Champions Cup XV of the Week - Round 5
The penultimate round of the Heineken Champions Cup pool stage didn’t bring too many shocks, but it did bring plenty of absorbing and compelling rugby.
Munster got the ball rolling with a dominant victory over Gloucester, giving them control of Pool 2, whilst Leinster and Ulster continued the good weekend for the provinces with victories over previously undefeated sides that gave Leinster similar control of Pool 2 and put Ulster into prime position for a best runners-up spot.
Exeter Chiefs kept their hopes alive with a bonus point win over Castres, Montpellier and Edinburgh moved themselves into likely quarter-finals and Saracens maintained their 100% record in this season’s competition with a win over Lyon, and are now the only side left to boast such a record.
Below is our pick of the top performers from the 10 games this weekend.
(*) denotes RugbyPass index score.
- Jack Nowell, Exeter Chiefs (84)
A performance that should delight Exeter and England fans equally, with the livewire full-back scoring a great solo try and consistently tormenting Castres on the counter-attack. He was a nightmare for Castres defenders to track and anytime he planted his feet and straightened up, he was more often than not leaving a would-be tackler grasping at thin air. Positioned himself well defensively, too.
Silver – Frans Steyn, Montpellier (83)
Bronze – Alex Goode, Saracens (88)
- Darcy Graham, Edinburgh (80)
The former Scotland U20 and sevens star had an unenviable match-up against one Julian Savea on Saturday, but emerged from the clash with all of the bragging rights. Graham’s pace was tough for Toulon to contain and he linked up well with his back three teammate, Blair Kinghorn. He kept Savea under wraps well, too, with the Kiwi unable to make the most of the size advantage he boasts over the Scotsman.
Silver – Adam Byrne, Leinster (86)
Bronze – Owen Lane, Cardiff Blues (67)
- Kieron Fonotia, Scarlets (78)
Fonotia ran rampant through the Leicester defence on Saturday afternoon, creating and utilising space with his feet and his hands. He broke through Tigers’ defensive line multiple times and was often aware enough to know where his support was and composed enough to execute the pass or the offload. He also helped shut down Leicester’s ability to get wide with good line-speed and decision-making.
? @scarlets_rugby dominated @LeicesterTigers at home ? scoring a number of free-flowing 5?? pointers ??
A breath-taking team move which started from deep in their own half put the Welsh side up 24-0 ?
Another #ChampionsCup belter from a blockbuster weekend ? pic.twitter.com/fmpd37CqOG
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 13, 2019
Silver – Nick Tompkins, Saracens (84)
Bronze – Henry Slade, Exeter Chiefs (74)
- Rory Scannell, Munster (86)
A Swiss army knife of a performance from Scannell, who didn’t necessarily excel in any one particular area, but provided Munster with exactly what they needed at just the right time. His passing was accurate and crisp, allowing Munster to get around the corner when the opportunities presented themselves, whilst he straightened the line when it looked as if the province might be beginning to crab. He didn’t run riot through the Gloucester midfield himself but set up his teammates to succeed in the subsequent phases.
Silver – Yvan Reilhac, Montpellier (69)
Bronze – Henry Chavancy, Racing 92 (80)
- Jacob Stockdale, Ulster (84)
The wing crucially swooped to grab two tries and seal victory for his side, who are now in with a very good chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the competition. Racing controlled Ulster for much of their game at the Kingspan and created more scoring opportunities than their hosts, but it was the clinical play of Stockdale and a number of others that allowed Ulster to profit, despite being put under considerable pressure.
?? More glory for the Irish provinces as @ulster handed @racing92 their first #ChampionsCup loss of the tournament ??
?? And this man…well this man simply can't stop scoring ??@JacobStockdale taking things into his own hands with another humdinger from half-way ? pic.twitter.com/q2WPtw5k7O
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 13, 2019
Silver – Cheslin Kolbe, Toulouse (91)
Bronze – Steff Evans, Scarlets (82)
- Joey Carbery, Munster (88)
The Ireland fly-half contributed 26 points at Kingsholm, the most of any opposing player at the ground in the professional era, with two tries complementing 16 points from the boot. He was in rampant form, shredding the Gloucester defence with his passing, running and kicking. He manipulated and utilised space exceptionally all evening long and showed an almost telepathic chemistry with his teammates.
After scoring one in the first half and before grabbing his second of the evening, @JoeyCarbery put this delightful kick through to set up Andrew Conway ? ???
How dynamic were @Munsterrugby as they powered past @gloucesterrugby? ?#ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Jc75dWxMca
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 12, 2019
Silver – Johan Goosen, Montpellier (75)
Bronze – Ross Byrne, Leinster (89)
- Conor Murray, Munster (78)
Murray was the perfect foil to Carbery’s exuberant and energetic play among the back line. The scrum-half turned his box-kicks into an art form at Kingsholm, putting enough hang time on for his players to successfully compete for the ball, as well as measuring the distance perfectly, forcing the Gloucester back three to have to travel to attempt to receive the kick. He harassed Callum Braley extremely proficiently, too, as well as mixing up his play from the rucks, blending a cocktail of miss-passes, one-out runners and occasional darts around the fringes.
Silver – Luke McGrath, Leinster (83)
Bronze – Antoine Dupont, Toulouse (89)
- Dave Kilcoyne, Munster (89)
The Munster theme continues at loosehead, with Kilcoyne having his way with the Gloucester scrum on Friday evening. The Irishman tore into Fraser Balmain and put the Cherry and White set-piece under all kinds of pressure. His work in the lineout was impressive, too, and he was a key part of giving the rest of his side a solid platform from which to hurt Gloucester with front-foot ball, as well as on the scoreboard.
Silver – Grégory Fichten, Montpellier (69)
Bronze – Pierre Schoeman, Edinburgh (79)
- Stuart McInally, Edinburgh (86)
Toulon might not be the force they used to be but visiting teams to the Mayol still need to be very efficient and that’s just what McInally provided. His lineout throwing was almost faultless, and he was consistently a willing carrier in the tight, helping tie in the Toulon defence before the Scottish side would go wide in the next phase and find space to run into.
Silver – Sean Cronin, Leinster (89)
Bronze – Grant Stewart, Glasgow Warriors (76)
- Jannie du Plessis, Montpellier (68)
There is still life left in the old dog yet, as du Plessis went to work on the Newcastle scrum at the GGL Stadium. He showed plenty of his ability at the contact area, too, muddying Newcastle ball and denying them the quick service they needed to try and catch Montpellier off-guard defensively.
Silver – Stephen Archer, Munster (84)
Bronze – WP Nel, Edinburgh (82)
- Scott Fardy, Leinster (91)
A performance from the Australian that will give the Leinster coaches selection dilemmas. His opportunities have been limited this season due to the form of James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park and the foreign player rules the Irish provinces have to operate under, but he was everywhere against Toulouse. His contributions at the set-piece, at the breakdown and as a physical carrier and tackler around the fringes were all excellent.
Silver – Nico Janse van Rensburg, Montpellier (84)
Bronze – Joe Launchbury, Wasps (73)
- Tadhg Beirne, Munster (92)
Beirne was a constant threat at the lineout, helping to disrupt any sort of platform that Gloucester tried to build at the set-piece. He also raided the contact area and made ball security as difficult for Gloucester in the loose as it was at the set-piece. He combined excellently with Peter O’Mahoney in the first half and then became tormentor-in-chief when the flank left the game early in the second half.
Silver – Leone Nakarawa, Racing 92 (81)
Bronze – Jonny Hill, Exeter Chiefs (87)
- Rhys Ruddock, Leinster (83)
A busy performance from Ruddock, who excelled alongside Fardy in doing the dirty jobs well and allowing other players in the Leinster side to flourish around him. He kept Leinster moving forward, battled physically at the breakdown and was able to make more than one tackle that drove the ball-carrier back on the gain-line.
Silver – Taulupe Faleatu, Bath (65)
Bronze – Ryan Wilson, Glasgow Warriors (82)
- Hamish Watson, Edinburgh (85)
Watson dovetailed nicely with his fellow back rowers in the south of France, bringing the work rate in the defensive line and at the breakdown that allowed his teammates to prosper in other areas. He was a thorn in Toulon’s side at the contact area, slowing down their ball, as well as bringing a ruthless efficiency on the clear-out, allowing Edinburgh to play at pace and with a tempo that Toulon were not comfortable with.
Silver – Jordi Murphy, Ulster (74)
Bronze – Schalk Burger, Saracens (77)
- Viliame Mata, Edinburgh (81)
The remarkable offload (below) is what will get the headlines from Mata’s outing at the Mayol, but in the context of a full, 80-minute performance, there were few more impressive than Mata this weekend. The Fijian was a force with ball in hand and delivered all the front-foot ball Edinburgh needed to control their contest with Toulon. Despite the audacity of said offload, this was actually one of Mata’s more reserved showings, in terms of attempting to keep phases alive.
Big Vili Style. pic.twitter.com/jO4YrYJv6V
— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) January 12, 2019
Silver – Marcell Coetzee, Ulster (77)
Bronze – Deon Fourie, Lyon (69)
Watch: New Blue Bulls hooker Schalk Brits speaks after coming out of retirement.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
3 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
3 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to comments