After four rounds, this season’s Champions Cup pool standings are set in stone, with some mouth-watering clashes to look forward to when the competition resumes in April. We analyse the weekend’s action with our Rugby team of the week.
It was another dominant weekend for French clubs, with Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse both cruising to emphatic 50-plus-point victories. Parisian duo Stade Français and Racing 92 will be the only two French clubs missing from the last 16, with Racing 92 eliminated despite securing two wins in the pool stages.
It’s been a disappointing campaign for the South African contingent. For the first time since their EPCR switch, the Champions Cup knockout stages will be an all-European affair.
Nine clubs are represented in this week’s data-driven team of the week, with Ulster and Bordeaux leading the way with three players each making the selection.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
No, you haven’t accidentally clicked on last week’s article, Damian Penaud really is just that good. A six-try haul against the Sharks is the highest tally a player has ever recorded in the Champions Cup. That feat took his seasonal tally to 10 tries, breaking Matthew Robinson’s record of nine from the 2000-01 campaign for the most scored in a pool stage.
Few would bet against the UBB star overtaking Chris Ashton’s 11-try haul in 2013-14 to set a new outright competition record.
Double hat-trick aside, Penaud’s seven line breaks were the most in the Champions Cup since Julien Malzieu recorded 10 for Clermont against Aironi in January 2012. Meanwhile, his 179 metres gained was the second-highest individual total in this season’s competition, trailing only Freddie Steward’s 304 metres against Bordeaux in the opening round.
The Best of the Rest
Penaud wasn’t the weekend’s only hat-trick hero. Tom Seabrook (who was unlucky to miss out on selection here) and Cormac Izuchukwu also notched up trebles. Izuchukwu’s hat-trick against Exeter was just the second by a lock in the Champions Cup since Opta have recorded this data, alongside Jonny Gray for Exeter in December 2021 (vs Montpellier HR).
Speaking of Exeter, Ross Vintcent was imperious despite the Chiefs falling to a fourth pool-stage defeat. His 29 completed tackles were the most by any player in a Champions Cup match (excluding extra-time) since James Chisholm managed the same number for Harlequins against Stade Rochelais in January 2018.
Unsurprisingly, Antoine Dupont makes the Team of the Week yet again. The Toulouse maestro gained over 100 metres in consecutive Champions Cup matches for the first time in his career and added a brace of tries in their dismantling of Leicester Tigers.
Since the start of 2020, Dupont has scored 19 tries and assisted 33 more in the Champions Cup – averaging a try or assist every 48 minutes. Among the 216 players with at least 800 minutes played in this period, only one matches his output: Damian Penaud (involvement every 48.1 minutes).
Safe to say, Six Nations defences will have many a sleepless night at the prospect of trying to stop arguably the two most in-from players in world rugby right now.
Check out our other Rugby Union content on Opta Analyst. You can also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
