Investec Champions Cup Team of the Week: Ben Spencer prevails in ‘hardest call’ to start alongside ‘little genius’ as lone South African named
Ben Spencer impressed for Bath.
After one of the best weekends in a long time for English clubs in Europe, and another successful round for the giants of the Top 14, it’s time for our Investec Champions Cup Team of the Week.
The backs
15 Harry Paterson (Edinburgh): In a game played in monsoon conditions, Paterson’s surety at the back and his safe running with ball in hand was a serious influence on the Edinburgh win. Jimmy O’Brien grabbed a try in Leinster’s romp, whilst England will be delighted that George Furbank is fit and firing for Saints and Elliot Daly impressed for Saracens.
14 Ange Capuozzo (Toulouse): The six-time champions futtered and stuttered in an unconvincing display by their stellar standards but the Azzurri flyer grabbed a wonderful hat-trick in an impressive personal outing. Damian Penaud, last season’s top try scorer, opened his account for UBB in style, whilst Sarries’ Noah Caluori showed us all what the excitement is about as he starred in their win against Clermont, whilst Canan Moodie shone for the Bulls, despite the loss to Bordeaux-Begles.
13 Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors): A try-scoring outing for the big Glasgow centre was crucial as Weegies pulled off the result of the round. His selection sees off the challenges of Garry Ringrose and Harlequins’ Luke Northmore, superb in defeat, and Saints’ Rory Hutchinson, who gave his team defensive glue against the challenge of Pau.
12 Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints): Dingwall just squeezes in ahead of the excellence of Toulouse’s Kalvin Gourgues and Edinburgh’s James Lang, both pivotal in their team’s wins, but Dingers scored a vital try and defended brilliantly all afternoon on the road in Pau. A word for UJ Seuteni, critical in the La Rochelle win against Tigers.
11 Jordan Larmour (Leinster): A brilliant display which ended in injury for the Leinster flyer – so good that he squeezes out a resident in our weekly teams – in Louis Bielle-Biarrey. A word for Saints’ George Hendy, grabbing a last-gasp winner in Pau, and Bristol’s Louis Rees-Zammit, who grabbed a crucial try for the Bears on the road at Scarlets.
Top five fantasy scorers: Ange Capuozzo tops the bill while veteran South African ‘shocks’ fans
10 Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Begles): Arrogance, strut and scores in abundance. Surely France need to harness the talents of the little genius once and for all? Fin Smith was outstanding for Saints, as was Finn Russell for Bath as they blew Munster off the Rec itself.
9 Ben Spencer (Bath): The hardest call of the weekend, with Ben Vellacott, Tomos Williams, Antoine Dupont, Maxime Lucu, Ben White and Alex Mitchell all having great outings. But Spencer destroyed Munster at the Rec and is our Investec Champions Cup Player of the Round.
The forwards
8 Viliame Mata (Bristol Bears): Another really tough call at eight, but a brace of tries sees the big man grab the shirt, despite a mammoth outing for Bath’s Miles Reid, a thunderous performance for replacement Jeandre Rudolph for the Bulls, and a classic wet weather display by Magnus Bradbury for Edinburgh, mirrored by the great Greg Alldritt for La Rochelle in the Atlantic Coast rain. Finally, a word for the Sharks’ Nick Hatton – despite the scoreline he led by example and grabbed a try himself.
7 Oscar Jegou (La Rochelle): Jegou and Levani Botia play left and right flank for La Rochelle, so we’ve no issue in squeezing him in on the openside – as the youngster grabbed two tries in a quality personal performance. Saints’ Tom Pearson needs a shout-out for an excellent outing, whilst Sam Underhill‘s bench performance for Bath was pivotal. Dylan Richardson was also excellent for Edinburgh, as was Rory Darge for Glasgow.
6 Liam McConnell (Edinburgh): A Scottish flanker playing wet weather floor rugby is a specialism all of its own and the 21-year-old shone in the gloom of the Hive. Bath’s Josh Bayliss put in a massive shift at the Rec, whilst Jack Conan moved across the back-row to grab a try for Leinster. Paul de Villiers was immense in his try-scoring effort for the Stormers.
5 Charlie Ewels (Bath): A towering personal performance in the Rec monsoon – Ewels is getting right back to his very best form. Joe McCarthy looked sharp for Leinster, whilst Sarries’ Hugh Tizard had a very impressive day at the office. A word for Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist – he said the moment he pulled back the curtains he knew it was his kind of day!
4 Freddie Thomas (Gloucester): The youngster got on the scoreboard in a good day for the Cherry and Whites. Thibaud Flament shone at the Wallon – much needed as the other Toulouse forwards didn’t turn up – as he dominated carries and lineouts. David Ribbans was outstanding for 60 minutes for Toulon before a moment of madness let his team down, whilst Quinn Roux had an influential outing for Bath.
3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh): Saw off two French Test props in Jean-Baptiste Gros and Dany Priso as he underlined his promise. Thomas du Toit looks set for a big workload after the injury to Will Stuart, whilst Trevor Davison put in a big shift for Saints in Pau.
2 Julien Marchand (Toulouse): It was a toss-up between Marchand and Ewan Ashman, who brilliant for Edinburgh. But Marchand was simply superb for Toulouse. Dan Sheehan demonstrated his worth for Leinster, whilst Maxime Lamothe had another big game for La Rochelle and James Hadfield caught the eye for Saracens.
1 Ntuthuko Mchunu (Stormers): It was a straight shoot-out between Mchunu or either of the Edinburgh props, Pierre Schoeman or Boan Venter. Eroni Mawi had a solid showing off the bench for Saracens, whilst Bath’s Beno Obano smashed James Ryan as if he was a novice.
