Stats & Facts: Champions Round of 16, second leg

Stats & Facts: Champions Round of 16, second leg

A look at the stats and facts ahead of the weekend's round of 16 second leg fixtures.

LEINSTER v CONNACHT

  • Leinster Rugby won 26-21 in their Round of 16 – 1st Leg clash against Connacht, their only previous encounter in European competition; each of Leinster’s last two games against fellow Irish sides in the Heineken Champions Cup have ended with a margin of victory of five points or fewer. 

  • Leinster Rugby have won seven of their last eight home matches in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup (L1); however, their sole defeat during that period came in their most recent such fixture (17-25 v Saracens in the 2019/20 quarter-final).

  • Leinster Rugby have only lost one of their last 20 home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (17-25 v Saracens), winning each of their three home fixtures since the beginning of last season by an average margin of 41 points.


  • Connacht Rugby have lost their last four games in the Heineken Champions Cup, each by margins of fewer than seven points; only once before have they lost more consecutive games in the competition though, when they lost their first five games during their debut season in 2011/12.

  • Connacht Rugby have lost their last eight matches away from home in the Heineken Champions Cup; this fixture will be the first time that they have played a Heineken Champions Cup knockout stage match away from home, as well as the first time that they have visited a fellow Irish team in the competition.


  • Leinster Rugby (14) and Connacht Rugby (11) are the only teams to have scored more than 10 tries from possessions that started with a lineout in the Heineken Champions Cup this season.

  • Connacht have conceded 22 scrum penalties in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, twice as many as any other club; meanwhile, only Leicester Tigers (17) have won more penalties from scrums than Leinster (12).

  • Leinster duo Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park have both assisted six tries in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any other player; Keenan made two assists last weekend, as well as scoring one try, while Gibson-Park recorded one assist.

  • Leinster’s Garry Ringrose has made six passes that have led directly to a line break in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any other player, while only three players have made more offloads than him this season (7, behind Gregory Alldritt - 11, Thomas Ramos - 10 and James Hume - 9).

  • Jack Carty (Connacht Rugby) has scored 54 points in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the most of any player; he has also made the most kicks in play (70) and gained the most kicking metres (2549).

BRISTOL BEARS v SALE SHARKS

  • Bristol Bears won the 1st leg of this Round of 16 tie against Sale Sharks (10-9), their first encounter in the Heineken Champions Cup, despite scoring their lowest tally of points in an away game in the competition.
  • Bristol Bears have won their last three games in the Heineken Champions Cup and will attempt to win four in a row for the first time in the competition.
  • This will be the first time that Bristol Bears have hosted a knockout match in the Heineken Champions Cup; they have won five of the eight group stage matches they’ve hosted in the competition, including their only previous home game against Premiership opposition (20-7 v Harlequins in December 2007).
  • Sale Sharks have lost their last seven games against Premiership opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup, with their three away games in that run coming by an average margin of 28 points.
  • Sale Sharks have won just two of their last 18 away matches in the Heineken Champions Cup (L16); however, their two wins during that period have both come in their last four away games, including last season’s Round of 16 tie against the Scarlets (57-14).
  • Bristol Bears have averaged 14 offloads per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, only Stade Toulousain (17.3) have made more; they have also made 175 passes per game, the third highest average.
  • Sale Sharks boast the best goal kicking success rate of any team to reach the knockout stage of this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (88%) and the second best overall, behind Glasgow (90%).
  • Sale Sharks have averaged 7.5 dominant tackles per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any other team; Sale and Bristol were two of the four teams to make a round-high six dominant tackles last weekend (also Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers).
  • Bristol’s Semi Radradra has crossed the try line in each of his last two games in the Heineken Champions Cup, scoring three tries in total, after scoring once in his previous eight games in the competition.
  • No player has claimed more lineouts than Sale’s Lood de Jager in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (31, level with Peter O’Mahony); he claimed 11 lineouts last weekend, only two players have taken more lineouts in a game in the competition this season (William Griffiths and Rory Arnold).
 
 
HARLEQUINS v MONTPELLIER
 
  • Montpellier Hérault Rugby have won their last three encounters with Harlequins in European competition, including the 1st leg of this Round of 16 tie (40-26), this after losing their initial three meetings.
  • Harlequins have won both of their home games in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup; however, they have lost on both occasions that they’ve hosted knockout stage games in the competition (5-6 v Leinster in 2008/09 and 12-18 v Munster in 2012/13).
  • Harlequins have won just two of their last eight games against TOP 14 opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup (L6), however they won the last time they hosted a French side, 36-33 against Castres Olympique last January.
  • Montpellier Hérault Rugby have won their last two games in the Heineken Champions Cup but have won more consecutive matches only once before in the competition, a run of five wins in the pool stage in 2012/13.
  • Montpellier Hérault Rugby have lost their last eight away matches against Premiership opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup, with their last win on English soil coming back in the 2012/13 campaign (27-6 v Sale Sharks).
  • Harlequins are the only team yet to concede a scrum penalty in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, while Montpellier Hérault Rugby are the only team yet to concede a penalty at the maul.
  • Montpellier Hérault Rugby have averaged 182 successful tackles per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, no other team has made more than 150 per game; Harlequins are the only team to average fewer than 100 successful tackles per game this season (99), although they have recorded the most possession of any team in 2021/22 (55%).
  • Harlequins’ Danny Care has made 247 passes in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any other player; three of those passes have assisted a try, only four players have made more try assist passes this campaign.
  • Harlequins’ Louis Lynagh made 203 metres from nine carries last weekend against Montpellier Hérault Rugby, his average of 22.6m per carry was the best rate of any player to make more than five carries in a game this season.
  • Montpellier’s Cobus Reinach has scored a try in each of his two games in the Heineken Champions Cup this season and has been directly involved in 10 tries in his last nine games in the competition (6 tries, 4 assists).
 
 
 
LA ROCHELLE v BORDEAUX
 
  • Stade Rochelais won 31-13 in the 1st leg of this Round of 16 tie against Union Bordeaux-Bègles, their only meeting in European competition; it was the first time they had scored 30+ points away from home against fellow French opposition in a European match.
  • Stade Rochelais have won their last four games in the Heineken Champions Cup but have never won more consecutive matches in the competition; they have scored 30+ points in each of their three games in the Heineken Champions Cup so far in 2022, as many times as in their previous 16 games in the competition.
  • Stade Rochelais have won their last five home games in the Heineken Champions Cup, including both of their previous knockout stage ties at home; this will be the first time that they have hosted a TOP 14 club in the competition.
  • Union Bordeaux-Bègles have won only two of their nine games against TOP 14 teams in the Heineken Champions Cup (L7), and only one of their four such games away from home (37-28 v ASM Clermont Auvergne in January 2016).
  • Union Bordeaux-Bègles have won three of their last four away games in the Heineken Champions Cup (L1); however, their sole defeat in that run came in their most recent away game, which was also against TOP 14 opposition (9-21 v Stade Toulousain in last season’s semi-finals).
  • Stade Rochelais and Union Bordeaux-Bègles are two of the four teams yet to concede a try in the opening 20 minutes of a match in the Heineken Champions Cup this season; in fact, Stade Rochelais are the only team yet to concede a first-half try this season.
  • Stade Rochelais have a gainline success rate of 47.8% in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, only Exeter Chiefs (47.9%) have a better rate in 2021/22.
  • Gregory Alldritt (Stade Rochelais) hit 16 opposition rucks in the 1st leg against Union Bordeaux-Begles, the most of any player in the Round of 16, whilst his teammate Will Skelton ranked second (13); in total, only three players have hit more opposition rucks than Alldritt in the competition this season (44).
  • Gregory Alldritt has made more carries than any other player in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (60), while he has also made the most offloads of any player (11).
  • Cameron Woki (Union Bordeaux-Bègles) has scored a try in each of his last two games in the Heineken Champions Cup, this after crossing for a try only once in his previous 23 games in European competition; two of his three tries in Europe have been scored against French teams.

MUNSTER v EXETER CHIEFS

  • Munster Rugby and Exeter Chiefs have a balanced head-to-head record in the Heineken Champions Cup, each team winning once and sharing one draw; Munster are yet to score more than 10 points in a game against Exeter in the competition.
  • Munster have lost only three of their 29 home games against teams from England in the Heineken Champions Cup (W26), conceding just seven points or fewer in each of the most recent three such matches.
  • Munster Rugby have lost their last two matches at home in the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup after winning nine of their previous 10; one of those two losses came against English opposition (16-32 v Saracens in the 2018/19 semi-finals).
  • Exeter Chiefs have won five of their last six games in the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, however, their only defeat in that run came against Irish opposition – Leinster in the quarter-final last season (22-34).
  • Exeter Chiefs have lost on all four occasions that they have travelled to play Irish opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup; however, each of those defeats have come by margins of five points or fewer.
  • Munster have conceded 1.26 points per 22 entry in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, fewer than any other team; only Racing 92 (5.3) have conceded fewer 22 entries per game in the competition this season than Exeter Chiefs (6.8).
  • Munster’s Peter O’Mahony has claimed 31 lineouts in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, a joint-high alongside Lood de Jager; this includes six lineout steals, more than any other player.
  • Munster duo Tadhg Beirne and John Hodnett have each won six jackal turnovers in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, no other player has won as many turnovers in that fashion.
  • Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is the top try scorer in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (7); he has failed to score in just one game in the competition this season – against Munster last weekend.
  • Stuart Hogg (Exeter) has averaged 44 metres per kick in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the most of any player to have made 10+ kicks in play.
 
 
LEICESTER TIGERS v CLERMONT
 
 
  • Leicester Tigers have won their three previous home encounters against ASM Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Champions Cup, however the most recent two came by margins of five points or fewer.
  • Leicester Tigers have won their last four games in the Heineken Champions Cup but have won more in succession only once in the last 15 seasons, a run of five straight wins in the pool stage of the 2015/16 season; they have scored exactly 29 points in each of their last three games in the competition.
  • Leicester Tigers have won their last three matches at home in the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, including two victories against French opposition (both v Stade Français Paris).
  • ASM Clermont Auvergne have lost their last two games in the Heineken Champions Cup but have not lost three games in a row in the competition since the pool stage in 2005/06 when they suffered four consecutive defeats.
  • ASM Clermont Auvergne have won their last two away games in the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, after losing each of the previous three; those two wins came against teams from England, including a Round of 16 victory last season against Wasps (27-25).
  • Leicester Tigers have averaged just 69 carries per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, fewer than any other team, but are the only side to have averaged 40+ kicks per game (44.5).
  • ASM Clermont Auvergne have conceded 10 tries following a lineout in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any team still in the competition and the second most overall (Bath - 11); only two teams have scored more tries following a lineout than Leicester (10, behind Leinster and Connacht).
  • Leicester’s Jasper Wiese has beaten 14 defenders in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the second most of any forward, behind Stade Rochelais’ Gregory Alldritt (16).
  • Morgan Parra (ASM Clermont Auvergne) has made 8/8 place kicks in the Heineken Champions Cup 2021/22, the most of any player yet to miss a kick this season.
  • Alivereti Raka (ASM Clermont Auvergne) beat 10 defenders last weekend against Leicester, more than any other player in the Round of 16 1st leg and one of only three times a player has beaten 10+ defenders in a Heineken Champions Cup game this season (also Antoine Dupont in Rd 1, Rory Hutchinson in Rd 3).
ULSTER v TOULOUSE
 
 
  • Ulster Rugby have won four of their six home games against Stade Toulousain in the Heineken Champions Cup (L2), however they lost the most recent one, a seven-point defeat in December 2020 (22-29).
  • Ulster Rugby have won their last five games in the Heineken Champions Cup, only once since lifting the trophy in 1999 have they enjoyed a longer winning run in the competition (W6 in 2013/14); however, their five victories have all come by fewer than seven points.
  • Ulster Rugby have won four of their last five home matches against TOP 14 opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup (L1), however, their solitary loss during that run came against Stade Toulousain (22-29 in December 2020); their last seven home matches against French sides have all been decided by margins of seven points or fewer.
  • Stade Toulousain have lost their last two games in the Heineken Champions Cup, the first time they have lost consecutive games in the competition since a run of five defeats between December 2015 and October 2016.
  • Stade Toulousain have won each of their last three away games against Irish opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup, including their 29-22 win in Ulster in December 2020, after winning only three of their previous 13 trips to Ireland (L10).
  • Stade Toulousain boast a 96% lineout success rate in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (47/49), the best rate of any team; they are also one of just five teams yet to lose a scrum on their own feed (11/11).
  • Robert Baloucoune (Ulster) carried for 207 metres against Toulouse in the 1st leg, the most by any player in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend, scoring three tries in the process; he's averaged 11.8m per carry in the competition in 2021/22, the best rate of the 54 players to make 30+ carries, just ahead of teammate Mike Lowry (11.7).
  • Ulster’s Michael Lowry has made nine line breaks in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the most of any player, and has made over 100 carry metres more than any other player (666); he is also the only player to have beaten 20+ defenders this season (26).
  • Rory Arnold (Stade Toulousain) recorded 12 lineout takes last weekend, a joint-high for any player in a Heineken Champions Cup game this season, including four lineout steals – the only time a player has stolen more than two opposition throws in a game this campaign.
  • Thomas Ramos (Stade Toulousain) made seven successful offloads against Ulster last weekend, the only time this season that a player has made more than five offloads in a Heineken Champions Cup game; he has made 10 offloads overall this season, the most of any back.
 
 
 
RACING 92 v STADE FRANCAIS
 
  • Racing 92 won 22-9 in the 1st leg of this Round of 16 tie against Stade Français Paris, their first European meeting and their biggest win away from home against a fellow French side in the competition.
  • Racing 92 have won three of their last four home matches in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup (L1); however, their solitary loss during that period came against TOP 14 opposition (21-22 v Stade Toulousain in the 2018/19 quarter-final).
  • Racing 92’s last home match in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup resulted in a 53-point margin of victory, their biggest win in the competition (56-3 v Edinburgh Rugby in last season’s Round of 16).
  • Stade Français Paris have lost their last two games against TOP 14 sides in the Heineken Champions Cup after winning six of the previous seven such meetings; they scored fewer than 10 points for the first time against a French club during the 1st leg of this tie (9-22).
  • Stade Francais Paris have lost each of their five previous away games in the knock-out stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, including their only previous away tie against fellow French opposition (42-16 v Stade Toulousain in the 2009/10 quarter-final).
  • Racing 92 have conceded only 11 points per game on average in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, fewer than any other team, and are the only team yet to concede a single point in the opening 20 minutes of a game.
  • Racing 92 have missed just 13 tackles per game on average this season, fewer than any other side, with only two teams boasting a better tackle success rate than Racing 92 this campaign (89.3%, Leinster – 90.2%, Glasgow – 89.4%).
  • Stade Français Paris have averaged six 22 entries per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, fewer than any team still in the competition and the second fewest overall (Castres - 4.5); meanwhile, Racing 92 have conceded the fewest 22 entries of any team this season (5.3).
  • Wenceslas Lauret (Racing 92) was the only player to make more than two dominant tackles in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend (3); overall, he has made a total four dominant tackles this season, only Zander Fagerson and Filipo Nakosi have made more (5 each).
  • Nicolas Sanchez (Stade Français Paris) has registered seven try assists in his last five starts in the Heineken Champions Cup; he played only 14 minutes as a replacement in the 1st leg however.
 

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