Robert Kitson

New Zealand supply more than half the XV even without Ben Smith, Julian Savea, Kieran Read and Jerome Kaino. That is tough on Smith but Japan’s technical excellence had to be acknowledged. It is tough, too, on Australia’s inside centre Matt Giteau. Both Leone Nakarawa and Taulupe Faletau would help make a top-quality bench. Have your say on our readers’ poll

Andy Bull

Juan Imhoff switches wing because Santiago Cordero had a stinker in Argentina’s semi-final against Australia. Ben Smith just pips Ayumu Goromaru and Gareth Davies just squeezes in at scrum-half – or else there wouldn’t have been a European player in the team.

Mike Averis

A braver man might have gone for Tonga’s Telusa Veainu or Canada’s DTH van der Merwe for Santiago Cordero, if only to reflect the role of second-tier nations in making a top-notch seven weeks.

Owen Gibson

A strong All Blacks and Wallabies bias, but how could there not be? Over the course of the tournament they were the two best teams. But Argentina and Japan, who also lit up the tournament, demand representation too.

Michael Aylwin

There are two ways of doing this – pick the best team, which would basically be New Zealand with a few others, or a team that tells the story of the tournament. This team tries to do the latter.

Paul Rees

Would have been a different team after the pool stage, but New Zealand timed their run perfectly. No Six Nations players but Mark Bennett, Greig Laidlaw, Robbie Henshaw, Sean O’Brien, Anthony Watson, Gareth Davies, Sam Warburton and Louis Picamoles all left an imprint on the tournament.