European Team Of The Tournament

[TheSaffycen]

Right here I thought we could put forward our XVs

1.Vunipola
2.Guirado
3.Ross
4.Vahaamahina
5.Williams
6.Lee
7.Armitage
8.Vunipola
9.Tillous-Borde
10.Ford
11.North
12.Fofana
13.Joseph
14.Mitchell
15.Halfpenny

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Honestly I would have james over ford

 

[chippieolamus]

Just wanted to say that Billy Vunipola imo deserves European player of the year. Great in every single game (especially Munster at Allianz).

 

[gaston le gaff]

Perhaps European player of the year should come from TOULON!!!!!!!! OR DID YOU NOT KNOW THATS THE 3RD TIME RUNNING THEY HAVE WON THE TOURNAMENT

 

[chippieolamus]

Why should the winner of player of the tournament have to come from the winning team? It should go to the best player regardless of team. If the best player happens to play for Toulon then fine, but there's no reason to pick a toulon player over a more worthy winner just because they play for Toulon.

 

[gaston le gaff]

They have played more games, won more games and beaten everybody for the last 3 years OK so take your pick!!!!! you have a reasonable choice below sorry Billy did not get a game yesterday...........

e XV de départ: Halfpenny ; Mitchell, Bastareaud, Hernandez, Habana ; (o) Giteau, (m) Tillous-Borde ; S. Armitage, Masoe, J. Smith ; Williams, Botha ; Hayman, Guirado, Chiocci. Remplaçants: Orioli, Menini, Chilachava, Fernandez Lobbe, Bruni, Wulf, Michalak, Taofifenua.

 

[chippieolamus]

Yup, correct they have played more games, but if none of them have been better over their games then why do they deserve it? The previous 2 years are also irrelevant.

 

[ncurd]

Sergio Parisse us rightly attributed as one the best players in most 6 nations tournaments. Do we ignore home because he plays for Italy. He's proof the best player doesn't necessarily play for the best side.

 

[Tony Manx]

I agree with the argument that best performing player does not necessarily have to come from the winning team!

However, this is not universally accepted.

Look at the selections of the Man of the Match who in 99.99999% of the time comes from the winning team!!!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Toulon did still lose a game.

 

[Bluemoon]

Sergio Parisse us rightly attributed as one the best players in most 6 nations tournaments. Do we ignore home because he plays for Italy. He's proof the best player doesn't necessarily play for the best side.

+1. Totally agree with this.

 

[gaston le gaff]

Yup, correct they have played more games, but if none of them have been better over their games then why do they deserve it? The previous 2 years are also irrelevant.

nobody deserves anything you have to earn it and i personnally think that someone like Giteau or others from Toulon do deserve it not a player who's team did not even get to the final. and as you say if they have not been better, how come they are virtually unbeaten over 3 years in Europe bar a couple of pool game loses, and if you don't want him to come from the wining team there is always Bonnaire but once again he's FRENCH ooooppppssss................

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Toulon did still lose a game.

The thing about a great team is that they can afford to lose a couple of games and still win the finals 3 years on the trot.......n'est pas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheSaffycen]

Was there a game where Vunipola was outplayed by his opposite number ? Was there a game where he wasn't the best forward on the pitch ? I think he had an outstanding tournament and he should be in with a shout, if it does go to a player who played in the final then I would say anyone of Bonnaire, Lee, Giteau, Halfpenny could win it. Even then Giteau is the only player not to be out played by there opposite number, or in Halfpennys case Armitage, but I guess it has to go to the winning team's player...

 

[chippieolamus]

nobody deserves anything you have to earn it

And I am arguing that Vunipola did more to earn the award than any other player, regardless of club.

and i personnally think that someone like Giteau or others from Toulon do deserve it not a player who's team did not even get to the final. and as you say if they have not been better, how come they are virtually unbeaten over 3 years in Europe bar a couple of pool game loses, and if you don't want him to come from the wining team there is always Bonnaire but once again he's FRENCH ooooppppssss................

Toulon as a team have indeed been the best team over the last year (the previous 2 years are not relevant for this discussion) but that does not mean that each of their players have outperformed every player in their positions in the competition. The Parisse example, as given above, is a good example of why a player from the winning team should not necessarily win the player of the tournament award (although of course, if a winning team's player had been the POTT then they should also win it).

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

nobody deserves anything you have to earn it and i personnally think that someone like Giteau or others from Toulon do deserve it not a player who's team did not even get to the final. and as you say if they have not been better, how come they are virtually unbeaten over 3 years in Europe bar a couple of pool game loses, and if you don't want him to come from the wining team there is always Bonnaire but once again he's FRENCH ooooppppssss................

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The thing about a great team is that they can afford to lose a couple of games and still win the finals 3 years on the trot.......n'est pas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why are you trolling? Toulon have been a great team for the last three years and no one is questioning that, they've been comfortably the best team in a weak era for European club rugby and have set a record that's unlikely to be equalled given the nature of rugby. Your theory that the winning team deserves the player of the tournament award is bull****, it's the equivalent of saying Jared Payne and Luther Burrell are better players than Wes Fofana because Ireland and England finished ahead of France in the 6n.

I dont think Vunipola deserves the award, in terms of influencing his team 'a progression through the tournament by putting in great performances he wasn't on the level of the likes James, Armitage, Giteau or even Heaslip who was Parisse like with Leinster. The whole TOULON ARE THE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME, THEY WON THREE EUROPEAN CUPS WHEN THEIR ONLY CHALLENGERS WERE THE 2010 TOP 14 CHAMPIONS AND THE 2011 PREMIERSHIP CHAMPIONS BECAUSE ALL THE IRISH AND WELSH TEAMS WERE ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$$!!!!!$!!!!!£!!!!!$$!!!!!!£££!!!!!!Â¥!!!!!!!!!!€€€€!!!!!!!€!!!!€!!!€!!!!!!!!€! is really pathetic.

Especially from a poster who, if I recall correctly and I think I do, stated in the past when the French were no great shakes in Europe stated that it was only because they didn't care about the tournament. If an Irish, English or Welsh poster carried on like this they'd be branded a troll by all and not considered seriously. Now you can accuse me of campaigning against French clubs, which I have done in the past, but I've not done that in over a year because I've found that it's not worth it on here. This is an attempt to combat obvious trolling by a senior member on the forum gloating because a club he doesn't even support won a competition. Take this how you will but please provide an argument as to why Vunipola was not better than the others mentioned other than he's neither French nor based in France therefore he can't be the best player in European club rugby.

 

[big ginger 8]

Does no one know that the nominees for player of the tournament were actually released a while ago? It's Abendanon, Armitage, Heaslip, Lee and Vunipola.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rug...ted-for-european-player-of-the-year-1.2185271

 

[psychic duck]

Toulon have been a great team for the last three years and no one is questioning that, they've been comfortably the best team in a weak era for European club rugby and have set a record that's unlikely to be equalled given the nature of rugby.

Whilst I couldn't agree more about you pointing out that gaston is an idiotic **** who's never once made a post worth reading. I don't think it's fair at all to dismiss this as a 'weak era for European club rugby'. Look at some of the winners from the first dozen years of the tournament and they are filled with barely heard of journeymen. There's more quality players in the tournament than ever before from all over the world, just look at the lineups of both teams today. Top end domestic European rugby is as strong as it's ever been.

 

[munstermuffin]

Does no one know that the nominees for player of the tournament were actually released a while ago? It's Abendanon, Armitage, Heaslip, Lee and Vunipola.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rug...ted-for-european-player-of-the-year-1.2185271

FWIW Abendanon has been awesome for me all year

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Whilst I couldn't agree more about you pointing out that gaston is an idiotic **** who's never once made a post worth reading. I don't think it's fair at all to dismiss this as a 'weak era for European club rugby'. Look at some of the winners from the first dozen years of the tournament and they are filled with barely heard of journeymen. There's more quality players in the tournament than ever before from all over the world, just look at the lineups of both teams today. Top end domestic European rugby is as strong as it's ever been.

Aye, I meant relatively in terms of competitiveness and slightly more recent, take the last 10 years for example I think Toulon's 2014 side who in my opinion were their best side would have only won in '05 and possibly '09.

 

[psychic duck]

Aye, I meant relatively in terms of competitiveness and slightly more recent, take the last 10 years for example I think Toulon's 2014 side who in my opinion were their best side would have only won in '05 and possibly '09.

Disagree completely. The level of the elite teams has undoubtedly risen even relative to say 5-6 years ago. Munster won ***les with mediocre props and a backline full of average players like Ian Dowling, Anthony Horgan and Denis Hurley, Wasps won with the likes of Tom French, Richard Birkett, Tom Voyce, Mark van Gisbergen. There was a clear marked difference between the quality of the squads back then compared to international teams. More recently the likes of Joe Schmidt's Leinster, Toulon or Clermont have had squads complete from 1-15 and with quality superior to many international sides (Schmidt's Leinster would have beaten Ireland, Toulon or Clermont would easily beat France). European domestic rugby has far more quality players from across the globe than it did even 4-5 years ago.