Jack Willis named in Top 14 Team of the Season as Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles dominate
Jack Willis (left) and Matthieu Jalibert (right) feature in the official Top 14 Team of the Season
The official Top 14 Team of the Season has now been confirmed, with Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles dominating selection.
The European heavyweights, who have each won two Investec Champions Cup titles in the past six seasons, register a combined 10 of the 15 players in the squad coming from five picks apiece.
Elsewhere, 13 of the 15 selected players boast Test caps for France, with just two overseas players included.
The official Team of the Season was decided by a public vote across the off-season, and comes following yet another Toulouse title triumph after they beat Montpellier 28-20 in this year’s showpiece back in June. Ugo Mola’s side have now won four titles in a row.
Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles dominate Top 14 Team of the Season
Toulouse and soon-to-be Racing 92 full-back Thomas Ramos gets the nod at 15 in this team, with Bordeaux’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Pau’s Théo Attissogbe named as the two wingers.
Pau pairing Emilien Gailleton and Fabien Brau-Boirie also feature in the centres. Bordeaux and France duo Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu are the selected half-backs.
Marko Gazzotti slots in at number eight alongside Englishman Jack Willis and Lenni Nouchi, who is the sole Montpellier pick in the team. Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament form the lock pairing, while Ben Tameifuna, Julien Marchand and Jean-Baptiste Gros feature in the front-row.
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The selection of the Bordeaux contingent might raise a few eyebrows, however. Despite claiming a second successive Investec Champions Cup title in Bilbao, Yannick Bru’s side finished eighth in the Top 14 and missed out on the barrages entirely. Toulon also see themselves represented, despite finishing in ninth.
Elsewhere, there is no representation for Stade Francais, La Rochelle, Racing 92 or Clermont Auvergne, despite them all finishing in the top seven and reaching the barrages.
Top 14 Team of the Season in full
15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Théo Attissogbe, 13 Emilien Gailleton, 12 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Marko Gazzotti, 7 Lenni Nouchi, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros