Five England players Steve Borthwick should call-up after this weekend

Hard hitting defenders, powerful derby-day scrummagers, and a definite contender for try of the season make up this weekends top 5. Here are the players who impressed the most on the international break.

At just 23-years-old, Tom Pearson is establishing himself as a fan favourite for London Irish. Despite coming away on the losing side against Leicester Tigers, the Exiles' back-rower put in an inspired performance against the reigning champions. Impressing in both defence and attack, Pearson displayed his fundamental soundness in the contact area, and also contributed an impressive try for Irish.

Pearson channelled his inner fly-half to score his try, expertly selling the dummy to find a space in the defensive line. He then presented an explosive first step to make the break, and dive over the line to bring Irish level. Shining in the back-row against a well-drilled Leicester attack, Pearson absorbed the heavy carries, proving his resiliency in defence.

An exciting as ever performance from Fraser Dingwall, in an equally thrilling 12-try match. The Northampton Saints centre lit up Franklins Gardens once again, with an influential performance that included a crucial try. Scoring the try of the match against Gloucester, the move started off rather fortuitously, as James Grayson's kick was obstructed and found the hands of Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.

The Australian then played a nice out-the-back offload, keeping the ball alive to find Rory Hutchinson. The centre then plays an neat offload of his own, finding number eight Sam Graham on a switch running line. He fended the first defender, plays a one-handed offload to Alex Coles, who quickly fed the ball back inside to the charging run of Fraser Dingwall to score. Simply mesmerising play from the Saints.

Alex Lewington shone on the wing against Newcastle Falcons, as he scored twice in Saracens' bonus point victory. Contributing his first try at a key part of the match, Saracens had fallen behind momentarily. Lewington's try brought the hosts back level at 10-10 after 14 minutes, with Sarries then extending their lead, and holding the advantage for the remainder of the contest.

Lewington's first try saw the 31-year-old run onto the looping pass from Alex Goode, and attack along the left wing. He evaded the tackle of Brett Connon, and was clean through to wrap up an impressive try. Lewington followed this up for back-to-back tries for his brace. After the rolling maul efforts were halted by the Falcons, hooker Theo Dan broke on his own, but couldn't make the try-line. The ball was quickly shipped wide from the ruck to Lewington, who dived for the corner and scored in dramatic fashion.

A strong contribution from the winger at the Stone X Stadium, as Saracens extend their consecutive win record against Newcastle Falcons to 25 wins in a row. Lewington often shines during the international break in recent years, with Max Malins and Elliot Daley vacating the spotlight in the Saracens back-three.

Bristol's loosehead prop was a powerful pillar in the front row, and was pivotal in grinding out the 15-13 win over Bath. Shining against his former club, Lahiff reminded Bath as to what they had lost in the scrum. Unfazed by the presence of Beno Obano, Lahiff matched his opposite man at the set-piece, and out-performed the England capped Obano in moments at the Rec. A stand-out in the Somerset derby, Lahiff deserves the accolades from his performance.

Bristol Live awarded Lahiff an 8/10 player rating: "The former Bath man was nothing short of mighty in the scrum. On paper the hosts should have had a significant advantage in the scrum with Lahiff matched-up against Beno Obano but that was not what transpired on the night as the England international loosehead had very little joy at the coalface."

Josh Hodge had a stand-out performance for Exeter Chiefs, as the young fullback scored twice in the win over Sale Sharks. He was on flying form all match, and at just 22-years-old, he is making waves across Devon during Stuart Hogg's international absence. Hodge's first try saw him capitalise on Exeter's two man advantage, as Sale had suffered two yellow cards in quick succession.

Hodge pinned his ears back and darted for the corner, to score Exeter's second try and draw them level just before half-time. He outpaced the trailing defence of George Ford, and dove in the corner to score. His second try came shortly after and sent Sandy Park into a frenzy. Skipping free of three tackle attempts, Hodge found a gap on the Sale 10m line and back his ability to score a fantastic solo try.