tty ridiculous, to be on a different stage.There is a certain drawback to that familiarity, however, and thats the possibility of complacency and repeating wh

England hammered Fiji, Scotland laboured against Argentina but managed victory at the death. Ireland were good in defeat while Wales flattered to deceive. Its the British & Irish Lions, team of the week.?BACKS15 Alex GoodeAfter failing to catch an early high ball, he recovered well to score a try on his first game since the World Cup victory over Uruguay. In a weekend where no other fullback equated themselves with any great performance, Goode gets the nod.14 Semesa RokoduguniHe was impressive against the country of his birth. Despite not playing against the greatest of opposition the winger still had to impress Eddie Jones and did with two tries and a devastating run that saw devastating run ended with Goode scoring.13 Huw Jones It has been quite a good few weeks for Jones, who grabbed a brace against Australia and helped Scotland claw their way back into the game against Argentina. His break, needing three players to take the Stormers centre down, and offload sent Sean Maitland in for a try.12 Garry RingroseWith Robbie Henshaw having to depart after 11 minutes, Ringrose was immense for a player who made his debut the week previous. He provided a spark in attack and put in some huge tackles. He showed international level. Perhaps he shouldve been given a debut a year earlier. Owen Farrell is a worthy mention, as he reached 500 points.11 Elliot DalyDaly showed his class on the wing as he stood out during Englands win over Fiji. His running line for his try saw two Fiji defenders run into each other, but his ability might be tested against better opposition.10 George FordFord showed his class in the first-half as England went ferociously at Fiji. His passing was exquisite and good decision-making saw England take Fiji to task. His kicking still needs some improving.9 Greig LaidlawThe Scottish scrum-half sent Scotland fans home happy as his kick at the death gave them a much-needed victory after the defeat to Australia. He provided quick ball at ruck time and is always an option to take the ball on himself.FORWARDS1 Mako VunipolaIts a weekly occurrence that the Saracens front row puts in great performances and he showed once more his international class. It was his brilliant step off his left foot that led led to Jonathan Josephs early try. The game was done by the time he was replaced.2 Rory BestThe Lions tour would be the perfect swansong for the Irish captain. Irish back row Josh van der Flier stated he was playing the best rugby of his career and if it continues, hell make the trip to New Zealand.3 Tadhg FurlongFurlong backed up his performance against the All Blacks with another brilliant display. He sent brushed the tackle of Owen Franks off before putting Brodie Retallick and Kieran Read on the floor. In defence he put in a great tackle on Julian Savea.4 Joe LaunchburyGrabbed a brace of tries and was busy throughout as England kept Fiji penned inside their own half for much of the game. But with Fiji the opponents, hell need to show more to keep his spot in the pack. Suspension may sideline him however, with World Rugby citing the second row for alleged foul play.5 Jonny GrayHe put in another huge performance and put his body on the line in a sometimes heroic Scottish defence to keep Argentina at bay. He managed two tackles and a carry inside two minutes.6 Josh van der FlierHe has had to bide his time at international level but just as in Chicago, when he replaced Jordi Murphy, van der Flier excelled when replacing the injured CJ Stander. He put in a great defensive effort and a break that should have been rewarded with a try.7 Sam WarburtonIt wouldnt be the Lions without a Welsh player and Warburton, who finished excellently for a Wales try in the second-half, gets the nod. Still getting back to full fitness after injury, its only going to get better for Warburton and Wales.8 Billy VunipolaHe was once again at the heart of the England pack and despite being an injury doubt played the 80 minutes. He will come to the fore as the tests get bigger for England. Air Max Uk Sale . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Air Max Sale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.cheapairmaxuksale.com/ . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Cheap Air Max Uk Sale . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Cheap Air Max Uk Online . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. T.J. Perkins?was certainly not given the easiest road to connect with fans as a pure good guy in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. After dispatching Da Mack in a brief but enjoyable match, Perkins had to square off with three of the most popular guys in the tournament field on his way to the finals.Each of those three curried great favor with the crowd at Full Sail University, and going up against that trio of wrestlers in particular presented unique challenges for Perkins. It wasnt perfect, as the crowd struggled at times to fully support both competitors in each round, but through the quality of his matches and the different stories Perkins managed to tell in the ring, he won the fans over by the time he squared off with Gran Metalik in the finals.That persistence is exactly the kind of thing you get from the man known as TJP -- nose to the grindstone and pushing toward his goals, no matter the obstacle. With that mentality, it has been easier for Perkins than it is for most to not get overwhelmed by a big moment such as?winning the inaugural CWC,?and that should serve him well as he appears on Monday Night Raw on a weekly basis.I try to stay in the moment, Perkins said in an interview shortly after his CWC win. At the Cruiserweight Classic finale, I said ... I dont know if people had looked it up, or if they had heard it before, but it was an old Zen proverb. Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, you chop wood, carry water.It can be interpreted a lot of ways, but for the most part its about staying in the moment.The Zen mindset that helped Perkins survive homelessness and motivate himself despite great obstacles would have served his fans well the past couple weeks. Despite his victory in the CWC and owning the new WWE cruiserweight championship, Perkins didnt appear on Raw as the cruiserweight division debuted last week. He appeared on the pre-show, along with a backstage, web-only video with new No. 1 contender Brian Kendrick, but we had to wait an additional six days to see his main roster debut at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view.That wait paid off, as Perkins showed off a brand new 8-bit video game-inspired entrance theme and video presentation prior to his match Sunday. That helped drive home how big of a deal his debut really was.Perkins was still very much in the moment, and his one-day-at-a-time demeanor helped him showcase, along with Kendrick, why the cruiserweights are able to have matches that dont feel out of place on a pay-per-view -- by taking each opportunity as it comes and doing the most with it.Things will come and go, and your life will go on, but you dont want to get too ahead of yourself, Perkins said. I used that as a way to view each round of the Cruiserweight Classic so I didnt get ahead of myself and stayed in the moment. I see it the same way, in terms of the opportunity to go to Monday Night Raw. Ill take each moment as it comes, and Ill wait for the bridge before I have to cross it.Thats not to say Perkins is taking this chance for granted, though.Its really exciting to be able to represent the cruiserweights and go to Monday Night Raw. I grew up watching Monday Night Raw, and its really a big dream of mine to perform on that stage, Perkins said. The talent there is so incredible. Im in good company, and Im excited for it.WWE is happy to point to Perkins experience, with 18 years in the ring and countless big matches. But when determining value within the company and with the fans, it comes down to the same baseline (with certain and expanding exceptions in the modern era): If it didnt happen here, it didnt happen, as Jerry The King Lawler so eloquently put it during Sunday nights broadcast.Thats part of why the CWC was such a big deal for Perkins and the other 31 competitors.I think this is the biggest spectacle weve ever had, in regards to representing cruiserweights, Perkins said. I was so thrilled with how everything came about and to be part of it.Despite it being the first tournament of its kind in WWE history, bringing in 32 talents who werent (to that point) under contract to square off on WWE airwaves, the tournament format is nothing new to wrestling or the WWE. There have been dozens of tournaments to determine champions and contenders over the years, to say nothing of the spectacle that was King of the Ring.In the modern era, tournaments of note have largely migrated to independent wrestling organizations, which is part of the reason the CWC was significant. Hardcore wrestling fans will know about events such as Pro Wrestling Guerillas Battle of Los Angeles, and New Japan Pro Wrestling has large chunks of its calendar set aside for a number of tournaments of note.Its insane because so much of what I do has been based off of my heroes and guys that I watched come up, and most of them started as cruiserweights, Perkins said. When they were doing similar things to this, thats what kind of inspired me to do [what I do].I grew up watching Super J-Cup tournaments and things like that, and those were pretty cool, he continued, referencing one of NJPWs most prominent, if infrequent, events. They had a mystique about them, but they were few and far between. That added to their mystique.The CWC had a lot of history come before it, but the unique circumstances in which it was set up and the rarity of tournaments in WWE prior to the launch added a level of curiosity and value to the competition and to the wrestlers who will make up Raws new cruiserweight division.En route to his victory, Perkins experienced positivity that balanced the occasional struggle to connect with the fans as a good guy. In his second-round match with Johnny Gargano and in his third-round match with Rich Swann, Perkins was across the rring from guys who were not only his friends but also guys he had faced numerous times before.ddddddddddddYoure in there with guys youre friends with, and theres a certain camaraderie about being able to be in the ring in front of so many people, Perkins said. Sometimes, youre literally saying to the other guy, Do you remember in that beer hall not that long ago? This is pretty ridiculous, to be on a different stage.There is a certain drawback to that familiarity, however, and thats the possibility of complacency and repeating what they have done in the past. Perkins, Gargano and Swann, in particular, seemed up for the task.Youd think itd be kind of tough because you know each other so well, and some of the old tricks dont apply when thats the case, Perkins said. I think it makes the chess game of performing more interesting because now you have different things at your disposal [with this kind of setting] that you wouldnt otherwise be using, and so, as a performer, you look forward to those types of things.Wrestling fans might not always consider how much work goes into a match such as that, whether the opponent is familiar or a new challenge. For Perkins, there isnt much time to linger on a match, no matter how much positive reaction might come of it. To continue to perform at that level requires work that goes far beyond staying in peak physical condition and perfecting a move set.Yeah, Im a nerd, man, Perkins said. Im such a workaholic and really an intense student of all this, so even now, at this stage, I relentlessly try to watch footage and replay things. I still bring my notebook everywhere, and I fill it with what probably looks like nonsense if you were to read it back. Im constantly watching and reviewing stuff.Being a student of the game makes you acutely aware of a big moment when you see it. When you find yourself inside that kind of big moment, as Perkins did just before the start of the CWC final, it brings to the surface a number of thoughts and feelings.That was beyond words how crazy that was, Perkins said of?Triple Hs reveal of the new cruiserweight championship. You could kind of tell, I dont know how the sound translated on the broadcast, but the building was literally shaking, and people were going nuts. Ive never seen people go so nuts for a little bit of hardware, but its a pretty prestigious thing.The final match between Perkins and Metalik had a buzz and energy to it from the very beginning, thanks in part to that introduction, but also because of the 30 matches that culminated in that moment and the meaning they had to competitors and fans alike.From the moment the bell rang at the end, all I could think about was everything I went through to get there, Perkins said. About collecting coins in the parking lot when I was homeless, being evicted, you know, all these different things, and I think it was at that moment with Triple H and Mr. Regal that it [felt real].Perkins found himself, in a rare moment, getting caught up in everything that came to his mind.Then I started thinking about all my heroes, and I just had flashbacks to when they finally got their moment, he said. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12, Eddie Guerrero over Brock Lesnar when he won the title. I think about what I saw in them -- I was enamored with their emotion and how they must have felt. I sort of was beside myself a little bit while I was reviewing those in my head and thinking, Wow, somebodys watching me like that right now. A lot of people were.Rather than becoming overwhelmed by what he had achieved or settling for this as a career highlight, Perkins thought equally about his past and his memories. He knew what kind of effect watching events such as the CWC had on him while he was growing up, and its equally interesting to considering what effect this tournament could have on the next generation.Theres probably some kid out there thats going to come to the Performance Center someday, Perkins said. Or enroll in some wrestling training and get started on the regional level, and theyre going to look at this [tournament] and say, Thats why I wanted to do it. Its really incredibly humbling to be honest.Despite the flashiness of his new entrance or the swagger often on display in the ring, its hard to not notice how appreciative Perkins is of this opportunity -- both when watching him on screen and when talking to him away from the bright lights. That is made clear in the way he carries himself.Someone had said to me before I was going out for the finals, they said, You dont look nervous at all. And I dont get nervous over things, Perkins said. The thing is, being homeless makes you nervous. Struggling like that, that hardship, that makes you nervous because you dont know if youre going to get over that. This? This is not hard. This is fun. Im in heaven now.Perkins hasnt had to worry about homelessness in a while, thanks to his work before he joined the WWE full time, and especially since that point. His ability to put the pressures and stresses of performing every week for millions of people into perspective by considering his past and the alternative of where things were and where they could have gone has served him well. It has also helped him to stay the same person who became such an appealing target for WWE to sign, the same person who has been pegged to anchor the new WWE cruiserweight division.At the end of the day, I come home and watch Netflix like everybody else, he said. Ill be a little bit more busy, but in a good way. Its a dream job, but its not going to be much of a change [to how I work]. Im just happy to be along for the ride. ' ' '