Champions Cup Team of the Week: Tadhg Beirne our star man while two props at different stages of their careers make the cut

James While
Champions Cup Team of the Week

Now that the dust has settled on the second round of the Champions Cup, we’ve had a long conversation and picked our Team of the Week.

Once again, there were some excellent performances over the weekend as Leinster, Ospreys, Munster and Leicester Tigers were among the winners.

So without further ado, Planet Rugby features writer James While brings you our side after Round Two. Give us your XV in the comments section.

Champions Cup Team of Round One

15 Elliot Daly (Saracens): The versatile playmaker is in prime form and in line for an England recall. He sees off the challenges of Munster’s Mike Haley and the skilful La Rochelle full-back, Brice Dulin.

14 Werner Kok (Sharks): Despite 10 minutes in the sin-bin, the hirsute wing was the difference in a memorable away win versus Bordeaux-Begles. Lucas Tauzin was also impressive in an outstanding victory for Toulouse.

13 Garry Ringrose (Leinster): The Leinster captain was at the centre of many good things for his team as his game improves week on week. Henry Slade was in imperious running form for Exeter Chiefs, snaring a score in their hammering of the Bulls.

12 Dan Kelly (Leicester Tigers): Kelly’s return to fitness couldn’t have come at a better time for him or new England head coach, Steve Borthwick. Andre Esterhuizen put in a massive shift in the sleet at the Stoop and was influential in Harlequins’ win.

11 Sean Maitland (Saracens): We might have gone for Leinster’s superb James Lowe, but Maitland’s vital try and all-round aerial game was at the heart of Saracens’ gameplan.

10 Charlie Atkinson (Leicester Tigers): Another player benefitting from form at the right time, the Tigers pivot is impressing all at Welford Road, and he sees off a superb contender in Romain Ntamack, who was excellent for Toulouse.

9 Rhys Webb (Ospreys): Webb was in blistering form, running the match for Toby Booth’s side in the upset of the round at Montpellier. Antoine Dupont‘s pace and nose for the line couldn’t be illustrated better in his chase for his try against Sale.

8 Morgan Morris (Ospreys): It was monumentally hard to leave out Munsterman Gavin Coombes, Stormers’ Hacjivah Dayimani and Tigers’ Jasper Weise, but Morris was magnificent in Montpellier in a wet and cold weekend made for number eight play.

7 Peter O’Mahony (Munster): The old warhorse delivered a masterclass of niggle in Northampton as he was at his grinding and unrelenting best in Munster‘s close-out of Saints. He pestered Saints’ lineout and breakdown to see off Josh van der Flier and Justin Tipuric, who both starred for their teams, but O’Mahony’s contribution was huge.

6 Calean Doris (Leinster): Incredible footwork, great ball skills and pace to burn are all features of the rounded game of the Leinster back-row. Elsewhere, Dave Ewers of Exeter Chiefs again asked questions of why the national selectors ignore his massive blindside talents.

5 Rory Arnold (Toulouse): A massive shift from a massive man up against a superb Sale lineout, Arnold’s presence was vital for Toulouse. Ospreys’ Adam Beard was splendid at the coal-face against Montpellier and is our runner-up.

4 Tadhg Beirne (Munster): Absolutely massive. Four lineout wins, three turnovers, and any number of thundering challenges saw Beirne at his best and he’s our player of the week, selected over and above the impressive Tiger, Ollie Chessum.

3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers): Thomas du Toit made big dents all afternoon for the Sharks on the French coast, but given that this was Cole’s 300th appearance for the Tigers, we’ll give him the nod of sentiment in a close selection call.

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs): Some fantastic performances in the hooker shirt this weekend and shoutouts for Julian Montoya (Tigers), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster) and Jamie George (Saracens), but a hooker’s hat-trick is a rare thing, and LCD gets our call-up this week.

1 Fin Baxter (Harlequins): A fairytale performance from a 20-year-old on debut saw him shunt the Racing 92 pack back all day before giving BT Sport the most humble interview of the weekend. Bevan Rodd might have been on the end of a thrashing but was superb in the scrum battle and around the park against Toulouse.

READ MORE: Who’s hot and who’s not: Steve Borthwick takes over England reins while Gloucester are hammered

Champions Cup Tadhg Beirne

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