The first weekend of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup certainly didn’t disappoint, as the three matches produced a slew of impressive individual performances.
We’ve whittled the field down to four contenders and now it’s up to you to decide who will be named Player of the Round for Round 1.
Back-rower Caelan Doris and winger James Lowe shone as Ireland put Wales to the sword 32-9 on Friday night, another flying winger – Duhan van der Merwe – helped Scotland beat Italy 28-17 before England hooker Jamie George crossed for an historic hat-trick as Georgia were beaten 40-0
The poll is at the bottom of the page but first, a reminder what the four men accomplished over the weekend.
Caelan Doris – Ireland
Caelan Doris continued his seamless introduction to international rugby with another high-class display on Friday night that earned him Player of the Match honours against Wales.
Wearing the No.8 shirt usually reserved for CJ Stander, the 22-year-old put in a tireless performance and played a key role in setting up Quinn Roux’s opening try.
He almost set up another for Cian Healy, charging down Gareth Davies’ box-kick and expertly keeping the ball in play with a neat flick back early in the second half, only for the prop to be held up over the line.
But he did get his second assist at the death as he wheeled off the back of a scrum and popped the ball to James Lowe to burrow over.
James Lowe – Ireland
Making his international debut on Friday night, James Lowe immediately looked like a veteran as he consistently came off his wing during a lively first half to produce a number of big carries, including an eye-catching line break on 20 minutes.
His final stat line of ten carries for a game-high 85 metres demonstrates how effective he was, while he also kicked for 216 metres to show a three-dimensional aspect to his game.
The performance was capped off by a try at the death when he ran a supporting line for Doris off the back of a scrum and plunged over the line on crash ball to add gloss to the scoreline.
Duhan van der Merwe – Scotland
Scotland were made to work hard by Italy, before prevailing 28-17, and Duhan van der Merwe was their most dynamic threat across the 80 minutes in a Player of the Match display.
The winger has that rare combination of size, speed and elusiveness, making him a nightmare for defenders to stop, as proven by the remarkable 143 metres he made from just eight carries.
He also broke five tackles as he consistently put Scotland on the front foot and crossed for a try when he ran a gorgeous line to collect a fizzed Ali Price pass and scythe through the defensive line to touch down.
Jamie George – England
Quite simply, Jamie George made history at Twickenham as he became the first English hooker to score a Test hat-trick in the men’s game.
All three tries were almost identical, as he steered a driving maul over the whitewash following a lineout that he had accurately thrown.
He will be the first to acknowledge that his scores came from the hard work of the pack as a whole but George put in a shift for the 64 minutes that he was on the pitch, ensuring home dominance at the set-piece – traditionally Georgia’s strength – and his tries were just reward for that effort.
