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The English star boshing his way through Europe and 9 other Champions Cup stats
By Ian Cameron
The Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 is set to take place this weekend, featuring the top teams from Europe's elite rugby competitions.
Fans in both hemispheres will be eagerly awaiting the weekend of knock-out rugby, as the top teams from Europe's elite competition battle it out to stay alive in both the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup.
Three South African teams - the Cell C Sharks, the DHL Stormers, and the Vodacom Bulls - will be making their debut in the knockout round of the Heineken Champions Cup. The Sharks will face Munster, the Stormers will face Harlequins, and the Bulls will face Toulouse.
Among the qualifiers are eight former tournament winners, including Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers, Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Saracens, Stade Rochelais, Stade Toulousain, and Ulster Rugby.
Antoine Hastoy of holders Stade Rochelais is the leading scorer with 50 points going into the knockout stage, while Josh van der Flier, last season's EPCR Player of the Year, leads the try-scoring charts with five from his four matches. Zach Mercer of Montpellier Hérault Rugby, who will travel to face Exeter Chiefs, has made the most carries to date with an impressive 78.
Following the conclusion of the Heineken Champions Cup pool stage, four clubs have qualified for the EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16: Lyon, Racing 92, ASM Clermont Auvergne, and Sale Sharks.
A total of 24 Round of 16 Heineken Champions Cup matches have been played to date, with 12 home wins and 12 away wins. In the event of tied matches during the knockout stage of the tournament, extra time and, if necessary, a place kick competition will feature.
Ben Youngs of Leicester Tigers, who kick off the Round of 16 against Edinburgh Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Friday evening, is in line to make his 75th tournament appearance if included in the match day 23. Munster Rugby's Gavin Coombes is the leading tackler so far with 67 from four matches.
Finally, Damian Willemse of the DHL Stormers and Nick Davids of Harlequins, who face off in Cape Town, have made the most offloads (10) and beaten the most defenders (20) respectively this season. In addition, the Quins openside, Will Evans, leads the turnovers category with nine.
Rugby fans around the world will be eagerly awaiting the action-packed weekend of rugby that is set to take place, as the top teams from Europe's elite competition battle it out for the chance to be crowned Heineken Champions Cup winners.
Meanwhile, in the Challenge Cup, Cardiff Rugby's Rhys Priestland is currently leading the tournament in points with a tally of 41, while Scarlets' Steff Evans has managed to score the most tries with five to his name.
Friedle Olivier of Toyota Cheetahs has made the most carries so far, having carried the ball 44 times in the tournament, while Johnny McNicholl of Scarlets has covered the most ground, having made a total of 331 metres.
Jeandre Rudolph of Toyota Cheetahs has been the most successful in terms of turnovers, having made nine to date. Bristol Bears' Semi Radradra has made the most offloads, with a tally of eight, and Michele Lamaro of Benetton Rugby has been the most active in defence with 54 tackles made.
Federico Ruzza of Benetton Rugby has won the most lineouts so far, having claimed a total of 31. Meanwhile, Steff Evans of Scarlets has made the most line breaks, with eight, and Nadir Megdoud of Stade Francais Paris has beaten the most defenders, with 14.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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