We look at the top players from the third round of this season’s Champions Cup, in the latest Opta Rugby team of the week.
Once again, it was a positive weekend for French clubs, who emerged victorious in five of their eight matches and account for three of the seven teams already qualified for the next round.
On the other hand, it was a weekend that some of the English sides will want to banish from memory, with Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs in particular both suffering heavy losses.
It’s the individual performances we’re interested in here though, with 11 different sides represented in our Opta team of the week and Union Bordeaux-Begles seeing three of their players named, a contingent that includes player of the week Damian Penaud.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
Damian Penaud was the Opta star player for Round 3, directly contributing to five of Bordeaux’s 11 tries during their demolition of Exeter Chiefs, scoring a hat-trick himself and assisting another two for teammates.
Only Alex Dombrandt (three tries, two assists vs Stormers in R2) and Antoine Dupont (one try, four assists vs Ulster in R1) have had a hand in as many tries in a single Champions Cup game this season, while only Freddie Steward (304 vs Bordeaux in R1) has gained more metres in a Champions Cup game this term than Penaud did on Saturday (172).
Penaud also registered four line breaks, the most of anyone at the weekend, taking his total to eight for the season, at least two more than any other player.
The Best of the Rest
Penaud wasn’t the only player to claim a hat-trick over the weekend, with Castres’ Remy Baget also helping himself to a treble against the Bulls. He is the first Castres player to manage this in a Champions Cup game since David Smith in October 2017 against Leicester Tigers, who had a hat-trick hero themselves in the form of Josh Bassett who can count himself incredibly unfortunate to miss out on selection this week due to otherworldly performance of Penaud.
Elsewhere in France, Stade Rochelais’ Antoine Hastoy gained 147 metres from just seven carries against Leinster as his side came agonisingly short in what was a replay of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 finals. Since Opta have recorded this data (2009-10), only Curwin Bosch has gained more metres among fly-halves in a single game in the competition (218 vs Toulouse in April 2023).
On English shores, Izaia Perese was instrumental in ensuring that Leicester Tigers recovered from a slow start to record a vital victory against Ulster. Proving too much to handle in the middle of the park, he recorded 109 metres gained and a gargantuan 12 His total tally for the season now stands at 17, the highest of any player.
Still only 19 years old, Henry Pollock continued to prove that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough as was unlucky to end up on the losing side during the thriller between Stade Français and Northampton Saints. Two tries, 18 tackles, and three turnovers won will have the soon-to-be 20 year-old back-row dreaming of a potential Six Nations debut next month. Only 2024 World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Caelan Doris (9) has won more turnovers overall than Pollock this season (8).
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