Heineken Champions Cup XV of the Week - Round 6
The pool stage of the Heineken Champions Cup was wrapped up this weekend, as the competition heads into a Six Nations break, before returning with the knockout rounds of club rugby’s grandest prize at the end of March.
Saracens triumphed 38-19 over Glasgow Warriors, ensuring they went six wins from six in the pool stage and secured the top overall seeding, meaning they will face the Scottish side, who ended as 8th seeds, again in the quarter-finals. Racing 92 sowed up the second seed with a 46-33 win at home to the Scarlets, which means they will face Toulouse in Paris, who saw off Bath on Sunday afternoon.
Third seeds Leinster are set to face Ulster in Dublin in an all-Irish encounter, after the two provinces beat Wasps and Leicester respectively, whilst Edinburgh‘s impressive 19-10 victory against Montpellier secured them a home quarter-final against Munster, who edged a brutal contest with Exeter Chiefs.
Below are our pick of the performers from the weekend’s action.
(*) denotes RugbyPass Index score
- Liam Williams, Saracens (89)
A late switch to full-back from the wing didn’t seem to faze Williams, with the Welshman providing plenty of incision to Saracens’ counter-attack, as well as being a solid last line of defence. His ability to spot gaps in Glasgow’s defence and then having the acceleration to exploit them was on frequent show and the firm surface of the Allianz Park pitch meant that his footwork was at its most effective.
Silver – Jack Nowell, Exeter Chiefs (86)
Bronze – Scott Spedding, Castres (71)
- Simon Zebo, Racing 92 (79)
Zebo’s two tries encapsulated everything that has been good about Racing in this year’s Champions Cup, with the Irishman’s clinical finishing the embodiment of how the side from the French capital like to play their rugby. There will be flashier games to come from Zebo, but the opportunities that were presented to him were taken with ruthless efficiency.
Silver – Matt Banahan, Gloucester (66)
Bronze – Andrew Conway, Munster (87)
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- Josua Tuisova, Toulon (76)
There is a lot of chatter as to why Toulon would take wings like Tuisova and Julian Savea and put them into the centres, but it’s a move that’s working for the Fijian, at the least. Tuisova was excellent as a ball-carrier on Friday night, as well as keeping the ball alive after contact, where Toulon were really able to hurt Newcastle’s scramble defence. He made some good defensive reads in the difficult-to-defend 13 channel and was able to use his strength to win multiple turnovers in areas of the pitch where forward support was slow to arrive.
Silver – Florian Viallele, Castres (61)
Bronze – Harri Millard, Cardiff Blues (72)
- Henry Chavancy, Racing 92 (81)
The chemistry between Chavancy and Finn Russell is becoming something special in Paris and they replicated it perfectly against the Scarlets. Chavancy’s decision-making as to when to run and when to pass was in the groove and he had the composed execution to pull it off. A lot of Racing’s clinical play, which saw them score six tries despite significant possession and territorial disadvantages, could be tracked back to Chavancy and his work in the midfield.
Silver – Chris Dean, Edinburgh (80)
Bronze – Josh Matavesi, Newcastle Falcons (59)
- Duhan van der Merwe, Edinburgh (83)
Of all the players at BT Murrayfield on Friday evening, van der Merwe was the one to consistently get free and find himself able to exploit the opposition defence. The South African wing eluded Timoci Nagusa a number of times and quick ball out from the Edinburgh midfield frequently saw him turn the corner and make big forays into Montpellier territory. He didn’t manage to trouble the scorers, but that was the only thing missing from a strong attacking performance.
Silver – Aled Summerhill, Cardiff Blues (63)
Bronze – Steff Evans, Scarlets (81)
- Louis Carbonel, Toulon (65)
Toulon’s European dream may have been over going into Round 6 of the pool, but young Carbonel gave them a reason to be optimistic about their fortunes in the years to come. The fly-half was part of the French side which won the World Rugby U20 Championship last year and he showed that ability to pull the strings of a side in attack once again, albeit at senior level this time. He had a nice pressure valve outside of him in Savea, but it also meant that he had to do a lot of the creative work himself, drawing defenders, playing on the gain-line and mixing up his delivery.
With a delightful spin and offload by @LouisCarbonel, @josua44020055 put in Filipo Nakosi to speed his way over for @RCTofficiel ??
Rate this score out of ?? #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Zoe0hiNdZZ
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 19, 2019
Silver – Joey Carbery, Munster (88)
Bronze – Ross Byrne, Leinster (89)
- Tomos Williams, Cardiff Blues (79)
A clinical, sniping performance from the scrum-half, who repeatedly made Lyon pay for complacency around the fringes. He was good value for the try he scored just minutes before heading to the bench, as the Welsh scrum-half had supplied his side with the tempo and the urgency to break down the Lyon defence.
? @cardiff_blues came up with this corker in their game with @LeLOURugby ?
Just one from a selection of quality tries from the Blues ?
And how about @tomosgwilliams channelling his inner Bill Mata with another ridiculous offload ?
Easy on the eyes ? pic.twitter.com/6StOlt7aVj
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 20, 2019
Silver – Ali Price, Glasgow Warriors (74)
Bronze – Antoine Dupont, Toulouse (89)
- Pierre Schoeman, Edinburgh (82)
If you’re forcing a tighthead like Jannie du Plessis off the pitch as a tactical replacement after 30 minutes of play, you’re doing something right. Schoeman was excellent at the set-piece against Montpellier and continued his busy work in the loose. The loosehead has been one of they key men behind Edinburgh’s excellent European campaign to date.
Silver – Dave Kilcoyne, Munster (90)
Bronze – Tapu Falatea, Castres (60)
- Stuart McInally, Edinburgh (86)
McInally’s consistently superb form in this competition should not go under the radar and the Scotland hooker should be one of the leading candidates for the European Player of the Year award, albeit that accolade does tend to go to the flashier players on the pitch. The hooker had Edinburgh’s set-piece running efficiently and seemed to be ever-present in his side’s defensive line, constantly repelling the powerhouse carriers of Montpellier for little or no gain.
Silver – Sean Cronin, Leinster (89)
Bronze – Jamie George, Saracens (91)
- WP Nel, Edinburgh (85)
Nel anchored the scrum for Edinburgh against Montpellier and like Schoeman, who was mentioned earlier, went to work on an experienced Montpellier front row. He may not have had Grégory Fichten retreating backwards like Schoeman had du Plessis, but he set the pivot around which his teammate could drive the Montpellier pack. Punctured holes around the fringes as a carrier, too.
Silver – Georges-Henri Colombe, Racing 92 (58)
Bronze – Dan Cole, Leicester Tigers (73)
- Maro Itoje, Saracens (93)
The unwelcome sight for Eddie Jones of seeing Owen Farrell withdrawn from the Saracens squad with a thumb injury on Saturday was mitigated by the impressive performance of Itoje. The lock was bruising with his carries, creating plenty of holes in the Glasgow defence, and thrived as usual at the lineout and the breakdown. His three won turnovers were as many as the entire Glasgow first XV had combined.
??? The @Saracens machine keeps marching on ???
Forwards showing their gentle side with some soft hands to send @maroitoje crashing over ?
He was at his marauding best in the #ChampionsCup ?
When he's on form like this, would Itoje make your World XV? ?? pic.twitter.com/h81UyYvgm3
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 20, 2019
Silver – Iain Henderson, Ulster (82)
Bronze – Jean Kleyn, Munster (89)
- Jacques du Plessis, Montpellier (71)
The one real standout for Montpellier on a tough night in the Scottish capital, du Plessis managed to meet Edinburgh’s suffocating physicality and force some of his own back on to the hosts. He sparked a number of promising Montpellier attacks with his carrying and offloading, only to see them end up knocked on or turned over in the phases to come.
Silver – Tadhg Beirne, Munster (92)
Bronze – James Ryan, Leinster (92)
- Wenceslas Lauret, Racing 92 (79)
Lauret gave Racing an edge as a ball-carrier and a physical tackler on the gain-line, bringing one of the all-action type performances that has made him so integral to the Parisian side’s climb to becoming perennial domestic and European contenders. His 69 minutes on the pitch were energetic and it was powerful carries from the flanker that led to two Racing tries, as well as playing a role in multiple other scores for the home side.
The break by @lauretwenceslas ? the two clever kicks ?? and the finish by @Imhoffjuan ?@racing92 hit their stride against @scarlets_rugby yesterday, was this the best score of the game? #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/dihRIFJW50
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 20, 2019
Silver – Sean Reidy, Ulster (77)
Bronze – Jamie Ritchie, Edinburgh (84)
- Don Armand, Exeter Chiefs (83)
Not only did Armand grab the only try of the game at Thomond Park, he also went stride for stride with the physicality of the Munster pack. Plenty of loose forwards get a rude awakening when they head to Limerick to take on Peter O’Mahony and co, but Armand was good match for them, and it was something which only added to the compelling nature of the game. He had a fair amount of success disrupting Munster’s ball security, which is no mean feat in itself.
Bronze – Camille Gerondeau, Castres (71)
- CJ Stander, Munster (91)
A lot of what was said about Armand holds true to Stander, also. The number eight was in his element in a tight, brutal encounter like the one that played out on Saturday afternoon. Time and time again, Stander repelled Exeter ball-carriers on the gain-line and though the visitors enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the Ireland international was one of the major contributors to Munster’s ‘bend but don’t break’ defence. He’ll have other games where he’s more impressive offensively, but there’s no doubting how key he was to Munster picking up the four points on Saturday.
Silver – Zach Mercer, Bath (67)
Bronze – Viliame Mata, Edinburgh (83)
Watch: Big Jim’s Big Interview with Simon Zebo.
Comments on RugbyPass
Results 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?
1 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 👍
1 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 commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments