks and drives. In short, he inspires his team mates. A worthy #8 for any team in the world and a great asset for your Dream Team.



Mike Phillips WAL

Mike Phillips was chosen as your scrum half by a comfortable distance. His ability to cut through tough tackles and score important tries makes him one of the world's best in his position.



Ronan O'Gara IRE

The second Irish player to make the Dream Team, O'Gara earned his place after scoring 44 points at RWC 2011. His cool head and calm under pressure make him a valuable addition to your team.



Richard Kahui NZL

Voted Man of the Match in New Zealand's opening match against Tonga, Richard Kahui proved himself an integral part of the All Blacks team, playing in 4 more matches and scoring a total of 4 RWC tries.



Jamie Roberts WAL

Considered by many as one of the players of the tournament, Jamie Roberts was a popular choice for your #12 shirt. Ever present in the Wales team, he was an inspiration both on and off the field.



Brian O'Driscoll IRE

Ireland Captain Brian O'Driscoll took nearly 50% of the votes to make your Dream Team. A consistent performer for Ireland, O'Driscoll added to his impressive tally of international tries with a well taken try in Ireland's must win Pool match against Italy.



Cory Jane NZL

Named Man of the Match in New Zealand's stunning semi final win over Australia, Cory Jane won plenty of new fans in his first RWC. Beating off tough opposition for the #14 shirt Cory Jane's place in your team is well deserved.



Israel Dagg NZL

Mercurial feet, astute under the high ball and five tries in his five Rugby World Cup matches saw New Zealand's full back Israel Dagg aptly complete the RWC Facebook Dream Team.

thomond2006

ROG?!

How many of the voters were Irish?

leakyboots

thomond2006 wrote: »

ROG?!

How many of the voters were Irish?

Hmmmm... wasn't a tournament for fly halves but I thought he played quite well compared to the others

wixfjord

Haha, must have been an Irish campaign going, ROG and BOD both had poor tournaments!

Edit: POC aswell jaysus!!

wixfjord

leakyboots wrote: »

Hmmmm... wasn't a tournament for fly halves but I thought he played quite well compared to the others

Aha, this game again!

What games did he play well in then Leakyboots?

leakyboots

wixfjord wrote: »

Aha, this game again!

What games did he play well in then Leakyboots?

Italy and Australia for two off the top of my head.

Especially the Australia geme, opened up play when he came on and kicked his goals. One of the best kickers of the tournament, no?

wixfjord

leakyboots wrote: »

Italy and Australia for two off the top of my head.

Especially the Australia geme, opened up play when he came on and kicked his goals. One of the best kickers of the tournament, no?

Aha! I thought you might say the Australia game...
Is this playing well to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciQoPK7pK0c

So he played well against Italy and Russia then?

leakyboots

wixfjord wrote: »

Aha! I thought you might say the Australia game...
Is this playing well to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciQoPK7pK0c

So he played well against Italy and Russia then?

Few errors alright but he helped close out a tight game and gave us arguably our best ever result on the rugby pitch. And bear in mind he was tidying up from Sexton's wobbles with the boot.

Like I said, wasn't a tournament for outhalves, I'd happily swap him if you've a couple of other candidates. These facebook/public vote things are a pretty pointless exercise anyway.

wixfjord

Priestland was the stand out OH of the tournament.
Nobody really came close to matching him.

CIARAN_BOYLE

leakyboots wrote: »

Few errors alright but he helped close out a tight game and gave us arguably our best ever result on the rugby pitch. And bear in mind he was tidying up from Sexton's wobbles with the boot.

Sextons wobbles with the boot had us ahead when ROG came on so he can't have been that bad

molloyjh

wixfjord wrote: »

Aha! I thought you might say the Australia game...
Is this playing well to you?

leakyboots wrote: »

Few errors alright but he helped close out a tight game and gave us arguably our best ever result on the rugby pitch. And bear in mind he was tidying up from Sexton's wobbles with the boot.

Seriously guys do we have to do this!?

It wasn't a tournament for OHs and ROG is certainly a curious pick because while he kicked his goals he didn't exactly have a stormer. Priestland is probably the only OH to really spring to mind from this RWC.

BOD got in on reputation too it seems as he was very quiet. POC so, so. The funny thing is our best players (Best, Ferris & SOB) are nowhere to be seen. Any one of them were far better than the 3 Irish picked.

wixfjord

molloyjh wrote: »

Seriously guys do we have to do this!?

It wasn't a tournament for OHs and ROG is certainly a curious pick because while he kicked his goals he didn't exactly have a stormer. Priestland is probably the only OH to really spring to mind from this RWC.

BOD got in on reputation too it seems as he was very quiet. POC so, so. The funny thing is our best players (Best, Ferris & SOB) are nowhere to be seen. Any one of them were far better than the 3 Irish picked.

Our three biggest names got in because it was a mostly Irish demographic voting I'd say.

molloyjh

wixfjord wrote: »

Our three biggest names got in because it was a mostly Irish demographic voting I'd say.

I'd have thought SOB would have made the cut if that was the case though wouldn't he?

CIARAN_BOYLE

I'd say that casual rugby fans picking names that they knew dominated the voting.

vinny chase

It's clear there was a huge amount of Irish people voting. None of those three deserved inclusion, or, frankly, to be anywhere near inclusion.

Cian Healy had a couple of very strong performances, but still wouldn't have made my team. Sean O'Brien and Stephen Ferris similarly were good, but would be behind Dusautoir, Kaino, McCaw, Warburton & Pocock for me.

Rhys Priestland ought to have been at 10 for me.

Ma'a Nonu should be in the centre as well.

tolosenc

Yeah, it's a bit of a joke. If the only Irishman to get in was SOB, no one could complain. BOD was very average, ROG was awful, POC was good, but by no means one of the top locks in the tournament.

I'd like to see at World Cup XV with max. 1 player per team.

vinny chase

tolosenc wrote: »

I'd like to see at World Cup XV with max. 1 player per team.

That's surprisingly tough to do!

I'll give it a lash:

15 Israel Dagg-New Zealand
14 Chris Ashton-England
13 Aurelien Rougerie-France
12 Jamie Roberts-Wales
11 Vasily Artemyev-Russia
10 Morne Steyn-South Africa
9 Kahn Fotuali'i-Samoa
1 Soane Tonga’uiha-Tonga
2 Mario Ledesma-Argentina
3 Davit Zirakashvilli-Georgia
4 James Horwill-Australia
5 Richie Gray-Scotland
6 Sean O'Brien-Ireland
7 Todd Clever-USA
8 Sergio Parisse-Italy

Not easy! Tough to pick a ten who had a good tournament, so necessitated the Morne Steyn pick!

Priestland at 10 and it's not even close.

Poor World Cup from almost all 10s, and Priestland consistently good across each appearance.

iroced

wixfjord wrote: »

Haha, must have been an Irish campaign going, ROG and BOD both had poor tournaments!

Edit: POC aswell jaysus!!

Overall, it seems like the "big" names have been put on a "fantasy dream team".

But, have to admit it's difficult to pick a XV that stood out during this WC...

matthew8

Out-halves with a better tournament than ROG:
Morne Steyn
Rhys Priestland
Tusi Pisi
James Arlidge
Felipe Contepomi/Marcelo Bosch
Jonny Sexton

Interestingly the 2 teamsin the final had poor out-half play.

matthew8

tolosenc wrote: »

Yeah, it's a bit of a joke. If the only Irishman to get in was SOB, no one could complain. BOD was very average, ROG was awful, POC was good, but by no means one of the top locks in the tournament.

I'd like to see at World Cup XV with max. 1 player per team.

That is a tough task:
1. Alisona Taumololo- Tonga
2. John Smit- South Africa
3. Martin Castrogiovanni- Italy
4. Richie Gray- Scotland
5. Paul O'Connell- Ireland
6. Thierry Dusautoir- France
7. Jacques Burger- Namibia
8. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe- Argentina
9. Kahn Fotuali'i- Samoa
10. James Arlidge- Japan
11. Phil MacKenzie- Canada
12. Jamie Roberts- Wales
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper- Australia
14. Chris Ashton- England
15. Israel Dagg- New Zealand

Teams without players:
USA-Emerick and Clever impressed, but America were bad at this world cup
Russia-Very bad at the world cup, though Artemiev was good.
Georgia- I didn't get much of a chance to watch these guys, if I did maybe I would have put one of their players in
Romania- Ditto, and I think many can sympathise with my refusal to wake up at times like 3am to watch a match in pool boring.
Fiji- They were a disgrace. Awful world cup.

Podge_irl

What an unbelievably dreadful dream XV of the tournament.

BoarHunter

rating Ashton over Clerc is a bit weird for me

matthew8

BoarHunter wrote: »

rating Ashton over Clerc is a bit weird for me

Clerc is way better and was in my initial team, until I noticed Dusautoir was in there as well.

Here's another challenge, all minnows team, only 2 players max per country. Minnows being countries not in the six nations, try nations, or Argentina.