With another pulsating round of Investec Champions Cup in the books, we have had a discussion and selected our Team of the Week following the Round Two action.
The big talking points of the weekend were the victories on the road for Northampton Saints and the peerless Toulouse, and the overturning of Bath by Benetton.
Champions Cup Team of the Week
15 Rhyno Smith (Benetton): Two tries from the full-back were at the centre of Benetton’s victory over a weakened Bath. Jordie Barrett was sensational for Leinster as they delivered a stuttering performance against Clermont, whilst Louis Bielle-Biarrey impressed us once again for Bordeaux-Begles. Elliott Daly gave us the pass of the round to celebrate Liam Williams’ return to Sarries as the England full-back showed us he’s still a force.
14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints): Two brilliant scores from the England star were crucial for Saints. Jack Nowell gave us the finish of the season as he crashed over in the La Rochelle rain and mud. Louis Lynagh grabbed a crucial try for Benetton, and Tom Roebuck showed his skills in Sale’s impressive Friday night showing against Racing 92.
13 Pierre-Louis Barassi (Toulouse): An electric performance from the young centre takes the spot from the impressive Fraser Dingwall, who was an integral part of Northampton’s win at Loftus. Nicolas Depoortere also shone for Bordeaux-Begles whilst Garry Ringrose impressed for Leinster, with Leicester Fainga’anuku grabbing a brace for Toulon in a cracker against Glasgow.
12 Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Begles): There were times when the French centre simply kept Bordeaux in the match with a brilliant defensive shift against another impressive performer, Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey. Jonathan Danty showed his form both sides of the ball for La Rochelle, with Rory Hutchinson shining for Saints.
11 Cadan Murley (Harlequins): One of two hat-trick heroes for the mighty Quins as they delivered a statement win. Toulouse’s Matthis Lebel was in effervescent form for Toulouse, whilst Ollie Hassell-Collins grabbed a pair of tries in Leicester Tigers’ impressive showing against the Sharks.
10 Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers): 17 points from the peerless Springbok was at the heart of the demolition of the Sharks. Marcus Smith was at his belligerent best for Harlequins, and at Sale, George Ford produced another accurate passing display. Lastly, Sam Prendergast again underlined his development in Leinster’s win versus Clermont.
9 Antoine Dupont (Toulouse): On the 63rd minute, Exeter Chiefs fans rose to give the little genius a standing ovation as he delivered an exquisite performance of the scrum-half art. It says something that the Sandy Park faithful weren’t talking about their loss post match, but eulogising about Dupont’s brilliance. He sees off his French teammates Maxime Lucu and Baptiste Serin, who were both in top form for UBB and Toulon respectively, whilst Alex Mitchell was simply brilliant for Saints.
The forwards
8 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins): The second of our hat-trick Quins as the big England number eight powered his way to the Player of the Match award. At Loftus both Juarno Augustus and Cameron Hanekom deserve a mention as both had outstanding matches, whilst Gregory Alldritt looks to be back to his best for La Rochelle.
7 Francois Cros (Toulouse): Given Toulouse play left and right flanker over openside and blindside, Cros was a shoo-in after a majestic performance that saw him contribute to three Toulouse scores as he started the demolition job by making the first try for Dupont and dismantling the Chiefs lineout with three steals. Ben Earl is our runner-up after a cracking shift for Sarries, whilst Saints’ Henry Pollock showed his continued growth for Saints. John Hodnett crossed twice for Munster in their defeat at Castres while Ben Curry also impressed us in his performance for Sale.
6 Theo McFarland (Saracens): Another all-action display from the brilliant Samoan flank just takes the shirt from Saints’ Alex Coles, who delivered a tip-top performance for Saints. Seb Negri was the heartbeat of the Benetton win against Bath and also deserves a mention.
5 Will Skelton (La Rochelle): Brooding and intimidating, the massive frame of Skelton was in prime form for the Black and Yellows. James Ryan was one of the better Leinster performers, whilst Emmanuel Meafou was huge for Toulouse. Sale’s Jonny Hill may have given away a couple of soft penalties, but England need players of his size to support the likes of George Martin, who also impressed for Tigers.
4 David Ribbans (Toulon): Big Ribeye is sorely missed by England and again demonstrated his worth in an busy display in Toulon’s indisciplined display against Glasgow. Irne Herbst put in a huge shift for Quins, whilst Thibaud Flament got on the scoresheet once again for Toulouse.
3 Will Collier (Castres): Another gem of a player that England let slip through the net as he crushed the Munster scrum. Uini Atonio went deep for La Rochelle in their win, whilst Rabah Slimani gave us a cameo as he destroyed his former club Clermont off the bench.
2 Julian Montoya (Leicester Tigers): Two-try Montoya delivered yet another world class display in the set-piece and loose as he led Tigers to a rout of the Sharks. Saracens got a lot of value out of the two shirt as both Jamie George and Theo Dan produced quality performances, whilst Julien Marchand had another steller evening at Sandy Park for Toulouse.
1 Andrew Porter (Leinster): A massive performance from Porter as he reminded us all of his claims to be the Lions starting loosehead. Sale’s Bevan Rodd held on in the scrum once again, but around the park he is a force of nature and was absolutely outstanding around the breakdown and in defence. Thomas Gallo also impressed off the bench for Benetton.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/champions-cup-team-of-the-week-genius-antoine-dupont-links-up-with-peerless-springbok-while-gem-that-england-let-slip-through-the-net-rewarded
