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15. Paul Williams — Samoa
There were a few candidates, notably New Zealand's Israel Dagg, but Paul Williams' performance against Fiji stood out the most. He was a constant threat with the ball in hand. He set up the match-winning try with a terrific run and organised the defence well.
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14. Gio Aplon — South Africa
By no means a first-team player for the Springboks but Aplon took his opportunity with both hands. The Stormers star added flair and real pace to South Africa's backline. Not only did he score two tries he also defended well with a huge tackle on Namibia's Tinus du Plessis which will live long in the memory.
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13. Manu Tuilagi — England
He has already established himself as a key player in England's attacking game. Tuilagi will face tougher defences but the Samoan-born centre was unstoppable at times against Romania. He broke the Romanian line consistently and provided a number of scoring passes and scored one try himself.
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12. Frans Steyn — South Africa
The Racing Metro 92 centre man was a steam locomotive in middle of the pitch. He constantly broke the Namibian line. His best moment was when he smashed through the frontline sucking two defenders infield before passing the ball to an unmarked Jaque Fourie who scored the bonus-point try.
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11. Mark Cueto — England
The Sale wing was making his first World Cup appearance since the 2007 final and what a match he had. He was busy as well as sharp and scored a hat-trick by the 26-minute mark. Cueto had a quieter second half but he was simply brilliant.
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10. Daniel Carter — New Zealand
Carter showed against France why he is widely regarded as the best flyhalf in the world. His running game was strong, he distributed well and made his tackles. He was a constant menace for Les Bleus when going forward and he even kicked a sassy drop goal. An intercepted pass which cost the All Blacks seven points was his only error but his overall performance more than made up for it.
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9. Francois Hougaard - South Africa
Hougaard regularly threatened while on the attack and broke Namibia's line more than anyone else, scoring two tries. He performed very well under pressure at the breakdown as the Springboks chose not to commit to many players. He also showed his class when setting up Aplon away for the opening try after pulling in three defenders.
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8. George Stowers — Samoa
He's been one of the most consistent performers at the World Cup so far. Stowers made superb runs in the loose, was extremely effective at the breakdown and his fearsome tackles were a large factor in why Fiji just couldn't get into their stride.
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7. Richie McCaw — New Zealand
New Zealand's greatest player in the professional era marked his 100th Test with a fantastic performance. The All Blacks dominated at the breakdown as McCaw made 19 tackles and carried the ball strongly; leading by example as always.
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6. Tinus Du Plessis - Namibia
He might have been on the receiving end of an 87-7 spanking by Wales but the fact Du Plessis was man of the match speaks volumes about his performance. The flanker put in more tackles than any other player on the pitch and ran himself into the ground.
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5. Danie Rossouw — South Africa
He quickly forgot about an early knock-on and put in another sterling performance. But the Bulls lock showed he is more than just a big hitter as he played a slick cut-out pass to play in Bryan Habana for his record-breaking try.
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4. Tom Palmer — England
He was indomitable in the lineout and put in a solid performance in the pack. But in the second-half he was effectively the fourth back-row forward as the game became very loose. Palmer made a sublime outside break and pass to help set up Tom Croft's try.
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3. Gethin Jenkins - Wales
It was a very one-sided match against Namibia and the veteran prop made an impressive return to match action. The Cardiff Blues player carried out all of his duties with aplomb and even scored a classy try when he sold a dummy and ran 30 metres to force his way over the line.
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2- Keven Mealamu — New Zealand
New Zealand dominated the set piece and Mealamu was crucial to that. He threw the ball in reliably as the All Blacks won all nine of their lineouts.
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1. Gurthro Steenkamp - South Africa
What can you say? Steenkamp destroyed Namibia at scrum time and forced it to the point of conceding a penalty try. He was also mobile across the park and made a great contribution to his side.
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