The July internationals are winding down, but the penultimate weekend served up yet more brilliant rugby. 

The Test action began Stateside, as the All Blacks thrashed Fiji 47-5 to continue the perfect start to the Razor era. From one perfect record to another now, as the Wallabies made it three from three under Joe Schmidt with a 40-29 win over Georgia.

We then headed to the Free State, as the Springboks thumped a spirited Portugal side 64-21. The action came to a close in South America, as Scotland thrashed Chille 52-11 and Argentina put Uruguay to the sword in a 79-5 destruction.

But which players stood out above the rest? Well, here are our thoughts on the six standout players from this weekend’s internationals.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

What a cameo off the bench from the magical Springbok. He is genuinely establishing himself as a true international talent already, but everything Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu touched seemed to turn to gold against Portugal.

The versatile back notched two try assists, slotted all four of his kicks off the tee in the Boks’ win over Los Lobos and produced an almighty 50:22 to boot. An excellent performance yet again in the Green and Gold for Stormers ace.

Billy Proctor

An incredibly impressive debut from the Hurricanes man. He was at the heart of the All Blacks thrashing of Fiji, chipping in with one try and two assists.

Replacing Rieko Ioane is never an easy task, but Proctor just looked so at home on the test stage, and will likely give Robertson some food for thought moving forward as to who starts at 13.

Simão Bento

Despite being on the wrong end of a 64-21 defeat, Los Lobos never stopped trying; and fullback Simão Bento epitomised their efforts. He was involved in everything for Portugal; his line-break sent dos Santos in to give Portugal the lead and he had several lovely touches of the ball in attack.

Bento also produced with some huge defensive interventions, including two crucial turnovers, and was also solid under the high ball under decent pressure.

Internationals like this will go a long way to developing Portugal moving forward, and at just 23 Bento looks to be the man to help them move forwards.

England A to return to action in November

Dylan Richardson

The Scotland hooker made an impressive debut against Canada two weeks ago, but he only continued on from where he left off against Chile. He added yet another try to his collection, and also got himself heavily involved in the attack with some decent carries.

Scotland have some decent competition at hooker, but Richardson is certainly putting himself into the limelight.

Rob Valetini

Yet another brilliant display from the Wallabies forward. He got stuck into every facet of the game to good effect, and again produced some huge moments for his side as he has done all July.

His two tries proved crucial in dispatching a competitive Georgian outfit too.

Ange Capuozzo

Italy fullback Ange Capuozzo reminded us of his true star quality in their win over Japan. The Toulouse man crossed the whitewash on the way to the 42-14 victory over the Brave Blossoms, but he was a consistent attacking threat for the Azzurri.

His ability to beat defenders once again came to the fore, and he had the Japanese defence on strings for most of the game.

This weeks internationals in full-including Paris Olympics 2024

Wednesday 24th-Thursday 25th July

Men’s Sevens at the Paris Olympics

Saturday 27th July

Uruguay vs Scotland-8:00pm kick-off

Sunday 28th-Tuesday 30th July

Women’s Sevens at the Paris Olympics:

TEAM GB fixtures

Team GB vs Ireland: 2:30pm Sunday 28th

Vs Australia: 6:30pm Sunday 28th

Vs South Africa: 1:00pm Monday 30th

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