Champions Cup Team of the Week: ‘Shades of Ronan O’Gara’ with Munster match-winner as Jack Willis ‘sends message’ to Andy Farrell
Josh van der Flier, Jack Willis and Jack Crowley in action for Leinster, Toulouse and Munster respectively.
After the round-of-16 action which saw Top 14 and URC sides dominate with good wins for Toulon, Leinster, Munster and Glasgow Warriors, here’s our Investec Champions Cup Team of the Week.
It was a good weekend for the French and Irish sides, and that is reflected in the selection following the eight matches, but Glasgow also impressed and they are represented with two nominations.
Champions Cup Team of the Week
15 Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors): Might not have got on the scoresheet himself but Rowe did a lot of fine work in the build up. The Scotland international made metres at will and regularly ate up ground by finding holes in the leaky Leicester Tigers defence. Rowe takes the position from Leinster’s Hugo Keenan, Toulon’s Melvyn Jaminet and Castres’ Theo Chabouni.
14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints): A position in which there were plenty of standout performers. Ange Capuozzo was Toulouse’s biggest threat and Ignacio Mendy was utterly remarkable for Benetton, while Munster’s Calvin Nash and Ulster’s Zac Ward also put in fine showings, but Northampton’s hat-trick hero showed his class as the Saints became the only English side to reach the quarter-finals.
13 Leicester Fainga’anuku (Toulon): The French outfit’s stunning comeback was based on sheer power and the versatile All Blacks back led the way in that regard. It is perhaps tough on Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors) and Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Begles), who were both excellent for their respective teams, but Fainga’anuku was physical and abrasive, and also showed his dexterity with his ability to move the ball.
12 Robbie Henshaw (Leinster): Once again, Stuart McCloskey was one of Ulster’s primary weapons but we’ve gone for another Irishman in the form of Henshaw. To be honest, any of the Leinster team could have made it but Henshaw was exceptional on both sides of the ball in the dominant 62-0 victory over Harlequins.
11 Remy Baget (Castres): Another position that was hotly contested in a high-scoring round-of-16 stage. Paolo Odogwu and James Lowe were constant threats for Benetton and Leinster respectively, while Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) and Jacob Stockdale (Ulster) also shone, but Baget had an influence on both sides of the ball in Castres’ dramatic win, touching down twice and winning a couple of key turnovers.
Shades of O’Gara
10 Jack Crowley (Munster): As Ronan O’Gara admitted, there was a certain irony in Crowley kicking the drop-goal which effectively eliminated his La Rochelle side. It wasn’t just that piece of skill that got him the nod, however, as Crowley was excellent in all facets, seeing off the threat of Benetton’s Tomas Albornoz and two other Irishmen, Leinster’s Sam Prendergast and Joey Carbery of Bordeaux-Begles.
9 Baptiste Serin (Toulon): Only came on in the second period but his magical cameo was enough to claim the position from Munster’s Craig Casey, Glasgow Warriors’ George Horne and Leinster’s Jamison Gibson-Park. Serin is probably the unluckiest player in the sport as his form and performances at club level certainly merit more international caps.
8 Facundo Isa (Toulon): Another Toulon player as the number eight overcame a disastrous start to put in one of the performances of the round. Isa was quite frankly terrible early on as Saracens raced into a seemingly dominant position, but the Argentina star helped spark a magnificent comeback. He scored a hat-trick, made plenty of ground with every carry and caused numerous problems for the English outfit. Henco Venter and Caelan Doris were next best for Glasgow and Leinster respectively.
7 Josh van der Flier (Leinster): Very much the toughest call here. Ben Curry enjoyed a superb battle with Jack Willis in Toulouse, John Hodnett was incredible at the breakdown for Munster, England’s rising star Henry Pollock continued his upward trajectory while everyone needs to go and watch how good Manuel Zuliani was for Benetton. But in the end it simply had to be Van der Flier, who was monstrous for Leinster at Croke Park. Particularly in the carry, the former World Rugby Player of the Year was swatting away Harlequins defenders with regularity.
Lions message
6 Jack Willis (Toulouse): The flankers are pretty much interchangeable in the French system so we have moved Willis over to blindside. It is perhaps harsh on Mathieu Babillot, who was outstanding for Castres, especially when they went down to 14 men, but the Englishman continues to excel for Toulouse. He made the second most metres in the game, only behind Capuozzo, and had key interventions at the breakdown. He is certainly sending a message to Andy Farrell, who has a difficult decision to make given that he is France-based.
5 Tadhg Beirne (Munster): Produced a mammoth shift to help the Irish province get over the line against the French behemoths of La Rochelle. Beirne was excellent throughout but he particularly stood up as the game moved towards its denouement with some crucial turnovers which relieved the pressure on the visitors. RG Snyman and David Ribbans were both superb for Leinster and Toulon respectively, but Beirne takes the spot.
4 Cyril Cazeaux (Bordeaux-Begles): The experienced France international just sees off Toulon’s Brian Alainu’uese, who was another member of their bench to bring a real impact to proceedings. Cazeaux was the glue in the Bordeaux pack as they moved into the quarter-finals with a fine victory over Ulster.
3 Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors): After a difficult start to the Six Nations, which could have harmed his Lions chances, the tighthead has been nothing short of sensational since. During his time on the field against Leicester, Fagerson was abrasive in the carry and dominant in the scrum, sending Nicky Smith into reverse, which has been a rarity this season.
2 Theo Dan (Saracens): Not often a player gets in after his team loses by 30 points but the Saracens hooker was mind-blowingly good for the first 40 minutes. Unsurprisingly, as Saracens struggled to gain territory in the second period, his influence waned, but for a half Dan was easily the best player on the field as he saw off the threat of Dan Sheehan (Leinster) and Maxime Lamothe (Bordeaux-Begles).
1 Dany Priso (Toulon): A tough call as Thomas Gallo was typically great for Benetton but Priso joined the likes of Alainu’uese and Serin in changing the game for Toulon in the second period. The scrum had been an issue but, once he and Beka Gigashvili came on, it altered the momentum in the set-piece. Priso also offered himself as a carrier on multiple occasions and got his side over the gain line as a result.
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