"Welsh Fire" - Team of the Week: 2023 Summer Nations Series 'Round One'

New Zealand got the ball rolling with a thrilling comeback victory over Australia. The Bledisloe Cup remains in Aotearoa, as Ian Foster's second half substitutions brought about a 23-20 victory for the All Blacks, despite trailing 3-17 at half-time.

Scotland then took centre stage, with Gregor Townsend's side recording a memorable victory against an albeit weakened France team. Again fighting hard to achieve the comeback win, Scotland battled back from a 21-3 half-time deficit, to defeat Les Bleus 25-21.

Warren Gatland's Wales side then set the tone ahead of this weekend's return fixture against England, as they stunned Steve Borthwick's men with a 20-9 victory at the Principality Stadium. Ireland rounded up the weekend with a comfortable win over Italy, as resounding 33-17 victory put out a statement of intent at the expense of the Azzurri.

We count this past weekend as 'Round One' of the Summer Nations Series, as all the Six Nations sides and the SANZAAR Nations were in action. So unfortunately, any top performances from Scotland vs Italy on the 29th of July are missed out.

But what players stood out from the rest this weekend? Here is RUCK's Team of the Week, from this round of the 2023 Summer Nations Series.

The Wales fullback marked his centurion test match with great aplomb. As good as ever under the high ball, Halfpenny controlled the ariel battle despite the slippery Cardiff conditions. An impressive, well-rounded performance in the back three, Halfpenny was a class act in the pressurised moments and a deadeye from the tee with a brace of conversions and penalties.

At the top of his game on the wing, there are not many players in hotter form along the touchline. Graham utilised his fleet-footedness to break into key positions, and capitalised on a golden opportunity to score an important try. France could not contain the Edinburgh star, who shone in the Scottish capital.

Despite coming away on the wrong side of the final score, Marika Koroibete had a phenomenal game along the Wallabies' left wing. He started off at break-neck pace with a fantastic try just three minutes into the game, and imposed his physicality throughout the match in attack and defence. Never stopped working against the All Blacks and emptied the tank.

Experience speaks volumes at the international game, with George North leading by example to break in debutant Max Llewellyn in the Welsh midfield partnership. North dashed England's hopes of a revived fight back with his try, and broke up a potential try-scoring threat as well. High quality across the park, North shone in the first of two matches against the old enemy.

Hard to pick a definite stand-out at inside centre this week, with Stuart McCloskey putting in the hard yards to edge his way into our XV. Just beating his opposite man Tommaso Menoncello to this spot, McClosky's physicality was felt by each and every Italian player, as he made sure Kieran Crowley's men would remember running into him. Found his way onto the score-sheet due to his astute awareness of a turned-over ball.

Coming off the bench to turn the game around, Richie Mo'unga brought a real sense of direction with him onto the park. In addition to his undeniable skillset, the fly half's leadership has grown insurmountably, as he calmed his troops and re-organised a winning All Blacks structure. He slotted the match winning kick to secure the bragging rights over the trans-Tasman rivals.

Marked his return to Warren Gatland's starting XV in style, as his try drew first blood against England at a key moment. Never looked a step away from the play, Davies was on hand to supply quick ball and capitalised on England's staggered defence. He offered the all-important support to score off Jac Morgan's run, and kicked well to boot.

In a style akin to South Africa's 'bomb squad', the All Blacks implemented a full front row substitution which swung the momentum of the match. Ofa Tu'ungafasi had an instant impact at loose-head, and dominated the second half scrum with hooker Dane Coles, and young tight-head Fletcher Newell. Tu'ungafasi also carried well in the midfield, providing a good option for the hard yards.

Elliot Dee was given an extended run in the side, coming on after just six minutes as Ryan Elias departed with an unfortunate injury. The absence of Six Nations captain Ken Owens has left big shoes to fill in the front row, yet Dee provided Gatland with a viable option with his short-notice involvement. Dee eased into the match and was instrumental for the tide-turning scrummages in the second half. He was singled out as ‘outstanding’ by Head Coach Gatland post match.

The only England player to make this side, Will Stuart was Steve Borthwick's best forward on the day against Wales. Narrowly surpassing the All Blacks' Fletcher Newell to our number three jersey, Stuart won a trio of scrum penalties, which allowed Marcus Smith to build a 9-6 England lead into half-time. Stuart gave the debuting Cory Domeschovski a real challenge a scrum time, and put his hand up for England's tight-head spot which has since been owned by Kyle Sinckler.

All eyes were on Henderson to lead Ireland out strong, as he was awarded the captaincy following the absence of the banned Johnny Sexton. The 31-year-old did just that in Dublin, and set Ireland off on the right foot for their Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. Henderson carried well up the park, and was unlucky to not cap off an impressive break with a try. His best moments came early in the game, with less to do when Ireland ran away with the match.

In contention with Matthieu Jalibert to be France's best performer against Scotland. The asterisk of this being a weakened French side did not hinder Woki, who made good on his opportunity in the absence of Thibaud Flamenet, and with Paul Willemse dropped to the bench. Woki stood out with crunching tackles, and presented a masterclass in lineout ball retention and steals.

Tom Hooper was the best performing back-rower in this Bledisloe Cup fixture which included the likes of Sam Cane, Ardie Savea and Rob Valentini. Whilst those three men all performed well, Hooper gets the nod at blindside for his outstanding shift. His 19 tackles saw the 21-year-old top the Wallabies tackle charts, and made us question how he is not related to Michael Hooper. The flanker also scored his first try for Australia after just seven minutes, as the Wallabies hit top gear early on.

Jac Morgan could not have dreamt up a better match, to mark up his first run as captain for his country. The 23-year-old led like a veteran wise beyond his years, with exceptional work rate in attack and defence. Morgan's awesome cut in from the right led to Gareth Davies' opening try, and his thumping hit on opposite man Tom Pearson took the wind right out of England's sails. Sam Warburton waxed lyrical about the back-rower at half and full-time, with Morgan rightly awarded Player of the Match.

8. Aaron Wainwright - Wales

Wrapping up the team of the week for 'round one' so to speak, is Aaron Wainwright, who would have been a contender for Man of the Match had Morgan not played an early career-defining game. Wainwright stepped up into the number eight jersey, following the injury vacancy of Taulupe Falatau. The back-rower dominated the collision up-front, and gave a great offload in contact to set up Morgan's run for Wales' opening try.