With the conclusion of the U18 International Series it is time to name our Team of the Series, and what a challenge it has proved to be.
Each side had some exceptional performances. South Africa were, clearly, outstanding, but their A side proved almost as adept themselves. Meanwhile France were also superb and South Africa’s closest challengers. Ireland gave a good account of themselves, while Georgia achieved an historic result with victory over England, a side that struggled and yet had some brilliant moments and superb individual performances.
Our Team of the Series broadly reflects that, with South Africa dominating, while France are also well represented. Every side does make the team though, reflecting a promising group of players across the board.
NextGenXV U18 International Series Team of the Series
15 Andoni Echegaray (France)
A hotly contested position, with almost every side having standout players at full back. In his two starts, though, Echegaray was excellent and looks like a real star of the future for France.
14 Gaetan Ngassa Manac’h (Franc)
Our only real cop out of this XV as we move France’s outside centre to the right wing to accommodate more players in arguably the hottest contested part of the field, bar perhaps the second row. Gaeten Ngassa Manac’h was truly outstanding throughout the series. International honours await, mark our words.
13 Markus Muller (South Africa)
Why is Ngassa Manac’h on the wing? Because South Africa skipper Markus Muller simply has to be at 13. A genuinely brilliant player with an all-round game to die for. In Muller and Adams South Africa have a centre combination that you could see wearing senior colours for years to come.
12 Declan Treacey (England)
Ethan Adams was brilliant, and the temptation to maintain the South African centre partnership is huge. However in a losing cause Declan Treacey was outstanding all tournament for England. Little wonder he captained them, as he has done for Bath a year early, he is all heart and fight with a huge dollop of quality on top. One of England’s very brightest sparks and made a huge difference off the bench v France, the one game he did not start.
11 Yannis Brosset (France)
One of the first names on the teamsheet, Brosset has been magnificent. Huge pace, plenty of power, he is the latest in the long production line of outstanding French wingers. They are spoiled for choice out wide from U18 level right through to the senior side, Brosset has made that choice even tougher.
10 Jeandre Uithaler (South Africa A)
Uithaler might have been in the second string South African side, but over the course he played the best of any fly half in the series – little wonder he was named captain of the South Africa A squad. What a wonderful player he is, expect to see much more of him in the future.
9 Conner McVicker (Ireland)
McVicker was one of very few players to be named in our Team of the Round twice, and with good reason as he was excellent in both games. He is good news for Ireland too, whose options at 9 are a little thin with Connor Murray retiring and Jamison Gibson-Park not getting any younger, a valuable option for the future.
1 Prince Emmanuel Tambo Fantcho (France)
Rock solid for France and just feels like such an exciting player for the future. In a position of real promise, with the likes of Aiden Reid, Oliver Spencer, and Kai Pratt also excellent, Tambo Fantcho just repeatedly caught the eye, superb.
2 Lee Fitzpatrick (Ireland)
Holds off some fierce competition at hooker, does Fitzpatrick, not least from the quarter of South African hookers across the series. Fitzpatrick was excellent through, a real bundle of energy and industry and rightly regarded as one of the most promising in this Irish group.
3 JG Badenhorst (South Africa)
Bad news for the rest of the world, South Africa aren’t running out of top calibre tightheads anytime soon. JG Badenhorst was immense whenever he was on the field and is surely going to be a household name before long. A shoutout to Ireland skipper Harry Goslin, though, who was excellent.
4 AJ Meyer
Could be in with a player of the series shout. AJ Meyer was utterly outstanding – you have to be to earn selection in the second row of this team because the competition was outstanding. In the finest traditions of South Africa international rugby, they have another outstanding lock on their hands.
5 Nikoloz Chkhotooia (Georgia)
That Chkhotolia holds off England’s Harry Laidlow and France’s Christian Mendes Tani tells you everything you need to know, he is an exceptional player. No wonder Georgia took him to the World Rugby U20 Championship as an U18. Further honours await, no doubt.
6 Josh Neil (South Africa)
Neil gets the nod on the blindside flank after several outstanding performances throughout the series. So much so that we actually shoehorned him in at 8 ahead of compatriot Gert Kemp in one Team of the Round, much to the chagrin of the Kemp fan club, though they may have something to look forward to in a few moments time…
7 Loseb Ghinjilia (Georgia)
One of the most fun players of this entire series. Not the biggest or scary of back rowers, but a player as happy running the wide channels like a winger as he is putting his body in places that only mad men would dare dream of. Almost feels like a throwback player, and a wonderful one at that.
8 Gert Kemp (South Africa)
The Gert Kemp fan club can rest easy, the barnstorming South African number 8 makes the team of the series and deservedly so after a stunning series of performances. The greatest measure of his quality, though, is that he keeps French number 8 Lilian Baret out of this team – a player that, like Kemp, could justifiably lay claim to a shot at player of the series.
