Champions Cup Team of the Week: Rob du Preez at fly-half as 10 clubs feature in our Round One line-up

Adam Kyriacou
Team of Champions Cup Round One

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

There were some outstanding showings over the historic weekend as La Rochelle, Leinster and Sale Sharks were among the big winners on European soil.

So without further ado and after plenty of debate among our team of writers, here’s our line-up as 10 sides are represented in our selection. Comment below.

Champions Cup Team of Round One

15 Brice Dulin (La Rochelle): Dulin was busy throughout as he played his part in La Rochelle’s steamrolling of Northampton Saints on Saturday. He opened his team’s try-scoring account – somewhat fortuitously – and finished with 85 running metres, as he sees off Leicester Tigers’ Anthony Watson, who scored a superb solo try, Elliot Daly of Saracens and Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos.

14 Alivereti Raka (Clermont): A positional shift here as several left wings caught our eye over the weekend. While Sibongile Novuka of the Bulls and the Sharks’ Werner Kok earn a mention, Raka was just too good to leave out, as we move him to 11. His immense power caused the Stormers plenty of problems, and his score just after the hour mark was key in their come-from-behind win.

13 Garry Ringrose (Leinster): A player who oozes class every time he features in a Leinster or Ireland jersey, Ringrose was at it again on Saturday as an excellent Leinster thumped Racing 92. 57 metres with the ball in hand plus a try sees him get the nod ahead of Montpellier’s two-try Thomas Darmon and La Rochelle’s Ulupano Seuteni, as his combination with Charlie Ngatai impressed us.

12 Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins): While he ended up on the losing side, Esterhuizen can hold his head high after scoring a try brace against ex side, the Sharks. The Harlequins centre finished like a wing for both his tries on the right touchline as he is preferred to Jonathan Danty (La Rochelle), Charlie Ngatai (Leinster), George Moala (Clermont) and the solid Pita Ahki (Toulouse).

11 Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks): James Lowe came close to taking this shirt after his typically all-action performance for Leinster, but Mapimpi’s two tries – he will thank Jaden Hendrikse for the second – sees him sneak the spot as he showed the Springbok selectors he’s still got the finishing touch. He’ll hope to build on this performance against Bordeaux-Begles in France this Friday night.

10 Rob du Preez (Sale Sharks): A few names stood out over the first weekend, but a closer inspection of Du Preez‘s performance for Sale Sharks meant there was only one winner here. Charlie Atkinson, Joey Carbery and Ross Byrne impressed for Leicester Tigers, Munster and Leinster, respectively, but Du Preez had a hand in everything on Saturday. It was like his own personal highlights reel.

9 Antoine Dupont (Toulouse): One of several star of the match winners included in our line-up, Dupont showed his quality in difficult conditions at Thomond Park, and his awareness to set up Lucas Tauzin for his try was crucial on the day. Mentions go to the Bulls’ Bernard van der Linde, who scored a couple of tries, and also Tawera Kerr-Barlow, who enjoyed a fine game for La Rochelle.

8 Gregory Alldritt (La Rochelle): Entering the pack and one of the more hotly contested shirts this Monday is won by France bulldozer Alldritt. He gave La Rochelle ample front-foot ball against Northampton Saints and was also rewarded with a try. Caelan Doris was solid for Leinster, while Montpellier’s Zach Mercer, Lyon’s Arno Botha and Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs) deserve mentions.

7 Josh van der Flier (Leinster): There were some incredible performances on the openside flank in Round One, and La Rochelle’s Yoan Tanga was certainly one of those, as his influence on the game was incredible. Anthony Jelonch (Toulouse), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Juan Martin Gonzalez (London Irish) and Deon Fourie (Stormers) were all solid, but the two-try Van der Flier is our seven.

6 Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs): Another star of the match winner, Ewers finished his side’s away victory over Castres with a game-high 14 carries and 11 tackles to boot in a typically workmanlike showing. Leicester Tigers blindside flanker George Martin also had a solid game in his team’s win at the Ospreys but, in truth, did not come close to taking this number six jersey off the Exeter veteran.

5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers): One Leicester Tigers player who did make the cut this week, however, is Chessum, as the England international impressed. He finished with 13 tackles in a game that failed to set the world alight. Bastien Chalureau of Montpellier, Leinster lock James Ryan and Clermont’s Sebastien Vahaamahina came close to taking his shirt, but we settled on Chessum.

4 Albert Tuisue (Gloucester): Off the bench just before the break, Tuisue was excellent for the Cherry and Whites in their victory over Bordeaux. “Just give me the ball, and I will run,” was what he told his team-mates, and he didn’t let them down, scoring a try and making eight carries in total with six tackles thrown in. The Sharks’ enforcer Eben Etzebeth was also impressive in Round One.

3 Carlu Sadie (Sharks): The South African behemoth put in a mighty 70-minute shift against Harlequins and had the upper hand over Joe Marler for most of the match. Only once the Sharks lost Ox Nche to a red card did Quins get any parity in the set-piece, while Sadie kept busy clearing out rucks and claimed a turnover. UBB’s Sipili Falatea and Montpellier’s Titi Lamositele earn mentions.

2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster): Is there a more mobile and skilful hooker in the world right now? Sheehan once again stood out in open play as he got over the whitewash in that superb win at Racing 92. While Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Akker van der Merwe (Sale Sharks) and especially Santiago Socino (Gloucester) impressed, we just felt Sheehan edged this battle as he made 10 carries in the game.

1 Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks): Our final star of the match winner from the opening round that we include is Rodd, who sent a message to the future England head coach that he’s ready to return to the international fold in a more prominent role. Gloucester’s Val Rapava-Ruskin is another England prop hopeful who performed well, but Rodd is our loosehead call to round out our Team of Round One.

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