Team of the 2014 November Internationals

15. Rob Kearney (Ireland)
Kearney has been fully back to his best this autumn. Rock solid at the back, he seems to have rediscovered an extra half a yard of pace, and has made sure his booming left boot has been accurate more often than not. His sweetly-struck drop goal attempt, from 45 metres on the angle, was an example of the confidence he’s feeling, and the only blemish was that it rebounded off the post rather than going through.

14. Tommy Bowe (Ireland)
There are few wingers around that are quite as canny as Bowe, who has the definition of that old cliché, ‘a great rugby brain’. He showed as much with tries at key times this autumn: a well-timed burst out of the defensive line for an intercept score against Australia, and the collection of a smart Conor Murray kick to score the try that killed off the contest against South Africa.

13. Tevita Kuridrani (Australia)
One of the least-hotly contested shirts, when all is said and done, and Kuridrani almost ambles into it despite missing the final game against England. He had, however, been a monumental handful in every game previously and has probably been the best centre worldwide in the past year.

12. Matt Toomua (Australia)
Doesn’t necessarily get the headlines in the way Kuridrani does outside him, but Toomua has been crucial to making the Wallaby backline tick towards the back end of this autumn. He is not only a secondary playmaker at 12, he is often the primary playmaker ahead of the 10 – in two games against Ireland and England, he made a whopping 50 passes. To put that in context, his opposite men, Twelvetrees and D’Arcy, made five between them.

11. Julien Savea (New Zealand)
There is no one quite like him in the game right now, and in fact, nor has there been for quite some time. Proved in almost every game this autumn just how he has such a ridiculously high try-scoring rate… by scoring more tries, of course. Pace and power in abundance.

10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
Not only the best fly-half this autumn, but quite possibly the standout player of the past month. Threatening on the gainline, sure, but it is his decision-making and subsequent execution that has impressed so much. It has been a joy to watch Sexton at the very pinnacle of his powers.

9. Conor Murray (Ireland)
Sexton’s right hand man and one half of the best half back partnership in the world right now. His tactical kicking is the best we’ve seen from a scrum-half for quite some time and although he doesn’t possess the express pace of some of his contemporaries he is still a danger around the breakdown thanks to his quick thinking and strength.

1. Jack McGrath (Ireland)
17 tackles in a single game from a prop is almost unheard of, and yet McGrath managed it this autumn – and against the relentless physicality of the Springboks, no less. Cian Healy will face a battle to get back into the team.

2. Dane Coles (New Zealand)
The set piece wobbles that used to dog his game have, for the most part, disappeared and a more dynamic hooker in the world game there is not. The way he calmly accelerated down the touchline and executed a two on one in the dying stages against Wales looks beyond several northern hemisphere backs at the moment, let alone forwards.

3. David Wilson (England)
In Dan Cole’s continued absence, Wilson has really made the England tighthead shirt his own. ‘Moose’ has smashed the scrum of every nation visiting Twickenham this autumn, including the much-vaunted South African ‘Beast’, with ease, and put in an impressive shift in the loose against Australia, making 13 tackles.

4. Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
It’s been an autumn for the old stagers in the engine room, with Victor Matfield also impressive in an almost flawless South African lineout, but O’Connell has been simply imperious. Fire in the belly is an understatement, and his tackle on Ben McCalman in the Australia test was one of the iconic moments of the series. Still has an insatiably high work rate.

5. Jonny Gray (Scotland)
In complete contrast to O’Connell, Gray is in incredibly raw talent just starting out down his test rugby road. Similar to the Ireland great, however, is his appetite for tackling and he is another man who seemed to get through more work than should be possible for a man of his size and weight. Was particularly excellent alongside brother Richie against Argentina.

6. Peter O’Mahony (Ireland)
The whole of the Irish back row stood out this autumn, so O’Mahony’s presence here is almost indicative of how good Ruddock and Heaslip have been, too. O’Mahony’s presence at the breakdown, though, is what sees him into this team, especially against South Africa where he crucially swotted away the likes of Coetzee, Mohoje and Burger.

7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
Possibly the most hotly contested number on the teamsheet, with Sam Warburton, Chris Robshaw, Michael Hooper, Rhys Ruddock and Marcel Coetzee (who wears six but is a seven) all excellent in patches, but for sheer consistency and the ability to keep driving his side to new levels of excellent, McCaw gets the nod. A record of 87 wins in 100 test matches as captain is unparalleled and, frankly, is likely to remain so for some time. A genuine all-time great.

8. Kieran Read (New Zealand)
Again, across the whole of November, Read has been the best number eight. No matter where he is on the pitch, whether it’s scrapping for the ball at the bottom of a ruck, in the heart of a driving maul, or in the middle of the backline where he’s expected to throw a 20 metre spin pass off his left hand, he never looks out of place and always executes perfectly.

Replacements:

16. Agustín Creevy (Argentina)
17. Joe Marler (England
18. Samson Lee (Wales)
19. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
20. Chris Robshaw (England)
21. Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
22. Dan Biggar (Wales)
23. Teddy Thomas (France)

What do you think of the team? Would you make any changes?

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images