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Guinness Prem - Team of the Week
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Check out the Guinness Premiership's in-form players from last weekend with Eurosport's latest Team of the Week.
More StoriesEarlier select XVs
Guinness Premiership standings
Full-back: Peter Hewat (London Irish)
The Australian played a crucial role in London Irish's thrilling comeback win at The Stoop with a try, three penalties and two conversions for a haul of 18 points. But it was his impact on the game when he switched from 15 to 10 that sees him get the nod ahead of Bath's Nick Abendanon. The Exiles started to click when Hewat moved close to the action and he offers Irish coach Toby Booth another option at fly-half until Mike Catt and Shane Geraghty are back to full fitness.
Wing: Ugo Moyne (Harlequins)
Moyne is fast becoming one of the more complete wings in the Premiership with his engaging all-round game. Opened Exiles scoring with a well-taken try in the corner and showed his appetite for work by chasing every kick off with great affect. His defence is rarely given the credit it deserves and one tackle on David Paice prevented a certain try and left the Exiles hooker decidedly wobbly when he returned to his feet.
Outside centre: Delon Armitage (London Irish)
Armitage made the most of confusion in the Harlequins defence to score a much-needed try for the Exiles just before half-time. It was the catalyst to a superb second-half fight-back from the visiting side that saw them claw back a deficit that had been 20-3 to finally win by one point. London Irish scored two more tries after the break with Armitage again getting on the scoresheet.
Inside centre: Kevin Sorrell (Saracens)
Normally a 13, we have selected him at 12 this week. At the start of the season if was difficult to see where the spark in the Saracens backs was going to come from, but they have won their last two games convincingly and Sorrell's partnership with Adam Powell has given them real bite and some creativity to match their forward effort.
Wing: Joe Maddock (Bath)
Another try from the Maori wing in a Bath performance that saw them move into second place in the Premiership. Explosive, powerful and with a great step, Maddock is proving to be one of the most reliable finishers in the league. No slouch in defence either.
Fly-half: Jeremy Staunton (Wasps)
Recovered from a missed tackle on Aaron Mauger which led to a Leicester try and engineered a fine fight-back for the defending champions' first win of the season. Scored 23 of Wasps' 28 points courtesy of five penalties, two drop goals and two conversions. Also showed some decent touches with the ball in hand.
Scrum-half: Danny Care (Harlequins)
May have been on the losing side, but Care again proved beyond doubt that he is the form scrum-half in the Premiership and makes this column for the third time in four weeks. Grabbed another try to bring his tally to three in four games this season as he led a late and ultimately unsuccessful rally by Quins. Care's running game has earned him plenty of plaudits already this season, but his ultra-quick service and huge pass also deserve recognition.
Loosehead prop: Joe McDonnell (Newcastle)
McDonnell, along with fellow All Black prop Carl Hayman, gave the Falcons real solidity at the set piece and a big edge in the front row during their win over Brsitol. Newcastle have long been criticised for having a soft underbelly up front, and McDonnell is a key part of their push to become more competitive in this area. Also showed up well in the loose with some decent runs.
Hooker: David Paice (London Irish)
Part of a huge forward effort that enabled the Exiles to claw back a 20-3 deficit to beat Quins by one point. Did well to recover from a huge hit by Quins wing Ugo Moyne during his prominent second-half performance in the loose. Also found his jumpers well in the lineout.
Loosehead prop: Duncan Bell (Bath)
With his impressive bulk, Bell has always been a reliable scrummager but it was his 20m sprint to the try-line in Bath's victory over Worcester that earns him a spot in this week's XV. Just shy of 20 stone, Bell showed impressive pace as he cut a fine line and powered his way to the corner to finish off a superb Bath move.
Lock: Bob Casey (London Irish)
Showed his worth to the Exiles by coming on just after the interval to lead a stunning second-half fight-back by the Exiles. Because he is based in London, Casey has been largely overlooked by Ireland's selectors, but if they were ever to need a leader then they could do worse than turning to Casey. The 6'7 lock is the heart and soul of London Irish and they will be a much more effective unit with his return from injury.
Lock: Steve Borthwick (Saracens)
Rarely gives anything more than 100 per cent, Borthwick's move to Saracens looks on the verge of paying dividends as the London club secured their second consecutive win after opening the season with two losses. Borthwick is one of Sarries' joint skippers (along with Andy Farrell) and showed good judgement by opting for a scrum, rather than going for a kick at goal, that resulted in Sarries' third try, scored by Michael Owen.
Blindside flanker: Tom Croft (Leicester)
Makes the XV for the third time this season despite being part of Leicester's losing effort against Wasps at Welford Road. Was unable to halt Wasps' second-half fight-back but showed enough in the first half to warrant a spot ahead of opposite number Joe Worsley, who also showed well for Wasps. There is little that Croft (pictured left) cannot do and when he was not pinching Wasps lineout throws he was chasing re-starts with a vigour that would have made injured team-mate Lewis Moody proud.
Openside flanker: Tom Rees (Wasps)
One of the few bright spots from a turgid match, Rees led a second-half fight-back that saw Wasps make it four wins on the bounce against their arch-rival after being 13-6 down at the break. Rees was relentless in his driving game, which allowed Wasps to up their up their intensity and take the game to Leicester in the second half.
Number eight: Michael Owen (Wales)
Owen's reputation has dwindled somewhat since he played a key part in Wales' 2005 Grand Slam. He accepted a move to Sarries to try and kick-start his international career and he has shown some fine touches in their back-to-back wins. At Vicarage Road on Saturday he was voted man of the match and showed a good eye for the try-line as he picked up from the base of an attacking scrum and cut back inside for Sarries' fourth try.
Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport
More StoriesEarlier select XVs
Guinness Premiership standings
Full-back: Peter Hewat (London Irish)
The Australian played a crucial role in London Irish's thrilling comeback win at The Stoop with a try, three penalties and two conversions for a haul of 18 points. But it was his impact on the game when he switched from 15 to 10 that sees him get the nod ahead of Bath's Nick Abendanon. The Exiles started to click when Hewat moved close to the action and he offers Irish coach Toby Booth another option at fly-half until Mike Catt and Shane Geraghty are back to full fitness.
Wing: Ugo Moyne (Harlequins)
Moyne is fast becoming one of the more complete wings in the Premiership with his engaging all-round game. Opened Exiles scoring with a well-taken try in the corner and showed his appetite for work by chasing every kick off with great affect. His defence is rarely given the credit it deserves and one tackle on David Paice prevented a certain try and left the Exiles hooker decidedly wobbly when he returned to his feet.
Outside centre: Delon Armitage (London Irish)
Armitage made the most of confusion in the Harlequins defence to score a much-needed try for the Exiles just before half-time. It was the catalyst to a superb second-half fight-back from the visiting side that saw them claw back a deficit that had been 20-3 to finally win by one point. London Irish scored two more tries after the break with Armitage again getting on the scoresheet.
Inside centre: Kevin Sorrell (Saracens)
Normally a 13, we have selected him at 12 this week. At the start of the season if was difficult to see where the spark in the Saracens backs was going to come from, but they have won their last two games convincingly and Sorrell's partnership with Adam Powell has given them real bite and some creativity to match their forward effort.
Wing: Joe Maddock (Bath)
Another try from the Maori wing in a Bath performance that saw them move into second place in the Premiership. Explosive, powerful and with a great step, Maddock is proving to be one of the most reliable finishers in the league. No slouch in defence either.
Fly-half: Jeremy Staunton (Wasps)
Recovered from a missed tackle on Aaron Mauger which led to a Leicester try and engineered a fine fight-back for the defending champions' first win of the season. Scored 23 of Wasps' 28 points courtesy of five penalties, two drop goals and two conversions. Also showed some decent touches with the ball in hand.
Scrum-half: Danny Care (Harlequins)
May have been on the losing side, but Care again proved beyond doubt that he is the form scrum-half in the Premiership and makes this column for the third time in four weeks. Grabbed another try to bring his tally to three in four games this season as he led a late and ultimately unsuccessful rally by Quins. Care's running game has earned him plenty of plaudits already this season, but his ultra-quick service and huge pass also deserve recognition.
Loosehead prop: Joe McDonnell (Newcastle)
McDonnell, along with fellow All Black prop Carl Hayman, gave the Falcons real solidity at the set piece and a big edge in the front row during their win over Brsitol. Newcastle have long been criticised for having a soft underbelly up front, and McDonnell is a key part of their push to become more competitive in this area. Also showed up well in the loose with some decent runs.
Hooker: David Paice (London Irish)
Part of a huge forward effort that enabled the Exiles to claw back a 20-3 deficit to beat Quins by one point. Did well to recover from a huge hit by Quins wing Ugo Moyne during his prominent second-half performance in the loose. Also found his jumpers well in the lineout.
Loosehead prop: Duncan Bell (Bath)
With his impressive bulk, Bell has always been a reliable scrummager but it was his 20m sprint to the try-line in Bath's victory over Worcester that earns him a spot in this week's XV. Just shy of 20 stone, Bell showed impressive pace as he cut a fine line and powered his way to the corner to finish off a superb Bath move.
Lock: Bob Casey (London Irish)
Showed his worth to the Exiles by coming on just after the interval to lead a stunning second-half fight-back by the Exiles. Because he is based in London, Casey has been largely overlooked by Ireland's selectors, but if they were ever to need a leader then they could do worse than turning to Casey. The 6'7 lock is the heart and soul of London Irish and they will be a much more effective unit with his return from injury.
Lock: Steve Borthwick (Saracens)
Rarely gives anything more than 100 per cent, Borthwick's move to Saracens looks on the verge of paying dividends as the London club secured their second consecutive win after opening the season with two losses. Borthwick is one of Sarries' joint skippers (along with Andy Farrell) and showed good judgement by opting for a scrum, rather than going for a kick at goal, that resulted in Sarries' third try, scored by Michael Owen.
Blindside flanker: Tom Croft (Leicester)
Makes the XV for the third time this season despite being part of Leicester's losing effort against Wasps at Welford Road. Was unable to halt Wasps' second-half fight-back but showed enough in the first half to warrant a spot ahead of opposite number Joe Worsley, who also showed well for Wasps. There is little that Croft (pictured left) cannot do and when he was not pinching Wasps lineout throws he was chasing re-starts with a vigour that would have made injured team-mate Lewis Moody proud.
Openside flanker: Tom Rees (Wasps)
One of the few bright spots from a turgid match, Rees led a second-half fight-back that saw Wasps make it four wins on the bounce against their arch-rival after being 13-6 down at the break. Rees was relentless in his driving game, which allowed Wasps to up their up their intensity and take the game to Leicester in the second half.
Number eight: Michael Owen (Wales)
Owen's reputation has dwindled somewhat since he played a key part in Wales' 2005 Grand Slam. He accepted a move to Sarries to try and kick-start his international career and he has shown some fine touches in their back-to-back wins. At Vicarage Road on Saturday he was voted man of the match and showed a good eye for the try-line as he picked up from the base of an attacking scrum and cut back inside for Sarries' fourth try.
Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport