Ireland win the Six Nations

Full back: Mike Brown - England

Arguably the best full-back in northern hemisphere rugby. Three tries and three man-of-the-match awards do little justice to his all-round game and significant attacking improvement. Outstanding consistency throughout.

Wings: Yoann Huget - France, George North - Wales

In a tournament which wasn't blessed with outstanding wing play, Huget and North's finishing ability stuck out like a sore thumb. Huget, 27, was arguably the difference in each of France's two wins against England and Scotland with ruthless finishing. North meanwhile mightn't have shone but still produced undeniable moments of brilliant cutting edge.

Centre: Brian O'Driscoll - Ireland, Mathieu Bastareaud - France

Two centres with contrasting impact but similarly uncompromising performances. O'Driscoll might not have been in try scoring mode but his role in the Ireland backline was littered with moments of brilliance, his offload for Jonny Sexton's try against Italy being among them. No-one did uncompromising better than Bastareaud and he edges Luther Burrell for pure brutal presence.

Half-back: Jonny Sexton - Ireland, Danny Care - England

Sexton swatted away his uncertain club form to inspire Ireland to the title with a typical frenzied display, one of the few victorious Lions to shine. For Care, it was all about proving his worth to England and his imagination and speed defined a revitalised back-line.

Front row: Cian Healy - Ireland, Dylan Hartley - England, Gethin Jenkins - Wales

Amid Ireland's set-piece mastery, Healy was at the centre of the best scrum of the tournament. In Hartley, England have a hooker combining consistency at the line-out with intensity in the contact areas while record-breaking Jenkins keeps on going for a Wales team who otherwise struggled at the breakdown.

Second row: Jake Ball - Wales, Courtney Lawes - England

The 22 year old Ball might have only started three of Wales' five games but his ferocious tackling and all-round technical game should make England wonder what might have been. After conquering fitness worries, Lawes is now the outstanding member of Stuart Lancaster's pack and was terrific in the win over Wales.

Back row: Chris Henry - Ireland, Chris Robshaw - England, Jamie Heaslip - Ireland

Few were bemoaning the loss of Sean O'Brien to Ireland during Henry's startling displays in the back row and his late start to international rugby comes at the right time for Joe Schmidt. Robshaw has dismissed the demons from Cardiff and missing out on the Lions while Heaslip's ball-carrying defined Ireland's combative approach.