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It was a week to remember for the wings as a number of wide men cashed in on mismatches to run in countless scores. No fewer than 26 tries were scored in nine matches by wings, meaning that whittling them down to just two proved a difficult task in itself.
New Zealand, Scotland and Australia all continued their winning starts to the campaign, while Ireland and France remain on a collision course in Pool D with both sides taking victory once again to pull clear of the rest.
For England, their World Cup hopes suffered a shuddering setback in the defeat to Wales on a tense Saturday night, while South Africa got back to winning ways with an impressive victory over Samoa.
Argentina put in one of the performances of the round as they demolished Georgia by putting on 43 unanswered points on their Pool C opponents, while Italy managed to chalk up a hard-fought victory over Canada to maintain their slim hopes of progression.
So who stood out this week? Click on the gallery below to scroll through our team of the round.
Show all 15 1 /15World Cup team of the week - round two World Cup team of the week - round two 15. Liam Williams (Wales) Williams made the most ground of any during a ferocious contest at Twickenham as he returned the ball with vigour. Looked to add to the line when possible, especially on the right to form a formidable pairing with George North on the wing. Unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tom Wood’s stray boot caught him in the head and forced him off.
World Cup team of the week - round two 14. JP Pietersen (South Africa) The under-fire Springboks responded with a comprehensive victory over Samoa with the recalled Pietersen bagging himself three tries. With all eyes on his fellow wing Bryan Habana, Pietersen showed he can be just as dangerous as he quickly launched himself to the top of the try scorer charts alongside Welsh pair Gareth Davies and Cory Allen.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 13. Malakai Fekitoa (New Zealand) New Zealand’s centres needed a big performance after the uncertain one against Argentina, and in Fekitoa and Sonny Bill Williams they enjoyed prolonged success over Namibia. Fekitoa was on hand to score a try after Williams’ offload, while he proved a useful outlet to cross the gainline every time he got the ball. The 23-year-old is certainly challenging Conrad Smith for the No 13 jersey.
World Cup team of the week - round two 12. Gonzalo Garcia (Italy) Italy could not afford defeat against Canada if they had any hopes of challenging the big two in Pool D, but for much of the game it looked like that could be the case. However, centre Garcia came up trumps in the closing stages to bag the match-winning try, and he also made the most tackles as the Canadian back-row repeatedly ran his way.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 11. Santiago Cordero (Argentina) The Pumas turned it on in the second half against Georgia, and a key reason behind that was the speed and dancing feet of Cordero. The wing bagged two tries in the 54-9 victory on his way to an impressive 152m gain, but he also contributed with the most offloads to keep his side on the front-foot when it mattered most.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 10. Dan Biggar (Wales) A faultless kicking display at Twickenham not only gave Wales one of their greatest ever victories, but also helped those in red forget about the absence of the metronomic Leigh Halfpenny. Biggar also found a way to bring his outside backs into play especially out wide, and given England had set out to stop this from occurring with two big tackling centres, it was even more impressive that Wales’s crucial try came out wide.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 9. Tomas Cubelli (Argentina) The scrum-half joins his Argentinian teammate Cordero in the side after inspiring the Pumas to a much-needed bonus point. He managed to get himself on the scoresheet just after the break to trigger the rout, and his flourishing half-back partnership with Nicolas Sanchez looks to be one to watch for the South Americans.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 1. Hubert Buydens (Canada) The Canadian loosehead excelled to give his side equality against a strong Italian scrum, although the absence of Martin Castrogiovanni did go in his favour. The Canucks didn’t lose a scrum on their own put-in, which against a Six Nations side is very impressive to say the least, and the battle between Buydens and Lorenzo Cittadini was enthralling to watch at times.
World Cup team of the week - round two 2. Codie Taylor (New Zealand) Given a surprise start ahead of the veteran Keven Mealamu, and didn’t disappoint. Taylor carried well to break the line twice, nailed all but one of his lineout throws and didn’t lose a scrum as the All Blacks ran riot at the Olympic Stadium. His last gasp try was more than deserved.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 3. Nathan White (Ireland) Ireland enjoyed success in the scrum in the few that occurred at Wembley as Ireland comfortably overcame Romania on Sunday evening, and while all eyes were on the more prominent Cian Healy and his first start since neck surgery, White was a key figure in the Irish front-row. The USA’s Titi Lamositele is unlucky to miss out after an impressive first half against Scotland.
World Cup team of the week - round two 4. Tomas Lavanini (Argentina) The second-row opened the scoring against Georgia as he finished a well-worked try after a lovely long pass from fly-half Sanchez, and the lock carried well all game to break the gain line six times. Along with second-row partner Matias Alemanno they stole two Georgian lineouts, and imposed over the opposition pack both at the set-piece and in the loose.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 5. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa) Reinstated to the starting line-up after an injury scare, Etzebeth carried with venom like a caged animal unleashed. The towering second-row made the most clean breaks and the difficulty in stopping him in a one-on-one tackle also saw him complete the most offloads in the match, while he took on the bulk of the work in the lineout despite partnering the veteran Victor Matfield. All this at the age of 23, it’s easy to see why he’s tipped to be the breakthrough star of the World Cup.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 6. Francois Louw (South Africa) A much improved Springbok back-row saw Louw switched to the opposite side with Schalk Burger back on the flank, and it worked. Playing openside – given South Africa play with reverted flankers – Louw put in a strong tackling performance that nullified any threat from the strong Samoans and kept their try line intact.
World Cup team of the week - round two 7. Sean McMahon (Australia) Undoubtedly one of the stars of the round, albeit against a Uruguayan side that was blown off the park for the second week in succession. McMahon demonstrated why the talk should not be all about David Pocock and Michael Hooper – affectionately named “Pooper” by the British media – as he bagged two tries and was a terrier at the breakdown in stealing ball for the Wallabies.
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World Cup team of the week - round two 8. Billy Vunipola (England) The loss of the No 8 proved a pivotal turning point in the match at Twickenham as England lost their go-to man to get them on the front-foot. From the get-go, Vunipola showed he was in one of those moods where he can be at his attacking best, and his battle with cousin Taulupe Faletau was one of the many highlights from the Pool A clash.
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