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chris hewetts premiership team of the season
Jonny May Gloucester 15
Rich Baxter Exeter 8
Alesana Tuilagi Leicester 11
Scott Lawson Gloucester 2
Christian Wade Wasps 14
Marcos Ayerza Leicester 1
Steve Ma Leicester 67
Brad Barritt Saracens 12 George Pisi Northampton 13
Matt Garvey London Irish 4 Christian Day Northampton 5
Haydn Thomas Exeter 9 Freddie Burns Gloucester 10
The naturalised SouthAfrican did what he has beendoing since he
arrived. Nomore, no less. The dierencethis season? England
noticed.A hard-tackling,no-nonsense, mideld go-toman par
excellence.
The express-pacednewcomer ran in nine tries,nishing second in
thescoring list. Not bad for arst full season amongstthe grown-ups,
especiallyplaying in a losing side.
Something went right upfront for the Londonersand that something
wasthe Samoan. A liability onthe penalty front, but aserious force
in the scrumand on the drive.
The Kingsholmites eldedseveral follicly-challenged forwards,
possiblyas a ruse to blind opponentswhen the sun was out, but
thehooker was the most eectiveof them. Excellent around theeld.
Far and away the outstandingloose-head prop in thecompetition,
the Argentineprovided the platform fromwhich the Tigers
launchedtheir surge into thesemi-nals. Worth his weightin gold.
When Englands captainwas captaining Quins
instead, they almostalways won. This tells ussomething.
Thehardest-working forwardin the country is nowreaping his just
reward.Good on him.
The local farmer hasplayed some 400 gamesfor his club, but
inclusionhere is not a reward for
long service. Rather, itreects his quiet,thoughtful yet
ruggedlyeective contribution.
A major contributor tothe Midlanders cause, inmore than one
position.
The Tongan put in full80-minute shifts in adozen league
games,performing at his bestwhen it mattered most.
Still scary after all these years,the Samoan provided
richentertainment - a WWF-stylecharacter with muscles wherenormal
people rarely haveplaces. Ten metres from theline in a little
space?Unstoppable.
A little tough on theultra-consistent MikeBrown of Harlequins,
butthe youngster, positivelysmothered in X-factor, was
the true bums-on-seatsmerchant. Kick badly tothis bloke at your
peril.
The seasons best signing?Probably. The Saints are notgreat ones
for chopping andchanging in selection, butthe moment the
Samoanarrived, the long-serving JonClarke was on borrowedtime.
Rival half-backs were moreeye-catching, but theDevonians are not
muchinterested in the cult of theindividual. Their man wasperfect
for them: reliable,resilient and harder-workingthan the average
Trojan.
There are precious few lockswho can do a reasonable turnon the
open-side ank, but the24-year-old from Thurrockmanaged it in his
rst season asa Premiership regular.Promising.
The Saints often strugglewhen their internationals areaway and
but for theBlackpool-born lock, theywould have been hard pushedto
make the play-os.Outstanding in the crucialvictory at Exeter.
Some outside-halves playedwith more control thepercentage game
remains amystery to him - but when itcame to the
bright-spark,box-of-tricks stu, the WestCountryman had the edge
overall-comers.
Chris Robshaw Harlequins
3James Johnston Harlequins
Chris Hewetts Premiership team of the season
