RUCK's Team of the Week: Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals

The semi-finals brought about two polarising matches, starting with the All Blacks handing Argentina an unceremonious 44-6 defeat. New Zealand ran roughshod on the Pumas, with little saving graces as Michael Cheika's side dropped into the Bronze Medal match. The All Blacks have hit their relentless best when it mattered the most, and Ian Fosters men look like serious contenders to bring the trophy back home to Eden Park.

This was followed by the nail-biting encounter between England and South Africa, which saw Steve Borthwick's side fall at the final hurdle. England were leading until the final few minutes of the match, before Ellis Genge gave away a scrum penalty, and Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard fired the following penalty through the posts, for a last-ditch 16-15 victory.

As the momentum builds into the Rugby World Cup Final and Bronze Medal match, we took a look back on the players that starred best in the semi-finals. Here is RUCK's Team of the Week, for the Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals.

Starting off with the back three, England fullback Freddie Steward had an excellent outing in the semi-final defeat to the Springboks. Brought back into the side by Steve Borthwick, after Marcus Smith was left battered and bruised by Fiji, Steward bossed the arial battle with the sky bombarded by high Springbok kicks.

Joining Steward in the back-three is the All Blacks duo of Will Jordan and Mark Tele'a. Jordan ran out a phenomenal hat-trick against Los Pumas, with the winger one try away from equalising Jonah Lomu's try-scoring record in the final four. The Crusaders flyer's third try was the pick of the bunch, as he made a rapid line-break, before re-gathering his own kick chase to score a stunning solo try. Jordan heads into the World Cup Final as the tournament's leading scorer, with eight tries.

Mark Tele'a slots in on the left wing, as the Auckland Blues man made good on his long awaited return to the squad. Tele'a was left out of Foster's fray due to staying out past the All Blacks' curfew, and had a stand-out performance in his return match against Argentina. Tele'a hit like a back-row and distributed like a halfback, as New Zealand built a heavy score-line of victory to reach the final.

Powerhouse outside centre Jesse Kriel is our pick for the midifeld, who lines-up alongside All Blacks playmaker Jordie Barrett. Kriel hammered into the England defence with bruising carries that tested the physicality of Steve Borthwick's men. Kriel also imposed his presence in defence, with consistent tackling to nullify the England carriers. The centre also tried his luck from the boot, with a couple of grubber kicks popping up for Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arundse.

Jordie Barrett had another starring role for the All Blacks, after he saved his side's skin by holding up a try, in the quarter-final win over Ireland. Barrett presented a masterful clinic in ball distribution, taking the attack high to the line before sending his outside backs through for repeated line-breaks. Barrett provided a powerful finish for the All Blacks second try of the match, as New Zealand grabbed an early foothold against Argentina.

The fly-half spot was a tough call between Handre Pollard and Owen Farrell, yet we have awarded the spot to Pollard given his match-saving heroics from the tee. Pollard had an earlier involvement than many expected, as Rassie Erasmus withdrew Manie Libbok after just half an hours game-time in a brutal statement of intent. Pollard bossed the second half, and sent the ball sailing through the posts for a dramatic Springboks triumph, just as he did in the quarter-final against France.

It is rare to see a player that took a trip to the sin-bin make the Team of the Week, but Aaron Smith was just that good against Argentina. The scrum-half distributed quick-ball at a rapid rate of knots, and linked up expertly well with Richie Mo'unga to send the All Blacks cruising up the pitch. Smith scored a stunning solo try to wrap up his match, as he skipped past two tackle attempts and sold the dummy on the third covering defender. Simply inspiring from the iconic number nine.

Onto the front-row now, with the most talked about area of South Africa's game taking the lead in our picks. The tried-and-trademarked 'Bomb Squad' were at their explosive best against England, with Ox Nche running out a Man of the Match performance on the South African loose-head. The match was won at the scrum, with Nche an influential pillar in the eventual turning of the tide.

England did their best to combat the 'Boks squad depth, yet Borthwick's replacements could not fire back to match the relentless tempo shift that Nche and Vincent Koch brought to the front row. Koch was key in South Africa's overall win, as the tight-head imposed his power-game on Ellis Genge, who's knee struck the deck in front of referee Ben O'Keefe, which led to Pollard's decisive penalty.

In between the Springbok props is All Blacks replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho. The front rower is eager to shift the replacement asterisk from his role, and re-gain his spot as the All Blacks leading hooker. An impressive 25 minute run-out saw Taukei'aho empty the tank, with sprinting carries and well worked set-pieces. One overthrown line-out was a blemish on his record, yet his positional rival Codie Taylor also had an uncharacteristically slower day at the line-out.

Packing down the scrum in our Team of the Semi-Finals, are two players that don't often star in the spotlight, but had key contributions in the England vs South Africa clash. Starting with RG Snyman, the replacement lock was called into action after just 45 minutes, and took over from Eben Etzebeth who had lost the arm-wrestle with Maro Itoje. Snyman imposed his physicality from the get-go, and scored his 70th minute try to drag the Springboks back for their comeback victory.

Opposing Snyman was George Martin, who had a stunning shift in the row. Martin was called upon by Borthwick over regular starting lock Ollie Chessum, to utilise his added size and tackling power against the Springboks, to which he did to a significant extent. Of course, Martin was on the losing side of the score-line, but his nine tackles and tireless breakdown work-rate, saw him through his scrum cap into the mix for future England starts.

Wrapping up the starting XV with the back-row, we have selected two All Blacks and one solitary Puma. Shannon Frizzell and Sam Cane occupy the flanks, whilst Facundo Isa keeps the Argentine flag flying as the sole member of Michael Cheika's side in our starting team. Frizzell was quick over the ball in defence, with key turnovers stopping any go-forward that the Argentina backs tried to create.

Frizzell added two tries to the ever-growing All Blacks points tally, with a simple score before the break following the quick hands of Richie Mo'unga. His second saw him re-start the All Blacks points scoring, as he powered over to outmuscle a battered Argentine defensive line. Sam Cane had a key captain's contribution, and battled relentlessly to see his side into the Rugby World Cup Final. He won two turnovers and was amongst the leading tackles, with his shoulders left black and blue following his departure for Auckland's Dalton Papali'i.

Facundo Isa was Argentina's best attacking option against New Zealand, and whilst the players around him faultered under the one-way traffic, Isa stood up to make a difference. Of course, Isa could not stop the relentless New Zealand attack by himself, but his did his best to soften the damage on the score-line. A proud performance from a mis-matched semi-final, earned Isa into our Team of the Week.

16. Bongi Mbonambi (South Africa)

17. Joe Marler (England)

18. Tyrel Lomax (New Zealand)

19. Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)

20. Tom Curry (England)

21. Faf de Klerk (South Africa)

22. Owen Farrell (England)

23. Jonny May (England)