By Rowan Birch

This autumn has thrown up a few surprises - from Tonga beating Scotland, Samoa beating Wales to England battering New Zealand.

Below I am going to give you my top XV players of these past few weeks, from both the southern and northern hemispheres...


Full Back: Leigh Halfpenny

Probably the only positive of Wales's autumn. He has been a brick at the back and is so reliable with the boot. An almost certain pick for the Lions first test.

Wings: Julian Savea and Mike Brown

Julian Savea is almost an exact replica of rugby legend Lomu - both with try's and build! He terrorised defences and scored in all three tests.
Mike Brown isn't even a winger but has been a success out wide for England. His darting runs and work ethic made him hard to contain in the four games this autumn.

Outside Centre: Manu Tuilagi

This man is a danger to the opposite team throughout the whole 80mins. Throughout the Autumn he had been frightening teams with his solid defence and explosive strength. I think he booked his seat to Australia with those performances.

Inside Centre: Berrick Barnes

Unlucky not to on the IRB player of the year shortlist, as he's carried Australia through an injury packed year. With a superb performance from England and solid play in his other games, he is surely going to feature against the Lions next summer.

Fly Half: Pat Lambie

'The Baby Faced Assassin' was a gamble for Meyer. He was solid off the tee and in play and did enough to start all three games at 10. Not sure whether he'll be given another chance in that position when Goosen comes back.

Scrum Half: Kahn Fotuali'i

Played very well against Wales and helped orchestrate that historic win over the Welsh. Was unlucky to be on the loosing side against France. He'll hope to convert his country form to club form with the Ospreys.

Props: Sona Taumalolo and Dan Coles

Taumalolo the try scoring machine couldn't emulate his Super 15 scoring record this autumn but was instrumental in the Scotland victory. Watch out for him in Europe next season with USAP
Dan Coles was a rock. He held the English scrum together and was vital in the win over the All blacks. Also tremendous in the loose.

Second Rows: Joe Launchbury and Eben Etzebeth

The competition between these two at Twickenham was feisty - with the South African taking all the praise. Both had a great month or so, but Etzebeth - the 'Enforcer' is almost a spit of Bakkies Botha on the pitch.
Launchbury looks as if he had been playing international rugby for years! He's a strong athletic lock and isn't afraid of confrontation - as shown against the bigger Etzebeth.

Flankers: Kelly Brown and Michael Hooper

Brown led Scotland fantastically - just results didn't go his way. He was a Viking in the loose and troubled New Zealand's back row though out the game at Murrayfield.
Michael Hooper was a huge success. He looks and plays like Pocock and is definitely the perfect replacement - he shocked England with his tackle and turn over ability.

Number 8: Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe

What a leader. Led the Pumas to a great win vs Wales and then followed it up with a solid performance against France. He'll be disappointed with the heavy loss to Ireland but after a long season, him and his team were exceptional against the 'big boys'.

Special mentions to; Tusi Pisi the Samoa centre who kicked Samoa to a win over Wales; Frederick Michalak who carried over his club form and helped France go onunbeaten; Nick Cummins 'The Honey Badger' was on form and the big strong wing troubled defences throughout the autumn; and lastly, Sergio Parisse who led Italy to close losses against some of the best teams in the world.

Let Rowan know your thoughts on Twitter @RowanBirch