We look at the top players from the second round of this season’s Champions Cup, in the latest Opta Rugby team of the week.
The Champions Cup pools are starting to take shape, with the first block of fixtures having now taken place. Reigning champions Toulouse, along with Bordeaux-Begles and Northampton Saints will be the happiest teams after the opening set of fixtures as the only sides on the maximum 10 points.
It has been a good tournament for the French clubs so far – a TOP 14 side sits top of three of the four pools, with only the aforementioned Saints breaking up that monopoly. There are multiple teams poised to snatch top spot in each pool though, ensuring plenty of drama when the Champions Cup returns again in January.
Looking at Round 2 specifically, it was a good weekend for the French and English teams – both winning five games apiece, with only Leinster and Benetton restoring some pride for the URC.
However, the Opta Index looks at individual performances only, so let’s take a look at which players stood out in Round 2 of the 2024-25 Champions Cup.
Eight teams were represented in the XV, with Bordeaux and Harlequins both rewarded with three players each after big victories.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
Alex Dombrandt was the player of the week for Round 2 of the Champions Cup, and it’s easy to see why. The number eight was involved in so much of Harlequins’ attacking play and finished the match with three tries and two try assists.
His tally of five try involvements matches the exploits of Antoine Dupont a week earlier (one try, four assists), but this was all the more impressive given how rare it is for a forward to rack up such numbers.
Since Opta have analysed the Champions Cup, this was the first instance of a forward being directly involved in five tries in a single match. In fact, it’s almost eight years since a forward managed even four try involvements in a game in the competition (Jack Conan – three tries, one assist versus Montpellier in Jan 2017).
His all-round play was excellent too, with Dombrandt ranking in the top five forwards for carries (15), defenders beaten (5), line breaks (2) and offloads (2). He didn’t shirk his off-the-ball duties either. Dombrandt made nine tackles with a 100% success rate, hit 26 rucks – with seven of those coming in defence – and won one turnover.
His performance was tough on the Bulls’ Cameron Hanekom, who was the second best player in the Champions Cup at the weekend according to the Opta Index. Unfortunately only one number eight can make the team and few would argue with Dombrandt’s star player tag.
The Best of the Rest
Sometimes it can raise a few eyebrows when a winger makes the team of the week without scoring any tries and while Arthur Retiere failed to get over the whitewash himself, he more than deserves his place in our XV.
Defensively, he was magnificent against Ulster. He made eight tackles without missing a single one and also hit nine defensive rucks – the most of any back at the weekend.
His work at those defensive rucks was crucial, winning five turnovers in total – two more than any other player at the weekend.
The impact of those turnovers was huge for Bordeaux-Begles, with the first three all coming via jackals inside his own 22 with UBB either level or trailing on the scoreboard. The French winger helped weather the storm in the first half before his team clicked into life in the second and ran out comfortable winners.
Retiere could have put his name on the scoresheet too no doubt, selflessly assisting Damian Penaud when he probably could have gone for the line himself.
Benetton enjoyed an excellent home win against Premiership table-toppers Bath and Rhyno Smith was at the heart of everything good for the Italian side. He was directly involved in three of Benetton’s four tries, scoring twice and assisting another.
His tally of four line breaks was also the most of any player at the weekend, which helped him gain 94 metres in total from just 10 carries. His average gain of 9.4 metres per carry was the best of any full-back who ran with the ball more than three times at the weekend.
After Dombrandt, only two other forwards both scored and assisted a try at the weekend, with both doing so in the same game. Nick Timoney did it for Ulster before Guido Petti managed it for Bordeaux-Begles later in the match.
No openside flanker made more carries (13) or beat more defenders (6) than Timoney at the weekend, with only two making more tackles than him (17, Lachlan Swinton – 23, Louw Nel – 18).
Petti was equally hard-working – his combined tally of 46 carries, tackles and rucks was bettered by just one second row (Iain Henderson – 48), while he claimed six lineouts against Ulster.
It’s not often that a player scores three tries and is still overshadowed by a teammate, but after Dombrandt’s star performance against the Stormers, Cadan Murley finds himself in that position this week.
On top of his hat-trick, the 25-year-old also made three line breaks, a tally bettered only by Smith, while his 89 metres gained came from just seven carries.
Of the 244 players to make five or more carries at the weekend, only Bristol’s Jack Bates (14.6) could boast a better average gain than the Quins winger (12.7).
Finally, a word on Killian Tixeront who is the only player to have made the team of the week in both rounds of this season’s Champions Cup. Once again the Clermont flanker was a menace at the lineout – with no one stealing more opposition throws (2).
It takes his tally to five steals for the competition overall in 2024-25 – two more than the next best player (Guillaume Ducat – 3). He also made 17 tackles and while he was able to run with the ball on just three occasions, he made big gains – carrying the ball for 57 metres, with his average of 19 metres per carry the most of any player.
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