15 Ben Foden (England)Pushed hard by Andrea Masi over the last two weekends, but Foden's counter-attacking and elusive running was the best of any fullback.

14 Chris Ashton (England)Like it or loathe it, Ashton's six swallow dives were an abiding memory of the tournament. Put some forwards to shame at the Aviva as well.

13 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland)Defensive master classes abounded, he broke the record and ended up as the tournament's second-highest try-scorer. Whatever he's lost in pace he's more than made up for in savvy and leadership. Yeah, finished alright!

12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)A host of contenders, Gonzalo Canale, Sean Lamont and Jonathan Davies among them. While not at his Lions level, Roberts was a vital cog in a good Welsh defence, with strong carrying.

11 Maxime Medard (France)Some classy moments by Vincent Clerc, Max Evans and Mark Cueto, but though Medard wasn't helped by fluctuating French selections and form, was still a class act.

10 Toby Flood (England)Although not quite the same after groin strain v France, and eclipsed by Sexton last Saturday, Flood attacked the gain line, put blindside wingers and co into space, and kicked well.

9 Ben Youngs (England) Again, thoroughly eclipsed by Reddan last Saturday, and you sense a little injection of humbleness wouldn't go amiss, but his effectiveness in attacking the fringes ignited England's championship win.

1 Tomas Domingo (France) The perfectly-sized pocket battleship scrummaged superbly and, remarkably quick for a prop, was dynamic in the loose.

2 William Servat (France)A toss-up between Matthew Rees (who led a team and frontrow without two world-class props), Dylan Hartley, who handled Gatland's pre-match wind-up pretty well, and the ageless Servat who, like a good wine . . .

3 Dan Cole (England)Martin Castrogiovanni remains a wonderful warrior for the Azzurri, but while his Leicester team-mate is a relative Test novice he is a burgeoning talent who anchored an impressive scrum.

4 Richie Gray (Scotland) The Scots' best performer, sorely missed in sleep-inducing yawn fest v Wales. Good lineout, work-rate around pitch and skills set. The great white hope.

5 Tom Palmer (England)Eclipsed by Paul O'Connell, who remains the best lock in Europe, on Saturday, but Palmer married excellence at lineout and restarts to work-rate. Man of the match v France.

6 Seán O'Brien (Ireland) What a stunning debut campaign. Probably the most dynamic ball-carrying forward in Europe, the only down side being that, unfortunately, he was so dynamic at times his team-mates couldn't keep up with him.

7 David Wallace (Ireland) Sam Warburton, like O'Brien a star of present and future, was arguably Wales' player of the tournament, and, arguably, so was Wallace for Ireland. Like O'Brien, didn't have one bad game. At 34 he remains the most freakishly gifted of a freakish family gene pool.

8 Sergio Parisse (Italy) A force of nature, capable of doing anything on a rugby pitch (and occasionally, if understandably, guilty of attempting too many miracle plays).