Champions Cup XV of the season

With Saracens and Racing 92 both having booked their places in this season’s European Rugby Champions Cup final this past weekend, the competition is nearing its conclusion.

Individual player performances in that game could make or break their club’s season, but it won’t be enough to get them into (or drop them out of) TRU’s Champions Cup XV of the season. The 15 players below have all distinguished themselves superbly in the tournament, but do you agree with our selection? Let us know what you think.

15. Charles Piutau, Wasps

The All Black has been the standout full-back in European rugby this season, despite impressive showings from both Brice Dulin and Alex Goode. A try-scorer, try-creator and all-round defender-magnet, Piutau has had a fantastic debut campaign in the northern hemisphere, shining particularly in the Champions Cup.

14. Chris Ashton, Saracens

The 39-times capped England winger has looked back to his best at times in this year’s competition, running the superb lines that he became famed for, as well as tracking the ball as well as any player in the competition. Leicester’s Telusa Veainu was also impressive, but Ashton comfortably takes the 14 jersey, despite conceding a silly penalty that nearly brought Wasps back into their semi-final this past weekend.

13. Peter Betham, Leicester Tigers

Elliot Daly offers stiff competition but Betham has found a home at 13, despite starting initially on the wing, and formed a dynamic partnership with the fit-again Manu Tuilagi. The former Waratah has been able to display much more of an all-round game in the midfield than he did on the wing and is an underrated component in Leicester’s attacking frisson this season.

12. Luke Marshall, Ulster

One of the few players to make the cut despite not making the knockout rounds, Marshall was the spearhead of an Ulster revival that almost saw them make the quarter-finals despite losing their home opener. Marshall dovetailed well with Stuart McCloskey and should give Ulster fans plenty of hope for a more successful 2016/17 campaign.

11. Juan Imhoff, Racing 92

The Argentine has been a terror on the wing for the Parisian side and it’s fair to say that the Jaguares may be in a much better position in Super Rugby this season if they had been able to lure Imhoff back home. Vereniki Goneva, Craig Gilroy and Chris Wyles all impressed, but Imhoff’s attacking and defensive game has been in fine form in Europe this season.

10. Owen Farrell, Saracens

It’s been refreshing to see Farrell confound his critics this season and the fly-half has been at the heart of almost everything good that Saracens have done so far in the tournament. Obviously Dan Carter has injected plenty of his experience and verve into Racing, but has he played at the consistently high level, with and without the ball, that Farrell has? Probably not.

9. Joe Simpson, Wasps

Wasps had to make do without their livewire scrum-half in the quarter-finals (with Dan Robson proving a more than able deputy), but he was electric throughout the pool stage and helped his club expose the Leinster and Toulon defences in ways that we have not seen previously.

1. Matt Mullan, Wasps

Mullan has been the definition of the modern prop in the tournament, scrummaging extremely proficiently and making his presence known in the loose, particularly with his non-stop work rate and tackling. Wasps fans will remember their pack being shunted about with ease just two or three seasons ago and their improvement has certainly coincided with Mullan’s arrival at the club.

2. Dimitri Szarzewski, Racing 92

Though he has fallen out of reckoning with Les Bleus, Szarzewski is still one of the best hookers in Europe. Racing may be developing an all-court game, but that doesn’t mean their set-piece isn’t still one of the best in Europe and much of that rests on Szarzewski’s shoulders. Toulon’s Guilhem Guirado and Racing impact sub Camille Chat both run Szarzewski close here.

3. Luc Ducalcon, Racing 92

Dan Cole has had games this campaign where he has looked imperious and others where referees have leant heavily on him. That lack of consistency, or at least so in the eyes of the referees, sees him narrowly miss out to Ducalcon. The Racing tighthead, like the aforementioned Mullan, offers plenty in the tight and the loose.

4. Leone Nakarawa, Glasgow Warriors

Besides Marshall, Nakarawa is the only player whose club failed to progress to the knockout rounds to make this XV. The Fijian will be sorely missed in Glasgow next season if he opts to move to France and it was his dynamic play that often sparked the Warriors during the pool stage. He’s one of the hardest forwards to defend in European rugby and that sees him edge out Alun Wyn Jones for this spot.

5. Luke Charteris, Racing 92

It’s tough to omit the highly impressive duo of George Kruis and Maro Itoje but Charteris has been worth his considerable weight in gold to Racing this season. Whether he’s the target for a Szarzewski throw, stealing opposition ball, defending mauls or just tackling his guts out, Charteris has been one of the stars of this European campaign.

6. Juan Smith, RC Toulon

The South African often sails under the radar amidst Toulon’s cadre of galacticos but few would doubt that he has been one of, if not the most impressive Toulon player over the last three seasons. His consistency has shone through this season, even when his team has had their fair share of struggles, and he was very close to being the first name down in the composition of this XV.

7. George Smith, Wasps

Steffon Armitage offers solid competition but Smith has been so impactful for Wasps this season that it was ultimately an easy decision to go with the Australian. He has used every ounce of his experience to help propel Wasps out of the ‘group of death’ and then past a resilient Exeter Chiefs side, who seemingly had Wasps on the ropes early in the second half of their quarter-final.  

8. Thomas Waldrom, Exeter Chiefs

No shortage of standout performers at eight this season. Sergio Parisse, Billy Vunipola, Nathan Hughes and James King all had their moments but perhaps none so impactful as Waldrom. ‘Thomas the Tank’ bagged himself six tries in just four games, including braces in Exeter’s victory over Clermont Auvergne and their vital win in their final pool match against the Ospreys. Exeter are bigger than just Waldrom, but without his almost undeniable source of tries, would they have transitioned from fledglings to European heavyweights?