For the first time this season the best of the Premiership, TOP 14 and URC clashed, as Round 1 of the Champions Cup kicked off. Find out who made Opta’s Team of the Week.
Europe’s premier club rugby competition kicked off at the weekend, with the best teams from the Premiership, TOP 14 and URC facing off in the opening round of the Champions Cup.
It was a good weekend for the French clubs, who were victorious in six of their eight matches – winning three apiece against teams from England and the URC.
Meanwhile, the URC sides won half of their eight matches, while the Premiership teams enjoyed just two victories, with the top two teams in the league both suffering home defeats, albeit to European heavyweights.
Eleven different teams are represented in our data-powered Team of the Week, with the TOP 14’s dominance being reflected in the XV. Over half of the selection play for French clubs, including this week’s star player.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
Antoine Dupont was this week’s star player and he was at the heart of everything for a rampant Toulouse who dismantled Ulster with ease. Dupont assisted four tries against the Irish province and scored one himself for good measure.
The Toulouse scrum-half was heavily involved in open play, making 21 carries – more than any other player in the Champions Cup at the weekend – despite playing just 60 minutes.
In fact, since the competition rebranded ahead of the 2014-15 season, it was just the fourth time a scrum-half has made 20+ carries in a match, with the France skipper responsible for all four instances.
He also made three offloads – no player made more at the weekend – while only his international teammate Matthieu Jalibert (4) made more line break assists than Dupont (3). The current European Player of the Year also beat four defenders and gained 65 metres for good measure, a round-high for any scrum-half.
Spare a thought for Glasgow’s George Horne, though. His hat-trick saw him rank as the third best player of the weekend according to the Opta Index, but he just missed out on the team due to Dupont’s heroics.
The Best of the Rest
ASM Clermont Auvergne’s Killian Tixeront had a match full of big impacts against Benetton on Saturday.
The flanker made four dominant tackles – no player made more at the weekend – completing 18/18 tackles in total. Only two players made more tackles while maintaining a 100% success rate (Henry Pollock, Dylan Richardson).
He caused Benetton all sorts of problems at the lineout too, stealing three throws in total. It was the joint-most by any player at the weekend, alongside Castres’ Guillaume Ducat, who also secured a spot in our team of the week.
There was a lot of talk over who would wear the number 10 jersey for Leinster going into the weekend, with Sam Prendergast given the nod after impressing during the Autumn Nations Series.
The young fly-half seized the opportunity by scoring two tries and beating five defenders, with both tallies being the most of any fly-half at the weekend.
He was also pinpoint from the kicking tee, slotting five attempts at goal and registering a 100% success rate in the process.
Leicester’s Harry Wells put in an impressive shift away to Union Bordeaux-Begles. The second row crossed for a try and assisted another. He was one of just two forwards to manage that, alongside Pete Samu who did it in the same game for UBB.
However, it was Wells’ off-the-ball work which was really impressive. He hit 40 rucks – including 34 attacking rucks – more than any other player in Round 1 of the Champions Cup. Glasgow’s Gregor Hiddleston – who took the hooker spot in our XV – hit the second most (35).
Alex Nankivell put in a solid shift for Munster against Stade Français Paris, particularly in defence. He made 12 tackles without missing any, which was the most of any back to record a 100% tackle success rate.
He also made two line break assists, more than any other centre at the weekend, with only three players making more than him overall in the opening round of the Champions Cup.
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