France internationals dominate our Investec Champions Cup team of the week - SFs

Leinster and reigning champions Bordeaux-Begles booked their places in the Investec Champions Cup final over the weekend, putting in performances that weren’t necessarily expected.

After Leinster’s pack surprisingly manhandled Toulon’s in the scrum on the Saturday, it was the defensive steel of the swashbuckling Bordeaux which stood out the following day.

But these were fiercely contested semi-finals, with plenty of players on the losing sides deserving their place in our Champions Cup team of the week.

15. Melvyn Jaminet (Toulon)
In a losing effort and in a game where Leinster’s defence ruled supreme, Jaminet was still able to pose a threat, particularly in the closing stages, where he produced a couple of half-breaks and offloads against a tiring defence. Toulon didn’t get a huge amount of success against Leinster’s defence, but whenever they did, it was down to Jaminet’s carries or quick hands to ship the ball wide.

14. Tommy O’Brien (Leinster)
This wasn’t a weekend of barnstorming displays on the wing, but a nuts-and-bolts performance from O’Brien was nevertheless fundamental to Leinster’s performance in Dublin. Set the tone early on by flying out the line to obliterate Tomas Albornoz’s ribcage and that set the tone for a defensive effort in which Toulon were ruthlessly suffocated for 70 minutes.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Leinster

06:45

23 May 26

Bordeaux

All Stats and Data

13. Louie Hennessey (Bath)
A try obviously helped Wales centre Hennessey’s cause, showing some tidy footwork and strength to finish, but the 22-year-old produced a number of eye-catching moments. Had it not been for the pace of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, the Bath centre may have scored in the first half after a break.

12. Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Begles)
France’s Moefana showed some simple brute force in his carries, sitting down Guy Pepper on one occasion and proving a handful for his opposite man Ollie Lawrence. His carrying wasn’t just direct busts through the heart of the Bath defence, rather he frequently changed the angle of attack to disrupt an already ragged Bath defence at times.

11. Will Muir (Bath)
As mentioned, this wasn’t a weekend for wingers, and even the irrepressible Bielle-Biarrey was kept relatively quiet (he only scored one try, that is), but Muir only really had two chances to score and he took both with aplomb. The first was a case of being at the end of a cross-field kick, but the second was a truly world-class leaping finish in the corner.

10. Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Begles)
Bath weren’t even particularly loose in possession at the Stade Atlantique, but it seemed like every time they were, Jalibert would gorge on their unstructured defence. The 27-year-old finished the match with the most line breaks (4), defenders beaten (7) and offloads (4), which are perhaps the three best indicators to see whether he ran riot.

9. Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Begles)
Two scrum-halves at the top of their game went head-to-head on the Atlantic coast on Sunday, and while Ben Spencer did everything he could to keep Bath in the game, his counterpart Lucu came away with the player of the match accolade. As flashy and as loose as Bordeaux’s attack looks, they need Le Petit Général to temper proceedings at times and ensure they maintain control of the match. Lucu did that to perfection. But when they needed to go, he could pull the trigger, as shown by his work in the try he finished.

1. Andrew Porter (Leinster)
Aside from a yellow card for a high tackle, it was destructive from Porter at the Aviva Stadium. His powerful carrying gave Leinster the platform for their first try, hitting good lines and busting through half gaps to give Leinster momentum. But it was his scrummaging against a seasoned international like Kyle Sinckler that was match-defining, winning three penalties in the scrum against the Englishman before an hour had even elapsed.

2. Maxime Lamothe (Bordeaux-Begles)
Perhaps it wasn’t a weekend where hookers stole the show, but Bordeaux’s lineout functioned well, and Lamothe embellished his performance with 14 tackles.

3. Thomas Clarkson (Leinster)
Toulon turned up expecting to get some success in the scrum, in light of recent Leinster performances. What transpired on the pitch could not have been further from that. Clarkson bested the French loosehead Jean-Baptiste Gros on two occasions to win penalties, while Porter on the other side of the scrum won three.

4. Adam Coleman (Bordeaux-Begles)
A machine-like defensive display yet again from the Tonga international, racking up 20 tackles – the only player to do so. Perhaps more importantly was the number of defensive rucks he committed to in order to stultify any fluidity from the visitors, particularly in Bordeaux’s 22. This may not please many Bath fans, as a dubious tackle on Alfie Barbeary went unnoticed.

5. David Ribbans (Toulon)
The former England lock has been a mainstay in teams of the week so far this Champions Cup and the semi-final was no exception even in defeat. Toulon’s most noticeable physical presence in defence, coming away with two dominant tackles. We’ve said it before, but either Steve Borthwick or Rassie Erasmus has to cap him.

6. Cameron Woki (Bordeaux-Begles)
Bath spluttered to a paltry 73 per cent lineout success and that was largely down to Woki, who was Bordeaux’s aerial maestro in attacking and defensive lineouts. Chuck in a few other defining interventions, chiefly intercepting a Barbeary pass (or tapping it backwards) when Bath were hammering Bordeaux’s defence.

7. Charles Ollivon (Toulon)
Showed, yet again, why he is revered as one of the best flankers on the planet. Any time a kick went up from Toulon, Ollivon was under it, and got a fair amount of success. But it was all-action in all areas of the game from the former France captain, leading his side with 15 tackles.

8. Caelan Doris (Leinster)
Twenty carries, many of which were meaty carries in close quarters, but the Ireland captain was then able to distribute almost at the point of contact on a number of occasions – putting Van der Flier in for a try. Made the most carries and 15 tackles and really troubled Toulon at the breakdown. A masterful display topped with a try.