Champions Cup Team of the Week

Champions Cup Team of the Week

Another thrilling weekend of Champions Cup Rugby has come and gone with several teams booking their place in the round of 16.

Harlequins were the first to book their place in the playoffs beating Cardiff on Friday evening with Gavin Coombes' late try against Castres sending Munster through.

Hosea Saumaki scored the winner for Leicester Tigers sending them into the playoffs after beating Connacht while Wasps stunned the defending Champions Toulouse.

While Toulouse failed to secure their place in the round of 16, Racing surged to victory over Ospreys to cement their place.

Exeter and La Rochelle claimed big victories on Saturday over Glasgow and Bath respectively with neither side securing their place in the knock out stages, yet.


The final game on Saturday saw Bristol Bears feature for the first time in the competition with their bonus-point win over Stade Francais sealing them a place amongst the last 16 clubs.

Leinster showed no signs of rust as they ran in 13 tries to Montpellier's one with their 82-point victory being their biggest winning margin in a tournament match, surpassing their previous record of 75 set in the 92-17 victory against Bourgoin in 2004/05.


Meanwhile, Ulster survived a late comeback from Northampton Saints to secure their place in the knockout stages with fullback Michael Lowry scoring twice. At the same time, Bordeaux whipped Scarlets 45-10.

The last game of the weekend saw Sale Sharks travel to the Marcel Michelin as Clermont claimed a narrow 25-19 victory.

Here is our team of the week, with notable mentions in each position.

 

1. Andrew Porter - Leinster

Dominated in every facet of the game particularly at scrum time against Montpellier.



Notable mentions: Joe Marler, Ellis Genge, Dave Kilcoyne

 

2. Luke Cowan-Dickie - Exeter

A strong performance in all areas of the game with his set-piece work laying the platform for Exeter's success, he scored a try and assisted another in a high-quality performance. 

Notable mentions: Dan Sheenan, Jack Walker, Jospeh Dweba

 

3. Biyi Alo - Wasps

It's tough for a front-rower to go for over an hour nowadays but Alo soldiered on and put in a fine shift including a try and a sound performance in the set-piece. 

Notable mentions: Joe Heyes, Josh Iosefa-Scott

 


4. David Ribbans - Northampton Saints

A workmanlike performance from the Saints second rower albeit in defeat, he was effective in defence, ran the lineout well and carried strongly. 

Notable mentions: Matt Symons, Thibault Flament, Jean-Luc du Preez, Ross Molony

 


5. Remi Picquette - La Rochelle

Scored twice against Bath and took the fight to the Premiership club's pack, a real standout in the victory.

Notable mentions: Sean Lonsdale, Dino Lamb, Tadgh Beirne

 

6. Alfie Barbeary - Wasps

 

Rightfully named man of the match in a historic victory over Toulouse. He scored a try and was a menace at the breakdown and with ball in hand.

Notable mentions: Cameron Woki, Marcus Kremer, Cian Prendergast 

 

7. Josh van der Flier - Leinster

A standout in a brilliant Leinster performance scoring twice and leading the way in tackles made. 

Notable mentions: Brad Shields, Ellis Jenkins, Rory Darge 

 


8. Gregory Alldritt - La Rochelle


Three turnovers, 70 running metres (the most in the game) and the top tackler as La Rochelle ran in five tries to beat Bath in foggy conditions. 

Notable mentions: Jack Conan, Jasper Wiese, Sam Simmonds, Jack Dempsey

 

 

9. Harry Randall - Bristol Bears

 

Randall was at the heart of everything Bristol Bears did well against Stade Francais. Scored one and assisted two of the Bears' tries.

Notable mentions: Santiago Cordero, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Nathan Doak

 


10. Marcus Smith - Harlequins

16 points in a clutch performance against Cardiff scoring a try, assisting another and knocking over the match-winning penalty in a man of the match performance against Cardiff.

Notable mentions: Finn Russell, Pierre Popelin, Matthieu Jalibert, Charlie Atkinson

 


11. Tom O'Flaherty - Exeter Chiefs

 

Three tries in a man of the match performance against Glasgow Warriors where he topped the running metres.

 

Notable mentions: Filipo Nakosi, Nathanael Hulleu, Jimmy O'Brien, Kini Murimurivalu

 


12. Gael Fickou - Racing 92

Man of the match in the victory over Ospreys, Fickou regularly unlocked the Ospreys defence and was staunch in defence. 




Notable mentions: Jimmy Gopperth, Yoram Moefana, Piers O'Conor, Jonathan Danty

 

 

13. Damian Penaud - Clermont

A constant threat to the Sale Sharks defence, Penaud scored Clermont's third try of the game and assisted another in a strong performance in the centres. 

Notable mentions: Joe Marchant, Semi Radradra, Paolo Odogwu

 


14. Robert Baloucoune - Ulster

Lowry and Baloucoune were key to Ulster's performance with the winger combining brilliantly with his fullback to unlock the Northampton Saints' defence. He scored a try, assisted one and made over 90 running metres. 

Notable mentions: Geoffrey Cros, Teddy Thomas, Jack Nowell

 

 

15. Louis Bielle-Biarrey - Bordeaux

 

Hard to ignore the hattrick hero against Scarlets in a hotly contested position.

Notable mentions: Michael Lowry, Stuart Hogg, Tyrone Green, Mike Haley 

 

Highlights from the weekend's action:

Castres Olympique 13-16 Munster Rugby

 

Cardiff Rugby 33 - 36 Harlequins

 

Wasps 30 - 22 Toulouse 

 

Connacht Rugby 28 - 29 Leicester Tigers

 

Ospreys 10-25 Racing 92

 

La Rochelle 39 - 21 Bath Rugby

 

Exeter Chiefs 52 - 17 Glasgow Warriors

 

Bristol Bears 28 - 17 Stade Francais

 

Leinster Rugby 89 - 7 Montpellier

 

Northampton Saints 20-24 Ulster Rugby

 

 

Clermont Auvergne 25-19 Sale Sharks

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