The pool stages of the Champions Cup are over for another season.
It was a good weekend for Munster and Leinster as they both secured home quarter-final spots in this season’s Champions Cup.
Unfortunately for Connacht, they just didn’t have enough to secure a losing bonus point which would have seen them through to the knockout stages.
For Ulster, well, they looked to salvage some pride in their home tie against Ian Madigan’s Bordeaux Begles but were disappointing again as they succumbed to a 22-26 defeat.
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 23, 2017
Here is our best XV from the four Irish provinces, based on the weekend’s action.
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht)
This is the second week in a row where O’Halloran has made our XV. The Galway man was excellent again in Stade Ernest-Wallon but unfortunately wasn’t able to do enough to prevent his side from losing.
O’Halloran produced some impressive attacking stats with 13 carries yielding 90 metres made. He also didn’t shirk from his defensive responsibilities with eight tackles made during the game.
It was a tight call between him and Simon Zebo. Although the Corkman produced a vital try for his side, he wasn’t as lively as O’Halloran.
Charles Piutau also had a decent game for Ulster and unfortunately for Isa Nacewa, he was substituted after the 36-minute mark with a dead leg.
14. Andrew Conway (Munster)
An excellent game from the Blackrock College alumni and if it wasn’t for CJ Stander’s usual brilliance, the man of the match award would have surely been awarded to the winger.
Conway was relentless. He was assured in defence, dominant under a high ball and provided a sumptuous offload for Ian Keatley to secure the win for Munster.
He is playing some of his best rugby and you wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Schmidt took notice.
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster)
Another solid performance from the youngster.
Much more was demanded of Ringrose compared to last week as Castres had plenty of possession compared to a hapless Montpellier in the RDS.
Ringrose didn’t falter.
He took on a ridiculous amount of ball on Friday with an outrageous 21 carries and also made on clean line break.
Defensively, he was solid yet again as he made ten tackles during his time on the pitch.
12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)
Brilliant performance from the Athlone native. Like his centre partner, Henshaw was required in the defensive department a lot more than the previous week and he made a return of an incredible 14 tackles.
This didn’t stop his attacking efforts however as he scored two crucial ties for his side to ensure their home quarter-final.
He beat 5 opposition players with two line breaks during the game and made a hefty 17 carries for Leo Cullen’s side.
11. Adam Byrne (Leinster)
Two weeks in a row for Leinster’s Adam Byrne.
Like last time, it’s impossible to leave him out, so we have drafted him into the 11 shirt.
Another dominant display from the Kill native who missed no tackles during the game.
On the attacking front, he was busy yet again with four line breaks to his name. One of which led to one of Henshaw’s tries.
Another comfortable display for Byrne who is really finding his feet at this level. His performances haven’t gone unnoticed either as Will Greenwood remarkably chose him in his Lions XV.
Out of nowhere too https://t.co/nX8TV0mslE #bolter
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 22, 2017
10. Paddy Jackson (Ulster)
There was no major outstanding performance from any of the provinces’ out-halves this weekend but Paddy Jackson probably shades his provincial rivals due to the attacking display which he produced.
Although Jackson missed a penalty and a conversion during this match, his play with ball in hand was very encouraging.
The 25-year-old reminded us of the deceiving pace he has in his possession with a number of line breaks which caused havoc to Bordeaux’s defence.
Still though, Jackson will be disappointed he won’t be able to showcase his skill on European club rugby’s biggest stage but will probably look set to feature heavily in the Six Nations.
This is the last thing we needed https://t.co/iDfz3gd6jU
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 20, 2017
9. Conor Murray (Munster)
Murray’s second week in a row to appear on this list and it’s not difficult to see why as he excellently marshalled his side to victory over a determined Racing 92.
Arguably Munster’s most important player, he didn’t show any ill-effects of the huge hit he received against Glasgow Warriors last week as he put in another commanding performance.
Murray, again, was a huge contributor in defence as he made eight tackles and also did his bit offensively by making two clean line breaks.
Besides the statistics, it was Murray’s ability to orchestrate Munster’s attack which was most pleasing for Munster.
Fans of the southern province will be crossing all their fingers and toes in the hope that the Limerick man comes through the Six Nations unscathed.
8. CJ Stander (Munster)
What’s the point in even writing anything here? You know this position will nearly always go to Stander.
He put in another typically physically dominating performance in Thomond Park at the weekend which consisted of:
- 66 metres gained
- 18 carries
- One clean line break
- Three defenders beaten
This was also Stander’s 18th man of the match award for Munster.
Incredible.
I've been reliably informed by @Munsterrugby that tonight's was CJ Stander's 18TH man of the match award! pic.twitter.com/aiXHEj4CqC
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) January 21, 2017
Shout out to John Muldoon who put in a brilliant performance for Connacht but not enough to surpass Stander.
7. Chris Henry (Ulster)
Like the out half position, it was difficult to choose a winner in this regard.
However, Henry is a worthy inclusion (in this XV if not the Ireland squad), purely down to his excellent defensive efforts in Saturday’s game at the Kingspan Stadium.
Henry made 10 tackles during this game but most importantly, he didn’t miss any and he didn’t concede any turnovers.
6. Jack Conan (Leinster)
Off-the-wall statistics dominate Conan’s game against Castres.
A lot of his play involved the dirty work but it was necessary and crucial in Leinster achieving a draw against the French side.
Conan made an excellent 17 tackles during the match, missing none and conceding no turnovers in the process.
Efficient defensive work from the 24-year-old.
All his tackling didn’t stop him from making an impact offensively.
Conan carried 10 times which led to 65 metres gained and two defenders beaten.
5. Donnacha Ryan (Munster)
Huge defensive shift from Ryan as he made 11 tackles with none missed. The lineout was a bit shaky at the start of the game but he made up for it with an excellent lineout steal.
Another physically imposing performance from Ryan and he is in the box seat to partner Toner in Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Scotland.
4. Franco van der Merwe (Ulster)
The Cardiff Blues bound second-row put in an excellent workman like shift for Ulster.
He scored a crucial try for his side but couldn’t prevent Ulster from suffering another demoralising defeat.
One of the bright lights for Ulster was their lineout set piece which secured possession on all but one of Ulster’s own throws.
Was proficient in both attack and defence.
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
Another solid performance from the Wexford man and he played a vital role in securing parity at the scrum for Leinster against what is a big Montpellier front three.
We didn’t see him with ball in hand as much as we would have liked but made a number of decent carries nonetheless.
Made a huge amount of tackles (11) in what was a very busy night for Ireland’s first choice tighthead.
2. Rory Best (Ulster)
He may not be captain of Ulster anymore but he was the northern provinces’ biggest leader on the day.
Led by example with dogged defensive work and secured a few turnovers for his side too.
He threw very well at the lineout and provided Ulster with a good attacking platform in this regard but unfortunately, a litany of unforced errors from the rest of his teammates cost his side the win.
1. Dave Kilcoyne (Munster)
Entered the fray after 13 minutes due to a worrying thumb injury for James Cronin.
The 28-year-old put in a typically aggressive performance in the loose which included nine carries for a yield of 18 metres.
Beat three defenders during these carries and played an important role in a rock-solid scrum for the Southern province.
He has played very well of late and it was no surprise to see him feature in the upcoming Ireland squad announcement for the Six Nations.
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