The first two rounds of the Investec Champions Cup have already come and gone with some outstanding rugby being played by Europe’s best.
With the dust having settled we take a closer look at the individual stats leaders where rookie Springbok Cameron Hanekom shows his worth.
Colossal Cameron Hanekom
Ever since the young back-row burst onto the scene he has been touted to take over the number eight jersey in the green and gold. Hanekom eventually got his chance in November and has looked to kick on from there.
One of his main strengths is his rampant carries and it shows in the stats as he leads the competition with 18 defenders beaten, a whopping seven more than Saracen Tom Willis on 11 while Toulouse star Matthis Lebel is the only other player to hit double digits with 10.
Hanekom also tops the offloads category with nine, ahead of superstar Antoine Dupont on seven, showcasing how vital he is for the Bulls in their European quest.
Terrific Toulouse
The Frenchman does get one over the rampant Bull with a number of carries as Dupont sits on 41 while Hanekom spearheads the rest of the pack on 33 with Willis once again on his tail with 32.
Meanwhile, Lebel and promising centre Pierre-Louis Barassi lead the way in the clean break category with seven apiece while lightning-fast Bordeaux man Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Alex Dombrandt are on six each.
In the points section it is Toulouse star Thomas Ramos who leads the way with 28. He is closely followed by Leinster prodigy Sam Prendergast on 25 while Toulon’s Baptiste Serin and Glasgow’s George Horne lurk with 23 each.
Freakish Freddie Steward and other English stars
Few would have picked Leicester’s Freddie Steward to top the running chart and fewer would have guessed him to have 378 metres in two games and almost 200 more than Lebel in second. It shows the full-back’s emphasis on building his attacking game as it does for the evolution of Michael Cheika’s Tigers.
He isn’t the only Englishman leading a category with hard-nosed second-row Nick Isiekwe making an impressive 40 tackles in the first two games for Saracens. Sale’s Springbok, Jean-Luc du Preez, is one behind while Willis has made 38 of his own to underline his work-rate.
Dombrandt’s hat-trick against the Stormers catapults him to the top of the try-scoring charts with four in total while Saints number eight Juanro Augustus, Lebel, Bielle-Biarrey and Horne have all scored three.
Breakdown bandits
Two players lead the turnovers won category with Leinster and Ireland skipper Caelan Doris unsurprisingly in the mix, however, a massive surprise is Bordeaux outside back Arthur Retiere is on the same number with five in two games.
Rounding out the top five all on four is former Fijian prison officer and La Rochelle man Levani Botia while teammate Gregory Alldritt is on the same number is Italian star Tommaso Menoncello.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/champions-cup-stats-leaders-springbok-rookie-leads-surprise-category-as-england-star-dominates-metres-gained
