Now that the dust has settled on Round Two of the Champions Cup, we’ve gone through the action to pick the best players from the games.
Racing 92 have the most representatives with four players included while Glasgow Warriors, following their victory over Cardiff Blues, have three individuals in the XV.
So without further ado, here’s our selection.
Champions Cup: Team of Round Two
15 Simon Zebo (Racing 92): Although Zebo may have been reprimanded by referee Nigel Owens for his taunting gesture towards opposition full-back Michael Lowry as he ran in for his try, overall it could not tarnish what was an impressive display from the 28-year-old. Apart from that well-taken try, Zebo was busy with ball in hand throughout, making 83 metres while beating four defenders from 12 carries.
14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh): Although he did not get himself on the scoresheet, Graham was a constant menace to the Toulon defence. He made three memorable and scintillating breaks that led to tries. Overall, he made 72 metres from 11 carries. Beats out a long list of contenders, including Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath) and Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse).
13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers): England fans will be delighted their star centre is getting back to his best after a polished display in the 45-27 victory over the Scarlets. Tuilagi scored a superb individual try to give his side a lead that they would hold on to for the rest of the match, while he made plenty of strong carries, beating eight defenders in total as well as putting in some big hits on defence. Could he finally be over his long-standing injury woes? Elsewhere, Sofiane Guitoune (Toulouse), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) and Olivier Klemenczak (Racing 92) also impressed.
12 Johnny Williams (Newcastle Falcons): Still only 22, Williams is already proving himself to be a handful. Was busy on attack and defence with 11 hits and carries apiece. Nullified the threat of Jan Serfontein superbly as he didn’t miss a tackle in a complete display from the midfielder. Meanwhile, Saracens skipper Brad Barritt (Saracens) just misses out after a talismanic performance in which he scored a try and was typically brave throughout.
11 Maxime Medard (Toulouse): Ran excellent support lines throughout from which he profited with a brace. For the first, he had to show all of his agility in tight spaces, while for the second he showcased his stamina and speed, having to run coast-to-coast in support to latch onto the final pass of a mesmerizing counter-attack. Just comes in ahead of DTH van der Merwe (Glasgow Warriors), who scored a try and made another while beating five defenders and making four clean breaks for 97 metres.
10 Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors): With Finn Russell having departed for Racing 92, Glasgow fans would have been worried about the fly-half position. But Hastings has stepped up with great aplomb and allayed those fears for now after another composed performance at the weekend. Got his side off to the best possible start, running a great angle to dot down after just two minutes, and also kicked well from the tee.
9 Teddy Iribaren (Racing 92): Made a big difference to the tempo and intensity with which the Parisians played when he came onto the field as an early replacement. Showed all of his big-match temperament and experience from the base of the ruck with cool, calm decision-making as usual. Also contributed with a well-taken try from a sniping break down the blindside. Further afield, Joe Simpson was impressive for Wasps and deserves a mention.
8 Selevasio Tolofua (Toulouse): Tolofua is a name well known to those around Europe, with brother Christopher currently plying his trade at Saracens, but it was Selevasio who shone at the weekend. The number eight is obviously a powerful unit and showed that against Leinster, but his footwork and reading of the game also came to the fore on Sunday. The back-rower created Sofiane Guitoune’s try and ran for 49 metres – beating four defenders from those 13 carries – as he edged out Viliame Mata (Edinburgh).
7 Callum Gibbins (Glasgow Warriors): Helped his side dominate the breakdown battle against Cardiff as the Warriors kick-started their Champions Cup campaign. Gibbins carried well, running for 44 metres, but he also impressed in defence after making 15 tackles in a fine overall performance from the pack. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) and Thomas Young (Wasps) were perhaps unfortunate after their efforts at the weekend, but Gibbins deserves the position.
6 Maro Itoje (Saracens): Back to his best for the Londoners. Following a superb start to the Premiership season and an excellent display in Round One, Itoje was probably Sarries’ best player on Saturday, despite Brad Barritt receiving the official man of the match award. Mathieu Babillot excelled in Castres’ superb triumph over Exeter Chiefs, but Itoje displayed his physicality and athleticism for the English team’s first try, while his carrying game saw him run for 84 metres in total.
5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors): You can always rely on Gray to put in a mammoth defensive shift and once again he delivered on Sunday, making 25 tackles – which is also the number of metres he made with ball in hand. Gray was duly rewarded for his efforts with a try after taking an excellent support line following Adam Hastings’ deft grubber through. Elsewhere, Munster’s Tadhg Beirne once again stood out while George Kruis played well in Saracens’ victory over Lyon.
4 Steve Mafi (Castres): Another member of the forward pack from the French champions to shine in Round Two. Exeter will be annoyed that they were unable to benefit from the one man advantage, following Maama Vaipulu’s red card, but much of that was down to the hosts’ response to the sending off. Mafi was particularly exceptional, scoring one try, running for 70 metres and beating nine defenders as they defeated last season’s Premiership finalists.
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers): Despite being dropped from the England squad, the tighthead has actually been in good form for Leicester this season. Certainly, his work around the field isn’t at the level of some modern day props but it was hugely improved against the Scarlets, while his scrummaging was top notch. Cole did not tour South Africa with England but the break seems to have done him good and it would not be a surprise to see the Tigers player return for the Six Nations.
2 Camille Chat (Racing 92): The Racing player can do pretty much everything and has the potential to be one of the most destructive hookers in world rugby. His only Achilles heel has been at the lineout but it was pretty efficient on Saturday as the hosts dominated the final 60 minutes. Chat was once again excellent with ball in hand, running for 28 metres from 18 carries, and also did his job defensively, completing nine tackles. Elsewhere, Jack Walker (Bath) and Julien Marchand (Toulouse) impressed but the Racing man takes the position in the XV.
1 Guram Gogichashvili (Racing 92): Another outstanding Georgian scrummager to come through the ranks, the loosehead was outstanding against Ulster. Gogichashvili is only 20 but, after terrorising opposition front-rows at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship for the past two years, the youngster has taken that form into the Champions Cup. Marty Moore and co had no answer as the hosts controlled the battle in the set-piece, while the prop also displayed his ability in the loose in a performance which fended off the challenge of Castres’ Antoine Tichit and Munster’s James Cronin