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Conveniently at this time of reflection, what with entering a new year and all that, we have reached the half-way point of the Top 14, so what better way to reflect on the season so far than by picking a Team of the Mid-Season. It has been, thus far, an incredibly competitive season. There have been a few surprises along the way, and it has seemingly been unpredictable and predictable in equal measure - there have, after all, only been 17 away wins in 13 rounds of action.
One of the most exciting things about this season has been the emergence of young talent, and of our XV, seven are aged 25 or much younger - and there are plenty more who narrowly miss out. With the national side at a bit of a crossroads over team selection, should Fabien Galthié opt for some of the in-form young guns from the Top 14?
Here is our team from the first half of the Top 14 season - let us know what you think!
Loosehead Prop - Moses Alo-Emile
No standout candidate at loosehead prop, but plenty of players in good form. Baptiste Erdocio has bounced back from a tough summer in New Zealand with his club Montpellier, and his form was good enough for him to retain his place in the France squad. Rodrigue Neti has been incredibly consistent for Toulouse, and earned himself a recall to the national side after a five year absence. However, we’ve gone for Moses Alo-Emile - we wanted a bit of bulk, and he’s been a key part of a Stade Français pack that has started to chew up opposition scrums.
Hooker - Guillaume Cramont
Guillaume Cramont might be notionally third choice at Toulouse, but with the prolonged absence of Peato Mauvaka and with Julien Marchand also missing chunks of the season, the 25 year-old had a stellar start to the season, racking up five tries in the first eight rounds of the Top 14, earning himself a France debut in the process. Teddy Durand, brought in over the summer from Oyonnax to replace Gaetan Barlot at Castres, has been impressive, starting all but one game in a Castres front row that has struggled with injuries.
Tighthead Prop - Thomas Laclayat
There is a place for another former Oyonnax man in the front row, with Thomas Laclayat one of the nailed on picks for this team. He struggled in his time with Racing 92, but he has been rejuvenated by his move to Pau, providing a robustness up front that was severely needed for the Verts et Blancs. His impact has been transformative. Elsewhere, Wilfried Hounkpatin is unselectable in our view (for off-field reasons) despite his excellent all-round performances on the field. Régis Montagne has continued to develop nicely and his form for Clermont earned him the starting berth for France in the Autumn Nations Series.
Second Row - Hugo Auradou & Boris Palu
Pau’s scrum may have struggled in recent seasons, but their lineout has been slick, and it has gone to another level this season. Pau have the best lineout in the league, and Hugo Auradou, as the orchestrator, is the best lineout forward in the league. At only 22, his technical mastery is seriously impressive. Alongside him, we’ve gone for Boris Palu who has been reborn in a Union Bordeaux-Bègles jersey after some stagnant years with Racing 92. He has featured in every game for UBB this season, and has been prominent both with his ball carrying and his lineout work. Brian Alainu’uese just misses out on the starting berth.
Flankers - Lenni Nouchi & Esteban Capilla
These were two of the easiest names to pick for this team, two players who would/should be on a shortlist for player of the season so far (alongside our fly-half). Both 22 year-olds have been in red hot form: Nouchi has six tries in 11 appearances for Montpellier, Capilla has seven tries in his 11 games for Bayonne. Nouchi brings aggression in everything, but he also has a fantastic instinct which is why he gets himself over the gainline and into try-scoring positions. Capilla, meanwhile, is an outstanding all-round athlete, with blistering pace and an audacious skillset to go with it - he is the sort of player that gets you excited whenever you see his name on a teamsheet. Cameron Woki has been back to some of his best form since returning to UBB, but he is still some way behind these two in our pecking order.
Number 8 - Billy Vunipola
This was one of the tougher positions to pick, with plenty of decent options but no true standout. Yoan Tanga has finally started to show signs of fulfilling his price tag at Stade Français, Sam Simmonds has put in some standout performances in an underwhelming Lyon side, while Nathan Hughes has been a pleasant surprise at Racing 92. Temo Matiu has started to show his talent at the back end of the year, while Théo Ntamack was brilliant before picking up an injury in November. However, we’ve gone with Billy Vunipola for his consistency across the full breadth of the first half of the season. He is also a brilliant foil for Nouchi at Montpellier, with opposition players being sucked in by their dual ball-carrying threat.
Scrum half - Tawera Kerr-Barlow
Injuries for a large chunk of the season to Antoine Dupont and Maxime Lucu, mean the spotlight has been elsewhere at scrum-half. Nolann Le Garrec was instrumental in the early part of the season for his new club La Rochelle before he picked up an injury in the Autumn. Paul Graou, yet again, has been impressive filling in for the GOAT at Toulouse. Ali Price has been a brilliant signing for Montpellier, but we’re going for one of the other signings of the season. The evergreen Tawera Kerr-Barlow has transformed Stade Français’ attacking game, bringing a pace and direction to their game that was distinctly lacking last season.
Fly half - Matthieu Jalibert
There have been a few fly-halves in fantastic form, but frankly no one comes close to Matthieu Jalibert. It is hard to describe just how good he has been this season - he is playing some rugby from another planet. Arguably the form player in Europe, and as good as the likes of Joris Segonds, Harry Plummer and Ugo Seunes have been, Jalibert is untouchable.
Centres - Fabien Brau-Boirie & Nicolas Depoortère
Trying to pick a centre pairing for a Team of the Mid-Season is nigh-on impossible, and there could have been any number of players in these slots - and all of them French and very young. Nicolas Depoortère has to take one of the jerseys, given his impact in every game that he has played (and he’s played a lot). He has achieved that thing of putting in an 8 out of 10 performance every time - impressive for a guy who doesn’t turn 23 until mid-January.
Alongside him, we’ve gone for Fabien Brau-Boirie who has a similar level of consistency to Depoortère, despite still only being 19 years old. His consistency, and the fact he is such an integral part of a thrilling Pau backline gets him the nod over Kalvin Gourgues despite the latter’s headline grabbing performances for Toulouse. Another youngster, the immensely physical 21 year-old Noah Néné is unlucky to miss out given his six tries in nine Top 14 starts, while FBB’s Pau team-mate Émilien Gailleton would have been in with a shout were it not for injury disrupting his season.
Wings - Louis Bielle-Biarrey & Jiuta Wainiqolo
The form of Louis Bielle-Biarrey really is inescapable. 21 year-old Grégoire Arfeuil has burst on the scene - seemingly coming from nowhere like many of his Pau teammates - and has shown put in some electrifying performances, with seven tries in ten Top 14 games, but LBB is unstoppable and has one more try in one game fewer.
On the other wing, Gaël Dréan has once again been one of the leading finishers in the league, with seven tries in nine games, but we had to go with his former Toulon teammate Jiuta Wainiqolo. It is a shame the Fijian flyer left Toulon over the summer, but thankfully his form hasn’t dipped despite playing in an often abject Lyon side. He is the league’s top try-scorer with 10, and you know that because it is Wainiqolo that there have been some worldies in there.
Full Back - Tom Banks
To round off our XV, its another position where there isn’t really a standout candidate. Thomas Ramos has (obviously) been excellent at times, but he’s not had it all his own way in a Toulouse jersey this season. Max Spring has put in some very good performances for Racing 92, but hasn’t always featured at full back, while Dillyn Lleyds has been consistently solid and creative in a very inconsistent La Rochelle side. However, we’ve decided to go for a man who has played every minute of every Top 14 game so far this season, Montpellier’s Tom Banks. We were sceptical about the signing of the former Wallaby ahead of the season, but he’s put in some excellent performances, becoming a totem of solidity in a sturdy Montpellier side.
You can listen to our full discussion on the latest episode of The Rosbifs Rugby Podcast.