Round 1 of the 2025 Rugby Championship delivered drama, physicality and individual brilliance in equal measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Ellis Park, the Wallabies produced a comeback for the ages, overturning a 22-5 halftime deficit against the Springboks to storm home 38-22.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe Schmidt\u2019s side, written off by many before kickoff, showed resilience and flair in a statement win driven by standout performances across the park.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Mendoza, the All Blacks maintained their perfect record on Argentine soil with a 41-24 victory over Los Pumas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott Robertson\u2019s men were tested by a passionate home side but found key contributions in the forwards and some sharp finishing behind the scrum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From Wilson\u2019s inspirational display to Ratima\u2019s control and Albornoz\u2019s defiance, Round 1 gave us no shortage of star turns.<\/p>\n
Here is FloRugby\u2019s Team of the Week, celebrating the players who set the tone for what promises to be a thrilling Rugby Championship:<\/p>\n
1. Ethan de Groot \u2013 All Blacks<\/p>\n
Locked down his side of the scrum, which was rock-solid prior to his departure.<\/p>\n
Around the park, he got through plenty of work with seven carries, 12 tackles and two defenders beaten.<\/p>\n
2. Billy Pollard \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Picked his way through the Springboks\u2019 tall timber at line-out time and chopped down the same timber with 13 tackles.<\/p>\n
3. Fletcher Newell \u2013 All Blacks<\/p>\n
Matching his starting front-row partner, Newell locked down a dominant scrum for 49 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of his efforts led directly to Ardie Savea\u2019s try.<\/p>\n
When he departed, things went pear-shaped for the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
4. Eben Etzebeth \u2013 Springboks<\/p>\n
One of the very few Springboks who left Ellis Park with his reputation intact, topping the carry charts with 14, while adding a line break and three offloads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other side of the ball, Etzebeth topped the Boks’ tackle charts with 17 and won five lines-outs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the whole, his kick chase was immense, albeit he flirted with the offside line a lot at the breakdown.<\/p>\n
5. Fabian Holland \u2013 All Blacks<\/p>\n
Seamlessly taking on the role as the All Blacks’ workhorse lock, the Dutch giant was exceptional against a ferocious onslaught by the Los Pumas pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nabbing six line-outs, making 15 tackles and having a huge amount of ruck interventions, Holland has quickly become a key figure in Scott Robertson\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n
6. Tom Hooper \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Pulling off a huge turnover right on his own line as the Boks were going through the gears was a the highlight moment for the Brumbies backrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This seminal moment was built on the back of a workhorse outing in which he made 16 tackles, six carries and plenty of pressure on the Bok kickers.<\/p>\n
7. Fraser McReight \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Simply world-class, McReight\u2019s 22 tackles, two big-time turnovers, seven carries and an offload were a snapshot into his productive evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Built in the mold of all great Wallabies opensides, McReight already is a world-class operator and key leader for Joe Schmidt\u2019s side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the Wallabies were under the pump, he knuckled down and repelled the Boks.<\/p>\n
8. Harry Wilson \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Two tries before a brutal-looking injury removed him from the park only tells a fraction of Wilson\u2019s story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Completing nine carries, beating three defenders and making 13 tackles, the skipper dragged his side back into the fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honorable mention: Ardie Savea<\/p>\n
9. Cortez Ratima \u2013 All Blacks<\/p>\n
Delivered clean ball all day, kicked well from the base of the ruck and ran a superb support line for his try.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ratima had one of his best showings to date in the black shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His power in the carry and ability to get the ball away offer Robertson\u2019s squad a nice change of pace option for Cam Roigard and Finlay Christie.<\/p>\n
10. Tomos Albornoz \u2013 Los Pumas<\/p>\n
Supremely confident in the face of an All Blacks onslaught, the Benetton playmaker continues to go from strength to strength for Los Pumas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beating seven defenders, making two offloads and scoring a try as part of a 14-point haul, Albornoz was immense for his side in a losing cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honorable mention:\u00a0James O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
11. Kurt Lee Arendse \u2013 Springboks<\/p>\n
Another Springbok who had a strong outing, Arendse was electric any time he had the ball and saved the Boks on a few occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pulling down Max Jorgensen when he was racing away down the left flank to stop a certain try was a sign of his dedication to the cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Topping the defenders beaten chart with three for the Boks and finishing with a try was a strong outing for the flying Bulls winger.<\/p>\n
12. Andre Esterhuizen \u2013 Springboks \u00a0<\/p>\n
Dominant in the midfield, Esterhuizen was toying with the Wallabies centers for the opening 30 minutes, before it all went up in flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His power game was at times unstoppable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He topped the meters-made charts for the Boks with 72 from 10 carries, made two offloads, beat two defenders and scored a try.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mistakes in the final minutes were down to desperation and, ultimately, more on those around him.<\/p>\n
13. Joseph Sua\u2019ali\u2019I \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Took a beating from Esterhuizen early and another one from Damian Willemse late, but his intercept try was the moment that sealed the deal for the Wallabies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His pace often is underrated, but he left Edwill van der Merwe for dead as he raced away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His 65 meters from five carries, 12 tackles and dominance in the air were huge components to the Wallabies’ success.<\/p>\n
14. Max Jorgensen \u2013 Wallabies<\/p>\n
Quite possibly on the verge of being the game\u2019s best winger, the Wallabies youngster was exceptional in all matches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even when the Wallabies were under the pump early, he won his individual battles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Completely dominant in the air, pulling off outrageous footwork, scoring a try and getting through 11 tackles offers a snippet of his work rate at Ellis Park.<\/p>\n
15. Tom Wright \u2013 Wallabies \u00a0<\/p>\n
Racing away for 107 meters and a try are the highlights for Wright, who has gone from garbage heap under Eddie Jones to the top of the international fullback pile under Joe Schmidt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Displaying undeterred commitment to dive on loose balls, competing in the air and carrying even when he knew he was going to be \u00a0smashed, the Brumbies fullback delivered a performance for the ages, and his slip through Jesse Kriel\u2019s grasp is as sweet as you\u2019ll see in test rugby.<\/p>\n
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby<\/p>\n
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:\u00a0<\/p>\n
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Round 1 of the 2025 Rugby Championship delivered drama, physicality and individual brilliance in equal measure.\u00a0 At Ellis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-79107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}