Pacific Challenge XV – Round 2

Not too much to think about this week, with Fiji and Argentina the clear standouts and contributing the bulk of selections. Japan are again out of the fold.

Tomás Lezana Argentina Pampas XV World Rugby Pacific Challenge

1 – Santiago García Botta (Argentina) Ruthless in the scrum and moves well in the loose. Another young prop on the rise.

2 – Semiperive Semeane (Samoa) Replaced injured Andrew Williams only 20 minutes in and made a huge impression around the pitch. Strong support play and tremendous defense.

3 – Lucas Martínez (Argentina) A great lump of a man, nearly as round as he is tall. Absolutely monstered the retreating Tongan scrum with frightening ease.

4 – Matías Alemanno (Argentina) An essential cog in a one-sided pack performance. Showed no ill-effects from the head knock suffered in round 1.

5 – Savenaca Tabakanalagi (Fiji) Another giant lock, even bigger than the duo that paired up in the opening round. Thundered around the pitch like an elephant on parade.

6 – Tomás Lezana (Argentina) Rising throught the ranks very quickly since graduating from the u20s. Very high work rate, strong in contact, and linked well in attack.

7 – Oneone Fa’afou (Samoa) A true openside, something of a rarity in Samoan rugby. Gave Canada fits at the breakdown in a very lively display.

8 – Facundo Isa (Argentina) Controlled the back of the scrum and brought his physicality to play in the loose. Scored a try from a heads-up quick tap near the line.

9 – Serupepeli Vularika (Fiji) Kept the tempo high with accurate service and scored a tournament-high 22 points after taking over the goal kicking duties.

10 – Patrick Fa’apale (Samoa) Steered his team to victory with a confident performance. Controlled the game and proved strong in the tackle.

11 – Nacani Wakaya (Fiji) Yet another big and fast winger off the production line. Virtually untouchable with ball in hand.

12 – Apakuku Ma’afu (Tonga) The best Tongan for the second week running. Tried his best to keep his desperately overmatched side in the game.

13 – Josua Kerevi (Fiji) Didn’t score any tries but set up a half-dozen. Completely dominant both in attack and defense.

14 – Santiago Cordero (Argentina) Another lively display from the hot stepper. Scored one and looks just about the class attacker in the tourney.

15 – Pat Kay (Canada) A confident, solid if unspectacular performance. Kicked very well from hand and tee, and put in a stirling effort in defense.