On the evening of the 17th October 2014, the new format of the European Rugby Champions Cup kicked-off in cold, autumnal London, as Harlequins took on Castres. Three months and ten days later, after 60 matches, 2492 points, 268 tries, and 61 yellow cards, George Clancy blew the full-time whistle in sunny Clermont, as the hosts dismantled Saracens, to end the pool stage. Twelve teams have departed the competition, leaving Racing Metro, Toulon, Clermont, Leinster, Bath, Northampton, Wasps and Saracens to contest the quarter-finals in April. Below is the team of the tournament thus far, containing some of the star individuals of the pool stages:
European Rugby Champions Cup Team of the Pool Stages
Full-Back- Nick Abendanon (Clermont Auvergne)
The move to France seems to have reinvigorated Abendanon, as it has almost every player who has crossed the channel. The ex-Bath full-back gained 571m in the six pool matches, more than any other player. He also crossed the whitewash twice, helping Clermont to wins on both occasions. He pips fellow Brit Leigh Halfpenny to the full-back position in this team due to his attacking threat throughout the tournament.
Right Wing- Juan Imhoff (Racing Metro)
Imhoff was relatively unknown before he set this season’s Champions Cup alight. He’s scored five tries in the five matches he’s played, showing his ability to break the first tackle and to accelerate away from the cover defence. The 26 year-old Argentine is one of many reasons why Racing Metro qualified as top seeds to the quarter-finals, and his talents will be showcased in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup, too. Imhoff was picked ahead of Bryan Habana, who’s still scoring tries for Toulon.
Outside Centre- Jonathan Joseph (Bath)
A lot has been written about England centre Joseph in the past week, and justifiably so: he flaunted his attacking prowess against Toulouse last week , as he scored a try and set up another in a famous victory for Bath. With the injury crisis at centre for England, his Champions Cup efforts are to be rewarded with at least one more England cap to add to his tally.
Despite his hat-trick against Leicester, Darren Cave was unable to sneak into the team ahead of Joseph.
Inside Centre- Ian Madigan (Leinster)
The Leinsterman is the top scorer in the tournament thus far, having racked up 80 points. Question marks still remain over his consistency. These are sure to be put to the test in the Six Nations, but it is clear that Madigan is a very talented individual. He showed superb kicking and running throughout the pool stage. Scotsman Alex Dunbar performed well for Glasgow at inside-centre, as well.
Left-Wing- George North (Northampton)
The cliché ‘first name on the teamsheet’ applies here to the selection of North. Seven tries in total (including four in one match!) meant that it was impossible to ignore the young Welshman. Saints will need him at his very best, however, to defeat Clermont in their quarter-final in April. Matt Banahan performed well in this position as well.
Fly-Half- Ian Keatley (Munster)
In the early rounds of the tournament, the 27-year-old Dubliner performed impressively, snatching victory over Sale with a drop goal. He amassed 63 points as he commandeered his team to victories over Sale (twice) and Saracens, but struggled behind an outmuscled Munster pack towards the end of the pool stages. Still worthy of a place in this team ahead of Camille Lopez of Clermont, but only fractionally.
Scrum-Half- Ben Youngs (Leicester)
Norwich-born Youngs has the highest amount of try-assists in the competition with five. He also captained Leicester to a remarkable conquest of champions Toulon. However he will get no more assists in the Cup, as his side crashed out of the tournament in a defeat to Ulster. Wasps’ scrum-half Joe Simpson deserves a mention also.
Loosehead Prop- Marcos Ayerza (Leicester)
Dismantling scrums is the Argentine’s forte, and he proved this throughout the group stage. Martin Castrogiovanni, Carl Hayman, Wiehan Herbst and Samson Lee all struggled to gain mere parity; such is the technical ability of Ayerza. He is arguably the best loosehead prop in the world right now. Paul James was also outstanding in the pool stages for Bath.
Hooker- Jamie George (Saracens)
Schalk Brits’ absence went unnoticed due to George’s work rate and quality. 77 tackles made, on top of his efforts in scrums and rucks, is truly phenomenal. It won’t be long until England come knocking. Pat McArthur’s form for Glasgow is worth noting, too.
Tighthead Prop- Luc Ducalcon (Racing Metro)
Unsurprisingly, this big pile of French muscle is the cornerstone of this team’s forward-pack. He has been the crème de la crème of props, setting the platform for two Racing victories over English champions, Northampton. With him packing down in the front-row, more victories will sure follow, starting with a home win over Saracens in the quarter-final. Also, Georgian Davit Zirakashvili ensured Clermont powered into the quarter-finals.
Lock- Bradley Davies (Wasps)
Welsh veteran Davies goes unrecognised by many Wasps fans, but he’s played all but 49 minutes of the six pool games. He was Wasps’ top tackler with 74, and formed the mainframe of the engine room which helped Wasps to qualify for the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, they travel to Toulon in the next round. Leinster’s Devin Toner was a rock-like lock, too.
Lock- George Robson (Harlequins)
Will George Robson ever get an England call-up? His consistency deserves at least one cap for England. Five lineout steals, the most by any player, demonstrated his aerial ability, while, needless to say, he had his head in almost every ruck and maul. Robson even out-performed World Cup winner Ali Williams of Toulon in the tournament.
Blindside Flanker- Calum Clark (Northampton)
His disciplinary issues look to be behind him, as he’s matured this season, particularly. He has been an absolute dog for Saints in Europe, having made 78 tackles. That’s 13 tackles every match. In addition, he scored a decisive try against the Ospreys in Round 5. He deserves to start for England at some point in the Six Nations. Peter O’Mahony was another candidate for the 6 spot, performing well for Munster.
Openside Flanker- Steffon Armitage (Toulon)
Just how good he is for England, we’ll never find out, it seems. His form for Toulon, though, is incredible. Four tries and 16 turnovers in six games speaks for itself. Should he be classed by Stuart Lancaster as ‘an exceptional circumstance’? Yes, he is simply too good to ignore. Julian Salvi of Leicester could have made the team, too.
Number 8- Fritz Lee (Clermont)
The list started with a Clermont player and ends with one- Samoan-born Lee was the highest tackler and offloader for Clermont, and he also bagged two tries. He could be the reason Clermont go a long way in this tournament. Other outstanding numbers 8s were Nathan Hughes, Nick Easter and Billy Vunipola.
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