Champions Cup Team of the Week: Marcus Smith shines as Leinster, Harlequins, Bath and Bulls lead the way

James While
Champions Cup TOTW image Round 1 2023.jpg

Nolan Le Garrec of Racing 92, Marcus Smith of Harlequins and Ryan Baird of Leinster.

Now that the dust has settled on the opening round of the Champions Cup, we have had a discussion and selected our Team of the Week.

Leinster and Harlequins lead the way after the opening round with three players apiece making our side, while the Bulls and Bath are next best with two representatives each.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at who made the cut in our selection.

Champions Cup Team of the Week

15 Hugo Keenan (Leinster): A shelter of safety in the howling gale and wind of the Atlantic coast, the Ireland full-back was both fearless and peerless at the back for his side against La Rochelle, despite his opposite number, Brice Dulin, also excelling. In Toulouse, Blair Kinghorn grabbed a brace in his team’s romp against Cardiff.

14 Joe Cokanasiga (Bath): A muscular performance from the discarded England winger saw him grab a brace as Bath impressed against Ulster. That performance sees Cokanasiga take the shirt from two stars of the Rugby World Cup in Kurt Lee Arendse, who shone for the Bulls in Pretoria, and Bordeaux-Begles’ Damian Penaud, whose try-scoring seems to continue in whatever team he plays.

13 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints): Freeman’s move to outside centre has tongues wagging as he looks set to fill a problem position for his country. He grabbed a couple of tries in a brilliant display in the Glasgow rain. In Toulon, Henry Slade delivered an ice cold display as he notched a conversion in the dying seconds to record an unlikely win, whilst in Bristol Virimi Vakatawa shone in the Bears’ victory against Lyon.

12 Solomone Kata (Leicester Tigers): A literal toss of a coin between three players – the two-try brilliance of Kata at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, the impressive muscularity of David Kriel for the Bulls in Pretoria or the magnificence of Andre Esterhuizen in Quins’ memorable night at Paris La Defense Arena, but it’s tries we want to see and Kata topped that particular list.

11 Canan Moodie (Bulls): Moodie created havoc running freely, creating one and grabbing another for himself. Arthur Retiere was in lethal form for Toulouse whilst Bristol’s Rich Lane also caught the eye as he crossed for the Bears.

10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins): Smith answered his game management critics with an exquisite display of control as he tore Racing 92 to shreds in Paris on one of his finest club performances and he’s our player of the round. Elsewhere, Handre Pollard was absolutely brilliant for Tigers as he grabbed 20 points, Callum Sheedy also had a great outing for Bristol, and, in a vintage weekend for 10s, Fin Smith shone for Saints in Glasgow.

9 Nolan Le Garrec (Racing 92): A hat-trick hero in defeat, Le Garrec showed the depth of nine quality in France. In Glasgow, Alex Mitchell, Saints’ scrummie, has gone to new heights since his inclusion on the international scene and was in a typically spikey mood. It goes without saying that Antoine Dupont was magnificent as always for Toulouse, whilst Ben Spencer reminded all of his international credentials in an influential display for Bath.

8 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins): Another very close call but Dombrandt loves the hard ground of the La Defense Arena and his running angles caused havoc in the Racing 92 defence as he crossed for another crucial try. Leinster’s Caelan Doris was part of a brilliant back-row performance in the storms on the coast, whilst the Bulls seem to have a starlet in the shape of the brilliantly mobile Cameron Hanekom.

7 Jacques Vermeulen (Exeter Chiefs): A barnstorming display from the Chief against the best in the business, Charles Ollivon – who also had a huge match – saw his try kill Toulon’s hopes of a win stone dead. Leinster’s Will Connors was tireless in driving his team home (with Josh van der Flier adding impact as Connors’ replacement) and Toulouse’s massive Test flank Anthony Jelonch also put in a stellar performance as he appears to be approaching his best once more.

6 Ryan Baird (Leinster): Baird is the unsung hero in the star studded back-row resources of Leinster. How he failed to get the Player of the Match award in La Rochelle would need the skill of Hercule Poirot to solve as he put in a magnificent shift. Courtney Lawes grabbed a rare try for Saints in another superb outing, and Sam Dugdale shone for Sale, putting in the hit of the weekend in a bone crunching back-row display.

5 James Ryan (Leinster): The epitome of abrasion, the Leinster lock was in confrontational mood as he finally got the better of his arch nemesis Will Skelton in a brilliant head to head battle that defined the result. Jonny Hill shone for Sale Sharks as he crossed the whitewash in an impressive showing, whilst Dino Lamb continued his form moving back to lock for Quins.

4 Janko Swanepoel (Bulls): Jake White has chosen to use youngsters up front and the development of Swanepoel continues as he crossed against Saracens. Cool, calm and collected, Dafydd Jenkins, the Chiefs captain, is moving his game to new levels and was hugely influential in seeing Exeter home in Toulon, whilst Richie Arnold also shone for Toulouse, as did Cameron Woki for Racing 92.

3 Thomas du Toit (Bath): Another massive display from the versatile prop saw him creating havoc in both the tight and the loose in a thundering performance at the Rec. Uini Atonio was an important cog for La Rochelle and it was no coincidence that as he faded, so did his team’s chances, whilst his opposite number, Michael Alaalatoa was brilliant around the park, carrying in the gloom of western France.

2 Harry Thacker (Bristol Bears): The mobile hooker has been in stellar form for his club and it appears that he cannot stop scoring, although the England selectors seem to consistently overlook that. Tom Dunn might also say the same thing as his form continued with another try against Ulster, whilst Dan Sheehan’s pinpoint line-out was a big difference for Leinster over in La Rochelle.

1 Joe Marler (Harlequins): This one caused some debate at Planet Rugby Towers but for once it was the England prop’s work around the pitch in tackle and carry that got him the place – with a turnover that crucially prevented a Racing 92 comeback. Beno Obano was our other choice, with a shout out too for his huge improvement in scrummaging.

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