2015 Rugby Championship: Best XV from 1st Round of Games

The first round of the Rugby Championship is in the books.

New Zealand looked in ominous touch as they blew past Argentina in Christchurch.

And Australia imposed a second straight late dose of pain on the Springboks with Tevita Kuridrani's injury-time winner.

Coaches are going to shuffle their decks to keep bodies fresh and give World Cup hopefuls a chance to shine in the coming rounds, so we could see some interesting characters cropping up in these teams of the week.

The first one reflects the stand out performers from the Championship's first two clashes.

Here is your first first XV.

15. Israel Folau

Israel Folau came and claimed all aerial bombs sent his way and broke the staunch defensive South African line on several occasions. He is still the man who can make something happen out of nothing for Australia.

14. Charles Piutau

Charles Piutau secured a try and a hat-full of metres. The Auckland man did all he could to make his case for a spot on the fiercely contested wide berths in Steve Hansen’s final World Cup squad.

11. Bryan Habana

Bryan Habana was not hugely involved in the game, but he did outjump Israel Folau once, and it proved crucial because it led to Eben Etzebeth’s try.

13. Jesse Kriel

To make a debut away from home in a side missing several key men is a tall order, but Jesse Kriel looked to-the-manor-born on his full Springboks bow.

Dangerous when taking the ball to the line and slippery, as he showed when he danced through some admittedly flimsy tackling for his try. The stuff dreams are made of.

Kriel made plenty of yards and stood up manfully when asked to tackle.

Honourable mention to Ma’a Nonu, who claimed a typically powerful try, carrying several Argentinian defenders over the line with him.

12. Sonny Bill Williams

We saw much of what makes Sonny Bill such a unique talent. His offloading skills were often on show, and his tackling was bone-shuddering.

He will cool his heels next week, as New Zealand travel to South Africa, and someone is going to have to play out of their skin to take his shirt for keeps.

10. Dan Carter

Smooth stuff from Dan Carter who never needed top gear. He looks a cut above the other No. 10s in the tournament, who all had patchy performances with their kicking from hand and goal-kicking.

ESPN.co.uk reported: "Fly-half Dan Carter was particularly impressive in the 39-18 victory, and has surely now shaken off any lingering doubt as to whether he is the man to pilot the All Blacks in their World Cup defence."

9. TJ Perenara

TJ Perenara looked slick for New Zealand, knowing that any chance to shine when you’re up against Aaron Smith for the starting jersey must be grasped with both hands.

8. Schalk Burger

Schalk Burger gave a huge defensive effort in Brisbane. The South African played out of position in the No. 8 jersey and made 20 tackles to haul the Wallabies down time after time.

Honourable mention to Kieran Read, who preyed on a Puma mistake for an easy try and was also prominent in his familiar wide areas, where he made things happen with his lines of running and offloading skills.

7. Michael Hooper

Australia’s stand-in skipper last season handed the job back to Stephen Moore on Saturday but still led by example. Hooper was seen before this game as in a straight fight for the Wallaby openside jersey with David Pocock, and the way he played alongside the Brumbies man when Pocock came on to play No. 8 gave coach Michael Cheika proof that the pair could form a dangerous back-row unit together.

6. Francois Louw

Francois Louw made 18 tackles, despite a spell having his head stitched up. The Bath man was omnipresent at the breakdown and another defensive rock for the Boks when they went into siege mode.

5. Luke Romano

Luke Romano put one foot on the plane to England with an eye-catching display for New Zealand against Argentina.

He ended with 11 tackles and 17 metres gained and earned praise from the New Zealand Herald’s Patrick McKendry: "Those among the 17,500 crowd were treated to an often ruthless performance from the men in black. At the heart of it was lock Luke Romano, having his best game of the year after a season at the Crusaders troubled by injury and a lack of spark."

4. Eben Etzebeth

A totemic performance from Stormers lock Eben Etzebeth, who lost his experienced stablemate Victor Matfield early on. He took his try well but also made a giant contribution in defence with 15 tackles, per ESPN.co.uk.

3. Owen Franks

Owen Franks had the might of the Pumas scrum to handle and did so competently.

2. Bismarck du Plessis

Bismarck du Plessis spearheaded a dominant South African scrum before the substitutions, but he also produced an incredible performance at the breakdown, where he turned Australia over on countless occasions.

His opposite man Stephen Moore deserves a mention for a fantastic captain’s performance in every facet of his game, as does Argentina’s Agustin Creevy for his two tries.

1. Tendai Mtawarira

Tendai Mtawarira offered powerful scrummaging and was typically noticeable with his carries for some hard yards. His premature substitution, along with his fellow starting front rowers, was the beginning of the downfall of South Africa in their contest against Australia.