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RWC 2015: The best offloads from round two including Sonny Bill Williams, Bryan Habana and Quade Cooper

Watch and vote for the best offloads at the Rugby World Cup

Jack de Menezes

Monday 28 September 2015 17:48 BST

Quade Cooper passes the ball during Australia's win over Uruguay (Getty Images)

The Rugby World Cup is not even two weeks old, yet fans have already been treated to an array of tries, brilliance in attack and defiant defending across all four pools.

With 110 tries already scored in 19 games at an average of over five per game, England 2015 is already threatening the record for the most tries scored in a single tournament, with Australia 2003 currently holding the record of 332 tries across the full 96 matches at an average of 3.45 per game.

So where better to start breaking down the second round of fixtures than to look at the best offloads, with the top four simply brilliant to watch. The four teams involved in the best offloads of the round range from Fiji to the All Blacks.

World Cup team of the week - round two

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

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.

2015 Getty Images

Fiji may have suffered defeat to Australia, but it was still a chance for the giant lock Leone Nakarawa to shop off his passing skills as he offloaded the ball mid-tackle to teammate Peceki Yato as they attacked the Wallabies midway through the second half.

Second up is prolific offloader Sonny Bill Williams, who made sure he took his chance to impress on his first start at the World Cup with a shuddering run that barged Namibian hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld out of his way before passing the ball out the back of his hand to centre partner Malakai Fekitoa.

Third up the highest try scorer from the 2007 Rugby World Cup in South Africa’s Bryan Habana. After a lovely move down the blindside against Samoa, Habana looked to have been caught by a combination tackle from flanker Jack lam and scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’I, only to sling the ball around his head and over his shoulder to release full-back Willie Le Roux.

Finally, Australia’s creative fly-half sows his sublime handling skills after taking a Kurtley Beale chip before quickly offloading to wing Joe Tomane to crash over for a try.

Watch them all below…

But which one is your favourite? Vote for the one you believe is the best below.

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