1 - Alisona Taumalolo - The Tongan prop only played just 28 minutes but made the most of it with a barn-storming performance both at scrum-time and around the field.
2 - Marius Tincu - A few more Tincu's in their forward pack and Romania could finally get that elusive upset.
3 - Martin Castrogiovanni - The sole standout in the Italy forward pack against Australia, the Leicester prop proved why he's rated as one of the best in the world.
4 – James Horwill – Man of the match in Australia’s victory over Italy the Wallabies skipper led from example and is quickly becoming one of the best locks at the tournament.
5 – Paul O’Connell – A solid game by the Irish lock in a less than convincing performance from the rest of his team.
6 – Heinrich Brussow – A tackling machine in the Springboks victory over Wales outplayed teammate Schalk Burger which very rarely happens.
7 – Sam Warburton – Brave effort in his side’s loss to Wales.
8 – Toby Faletau – Scored a crucial try which put Wales in front and didn’t shy away from the big Boks forwards.
9 – Dimitri Yachvili – Kept Japan out of touch with some sharp-shooting with the boot while also commanding the French pack.
10 – James Arlidge – Leads all World Cup scorers with 21 points which is impressive for a Japanese player, more so that it came against France.
11 – Richard Kahui – A centre converted to the wing he did it with verve and speed for two excellent tries as well as setting up one.
12 – Sonny Bill Williams – He quite likes to off-load as do his teammates who score off them. He’ll meet better defense if he can get back on the park but a standout performance in the cup opener.
13 – Ma’a Nonu – A smarter runner than Sonny Bill, Nonu linked nicely with his outside runners and was happy in the physical work.
14 – Vereniki Goneva – After scoring four tries in one game it was impossible not to pick the Fijian flyer.
15 – Israel Dagg – Two slick first-half tries and looked electric early on.
- HERALD ONLINE/NZ HERALD
