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Champions Cup team of the week: Leinster lead the way

Updated / Monday, 12 Dec 2022 14:37
Josh van der Flier scored twice as Leinster claimed a big win over Racing 92
Josh van der Flier scored twice as Leinster claimed a big win over Racing 92

Leinster and La Rochelle were the standout performers in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup while the newcomers from South Africa also made their mark.

Leinster made light of the travel disruption for their trip to Le Havre by claiming a resounding win over Racing 92.

The defending champions La Rochelle made short work of Northampton Saints.

Down in the southern hemisphere, the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls were both victorious as the South African teams impressed on their Champions Cup debuts.

There were a host of impressive individual displays in round one, in extremely differing weather conditions. Here is our pick from the opening weekend...

15. Brice Dulin (La Rochelle)

Thomas Ramos was excellent in Toulouse's win at Thomond Park but the full-back slots goes to fellow Frenchman Dulin, who scored the first of La Rochelle’s six tries in their demolition of Northampton.

Dulin profited from a defensive error to latch onto his own grubber for the try, while he also provided an assist for Ulupano Seuteni, made 98 metres with ball in hand and kicked a 50-22.

14. Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks)

A two-try performance from the Springboks wing as the Sharks edged a thriller with Harlequins to become the first South African side to register a Champions Cup win.

Josh Bassett also impressed with a brace for Quins but Mapimpi gets the nod for his all-round performance, which included three line breaks and almost 100 metres made.

13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster)

Ringrose is in the form of his life and crossed for his fifth try of the season as Leinster lay down a marker against Racing 92.

The skipper ran an excellent dummy line in the lead-up to his try before taking James Lowe’s offload to score, and came close to a second after the interval.

Ringrose made two line breaks and racked up 57 metres from seven carries, while he also popped up with a couple of turnovers.

12. Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins)

Esterhuizen scored two second-half tries against his former club as Harlequins mounted a late rally in Durban.

The centre made a team-leading nine carries for 58 metres, including two line breaks.

11. James Lowe (Leinster)

Lowe has hit the ground running since returning from injury and was hugely influential once again in Le Havre.

The wing was central to the sublime move that led to Ringrose’s try, Lowe thundering into the 22 before taking out four defenders with a brilliant basketball offload.

10. Jules Plisson (Clermont Auvergne)

The DHL Stormers discovered just how difficult it is to win at Stade Marcel-Michelin as Plisson guided Clermont to an impressive victory over the URC champions.

The former France out-half stretched the Stormers with an array of excellent passes and poked holes in their rush defence with some clever chips over the top, while he kicked three penalties, a conversion and drop-goal for a 14-point haul.

Special mention to Ross Byrne, Joey Carbery and Robert du Preez.

9. Bernard van der Linde (Vodacom Bulls)

The scrum-half crossed for two tries inside the opening 20 minutes of a breathless contest against Lyon.

Van der Linde sold the visiting defence a dummy for his second try and also created another, while he was the only Bulls back to hit double figures in the tackle charts.

Antoine Dupont's game management was also crucial in leading Toulouse to victory in Limerick.

1. Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)

The Sale pack schooled Ulster on Sunday and Rodd led the way with a player-of-the-match performance.

Rodd formed part of a dominant Sharks scrum while he also won three turnovers during a one-sided affair at the AJ Bell Stadium.

2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster)

The hooker bagged his seventh try of the season against Racing 92, taking Jamison Gibson-Park’s floated pass out wide and beating a defender to cross in the corner.

It was an action-packed 63 minutes for Sheehan, who made 41 metres from 10 carries, was 100% at lineout time, and also formed part of a strong Leinster scrum.

3. Sipili Falatea (Bordeaux-Bègles)

The France international scored a try and set up another as Bordeaux threatened an upset at Kingsholm.

Falatea was explosive with ball in hand and burst through the Gloucester defence for a try inside three minutes. Bordeaux led by seven points when he departed after 67 minutes, only to suffer a late collapse.

4. Thomas Lavault (La Rochelle)

Lavault made 12 tackles and was the preferred target at lineout time as Ronan O’Gara’s side began their title defence in impressive fashion.

He edges out James Ryan and Eben Etzebeth, who have continued their fine form for their clubs since returning from international duty.

5. Emmanuel Meafou (Toulouse)

Meafou excelled on both sides of the ball as Toulouse’s power and aggression in defence eventually wore down a dogged Munster.

The Australian made 15 tackles and eight carries in the Thomond Park fog and was a major player in the visitors' dominant maul.

6. Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)

Ryan Baird shone once again for Leinster but Ewers gets the blindside spot in our team after inspiring Exeter to a morale-boosting win at Castres.

It has been a tough start to the season for the Chiefs but they made light of a tricky trip to Stade Pierre-Fabre, where Ewers made 14 carries, 11 tackles and powered over the line for the second of his side’s four tries.

7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)

Another all-action performance from the World Rugby Player of the Year, who crossed for two second-half tries against Racing and led the way for tackles and carries.

Van der Flier powered over for his first from a tap penalty as Leinster took a leaf out of the Bulls’ playbook and it was his close-range carry that led to a try for Ed Byrne.

As Racing ran out of steam, Van der Flier charged through a gap in the final minute to put the seal on a dominant individual and team performance.

8. Caelan Doris (Leinster)

Zach Mercer and Tom Willis were both outstanding for Bordeaux and Montpellier respectively but Doris deserves his spot after a complete display in Le Havre.

Breakdown, maul, lineout, defence, ball-carrying - Doris was excellent in all facets, and it was his lovely pull-back pass that put Van der Flier over for the bonus-point try.

Watch Leinster v Gloucester in the Heineken Champions Cup live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Friday from 7.30pm.

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