15 Alex Goode (Saracens)
When it comes to spatial awareness the thinking man’s full-back is on another level to his rivals. Mike Brown may be England’s first choice but Goode’s ability to find space where others cannot makes him hugely valuable to Sarries. When required he can also kick goals and win games from fly-half. Far more competitive than he looks.
14 Alex Lewington (London Irish)
From the opening month of the season, when he scored three tries against Saracens, Lewington has been a consistent threat. He finished with 12 tries from 19 starts, an impressive strike-rate given the Exiles’ lowly league position. The 23-year-old is one of several former Leicester players to have flourished elsewhere.
13 Jonathan Joseph (Bath)
There was a time when it seemed Joseph might not fulfil his considerable talent. From start to finish this season, however, all that has changed: he could not stop scoring for England and Bath’s midfield has been the sharpest in the league. Sinuous, quick and elusive, he relegates the similarly impressive Elliot Daly to the bench.
12 Kyle Eastmond (Bath)
The season is not yet done but if Bath do win the title their midfield triangle will be one of the big reasons why. Eastmond has not always found it easy at Test level but for Bath he makes life desperately hard for defenders. Do they commit or not? One minute they think they have him, the next they are clutching thin air.
11 Sinoti Sinoti (Newcastle)
So good they named him twice etc. Newcastle are an improving team and some of the rugby they played this season was spectacular, not a description frequently applied to the Falcons in recent seasons. Sinoti has symbolised this positive renaissance; if he was playing for a top-four team he would already be a nationwide favourite.
10 George Ford (Bath)
Some big tests lie ahead but this was Ford’s breakthrough season. He has been central to everything Bath have tried to do and possesses a tactical awareness beyond his years. Having replaced Owen Farrell as England’s first choice at 10, it will be fascinating to see how his all-round game develops over the next 12 months.
9 Joe Simpson (Wasps)
The mesmeric late try he scored to beat Exeter was almost enough to earn him selection on its own but the quicksilver Wasps scrum-half enjoyed a consistently good campaign throughout the season. What a shame that a knee ligament injury has struck just as he was surging up the England pecking order.
1 Marcos Ayerza (Leicester)
This has not been a vintage season for Leicester but players such as Ayerza have held the club together, allowing the Tigers to extricate themselves from the mire even when they have performed modestly. Leicester will be desperate to hang on to their trusty Argentinian loosehead for as long as possible.
2 Jamie George (Saracens)
When Schalk Brits was injured last autumn people thought Saracens might struggle to cope. They should not have worried: the solidly-built George has been a rock and has visibly relished the extra responsibility of featuring in all 22 league games. His throwing-in is good and he is a constant handful around the pitch.
3 Tomas Francis (Exeter)
There are plenty of big name tightheads out there but none physically bigger than the 21st Francis, snapped up from Doncaster. He played in all but two of the Chiefs’ games and is already on Wales’s radar, always assuming England do not make a last-gasp bid to lure the Yorkshireman back into the fold.
4 Nathan Hines (Sale)
To still be performing well in the Premiership at 39 says everything about the much-travelled lock, who is now hanging up his boots to assume a coaching position with Scotland. Brad Thorn, Dean Mumm and Samu Manoa have all added valuable overseas oomph but Sale will sorely miss Hines’s no-nonsense example.
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton)
When he plays Northampton are a different proposition: tougher, stronger and meaner in all facets of the game. In the 11 regular-season games he managed between injury and Test duty, the Saints lost only once. It is hard to believe that he is still only 25; he could have three more World Cups left in him.
6 Dave Ewers (Exeter)
It is not merely Devonians who reckon the Zimbabwe-born Ewers is a freakish force of nature. If he keeps developing an England cap will materialise at some stage, unless the national coaches somehow decide they can do without a forward who requires three or four people to stop him when he is in full flight.
7 James Haskell (Wasps)
Haskell’s thirst for improvement has been a constant theme during Wasps’ transformation from High Wycombe church mice to Coventry-based contenders. Not many clubs could have made the jump without breaking stride and Haskell and his director of rugby Dai Young deserve credit for steering the club back into Europe next season.
8 Thomas Waldrom (Exeter)
Nathan Hughes of Wasps has also been outstanding and Sale’s Josh Beaumont is rising swiftly up the pecking order but the 16 Premiership tries Waldrom has scored for the Chiefs equalled the all-time league record for a forward. Always in the right place at the right time, the Tank Engine has unquestionably been the signing of the season. Toot toot!
Replacements Tom Youngs Leicester, Matt Mullan Wasps, David Wilson Bath, Samu Manoa Northampton, Nathan Hughes Wasps, Ben Youngs Leicester, Henry Slade Exeter, Elliot Daly Wasps
