Team of the Week: Champions Cup, Round One

David Skippers

Now that the dust has settled on the opening round of the Champions Cup, we have gone through the action to pick the best players from the games.

After their impressive victory over Montpellier, Leinster lead the way with four nominations, while Clermont Auvergne are next best with two following a stunning attacking display against Bristol Bears.

Champions Cup Team of the Week

15 Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont Auvergne): May have been bumped off by Henry Purdy for one of Bristol’s tries, but that was the Japanese star’s only error as he tore through the hosts’ defence in the 51-38 triumph over the English club. Matsushima showed his finishing prowess, scoring a hat-trick, and also assisted another score. He ended with 90 metres made and four clean breaks to take the place from Lyon’s Toby Arnold, Scarlets’ Leigh Halfpenny, Bristol’s Max Malins and Toulon’s Duncan Paia’aua.

14 Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse): Played with 11 on his back but once again took his place on the right opposite Jacob Stockdale, who he embarrassed in the 2019/20 quarter-final in September. Although the Irishman was much better this time around, Kolbe still shone by touching down for two brilliant individual tries in the win over Ulster. The second saw him produce a wicked step off his right foot, evading the flailing arms of the desperate Stockdale, as he helped Toulouse to claim a crucial win. It takes something special to oust Lyon’s hat-trick hero Xavier Mignot, as well as the brilliant Clermont wing Damian Penaud, but that’s what the South African has done.

13 Virimi Vakatawa (Racing 92): One of last season’s stars was once again the French outfit’s focal point in the outside backs as Racing edged past a spirited Connacht side on Sunday. Vakatawa’s brilliance was very much needed with the France international showing all his pace, power and skill to set up two of Racing’s tries. Elsewhere, there were impressive displays from Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Apisai Naqalevu (Clermont Auvergne) and Isaia Toeava (Toulon), but it wasn’t enough to displace Vakatawa.

12 George Moala (Clermont Auvergne): Whenever the former Blues man plays, he impresses and Bristol Bears didn’t quite know how to contain the gargantuan centre. Although Moala ‘only’ made 36 metres, his carries were generally done in traffic and, as a result, he managed to get Clermont over the gain line with regularity. The 30-year-old was also strong in defence and secured a crucial turnover at the breakdown. Meanwhile, another New Zealander, Lyon’s Charlie Ngatai, enjoyed his day at the office against Gloucester, scoring one try and setting up two more.

11 Steff Evans (Scarlets): Once one of the form wings in Europe, resulting in a Wales call-up in 2017, it has not been smooth sailing over the past couple of years for Evans. However, he reminded everyone of his quality on Saturday as the Scarlets stunned a fully-loaded Bath side at the Rec. He set up their first try, showing great footwork and awareness to send Gareth Davies over, while the 26-year-old was a threat throughout. Evans duly edges out Exeter’s livewire Tom O’Flaherty, Bath’s powerhouse Ruaridh McConnochie and Toulon’s rising star Gabin Villiere, who displayed his all-court game against Sale Sharks.

10 Louis Carbonel (Toulon): The France international produced yet another composed and classy display as the three-time champions opened their campaign with a comfortable 26-14 victory over Sale. Carbonel was typically accurate off the tee, kicking 16 points, and produced the assist for Villiere’s score by chipping the ball over the top, regathering and sending the wing across the whitewash. As a result, Leinster’s Ross Byrne just misses out.

9 Luke McGrath (Leinster): There were several contenders for this position, with Antoine Dupont unsurprisingly in excellent form for Toulouse, opposite number on Friday John Cooney giving a good account of himself for Ulster and Baptiste Couilloud displaying his quality for Lyon. There was also a fine performance from Wasps’ Dan Robson, but we’ve gone for McGrath, who controlled the match against Montpellier wonderfully. The Leinster man has his critics but he was superb on Saturday, marshalling his forwards, keeping a steady supply of quick ball and also threatening around the fringes of the hosts’ defence.

8 Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs): Mathieu Bastareaud (Lyon), Sergio Parisse (Toulon), Paul Boyle (Connacht), Alfie Barbeary (Wasps), Caelan Doris (Leinster), Gregory Alldritt (La Rochelle) and Zach Mercer (Bath) all impressed for their respective sides but it’s Simmonds who gets the nod for our team after another excellent performance in his side’s demolition of Glasgow Warriors. The 26-year-old is in a rich vein of form and was rewarded with a customary try after a fine display in which he impressed on defence and attack.

7 Dylan Cretin (Lyon): Another tough selection as Jannes Kirsten (Exeter Chiefs), Sam Underhill (Bath), Josh van der Flier (Leinster) and Scarlets duo Jac Morgan and Josh Macleod also caught the eye but we’ve opted for Cretin, who was superb in a one-sided win for Lyon against Gloucester. The France international hit the ground running at the Matmut Stadium de Gerland as he delivered an excellent attacking performance. Cretin eventually gained a team-high 86 metres on attack from eight carries which included three clean breaks, two offloads, a turnover as well as a try. Also did well on defence with five hits.

6 Rhys Ruddock (Leinster): The Irish province made a superb start to their campaign courtesy of a fine away victory against Montpellier and Ruddock deserves plenty of praise as he came to the fore with a solid all-round showing. He was a willing ball carrier but made his biggest impact on defence, especially at close quarters, and eventually completed 10 tackles. Elsewhere, Cameron Woki (Bordeaux Bègles), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs) and Gavin Coombes (Munster) also impressed.

5 Tadhg Beirne (Munster): The Ireland international was at the forefront of Munster’s forward effort as they kickstarted their campaign with a victory over Harlequins at Thomond Park. Beirne took the fight to his opponents and finished that game with 45 metres gained from nine runs with one clean break, two offloads and a turnover won. Also did his bit on defence with six tackles and beats out Joe Tekori (Toulouse), Felix Lambey (Lyon) Sam Lousi (Scarlets) and Brian Alainu’uese (Toulon).

4 Will Skelton (La Rochelle): Although David Ribbans (Northampton Saints),  Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs), Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) and Morgan Jones (Scarlets) all had good games for their respective sides, we could not ignore Skelton, who was one of the star performers for his team as they ground out a win over Edinburgh at Murrayfield. Skelton proved a handful with ball in hand, finishing with 39 metres gained from 10 carries which included an offload, but also shone on defence where he completed 10 hits.

3 Michael Bent (Leinster): The New Zealand-born Ireland international was a surprise inclusion in the starting XV for Leinster’s encounter at Montpellier but justified his selection with a fine performance during his 46 minutes on the playing field. The 34-year-old came to the fore with a strong scrummaging display which laid the platform for a memorable triumph for the Irish outfit.

2 Tom Cruse (Wasps): Wasps made an outstanding start to their Champions Cup campaign courtesy of a deserved victory over the Dragons at Rodney Parade and Cruse was one of the game’s standout performers. The 31-year-old made his mark with a superb attacking display as he gained 38 attacking metres from four carries, one clean break and he was rewarded with a try for his efforts. Ulster’s Rob Herring also had a good game in their home defeat to Toulouse.

1 Peter Dooley (Leinster): James Cronin (Munster), Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster), Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Rob Evans (Scarlets) and Tom West (Wasps) impressed for their respective sides but Dooley gets the nod after a solid performance at scrum time for Leinster against Montpellier. Dooley also shone with ball in hand, especially at close quarters, gaining 19 metres from 13 carries and made five hits on defence.