TRU's European Rugby Champions Cup XV Round 4

Following Round 4, European rugby takes some hard-earned time off for the Christmas period, returning in January, but before it begins its festive sojourn, we bring you the final European Rugby Champions Cup XV of the Week in 2014. As ever, let us know where you agree and disagree with our picks.

1. Joe Marler, Harlequins
The Harlequins captain had an enjoyable run out at the Aviva Stadium, despite his side ultimately falling to a narrow loss to Leinster. Last week, Marler enjoyed a very successful 40 minutes against Mike Ross, before the veteran tighthead made some adjustments and evened out the contest. Marler clearly learned from that experience and had an answer for everything Ross threw at him this week, dominating the tighthead from the first minute till the last on Saturday.

2. Duncan Casey, Munster
Munster were overpowered and outplayed for the second week running by Clermont, but Casey was a highlight for the province, as the lineout remained a valuable weapon in their arsenal. The hooker was also a good source of metres with ball in hand and an efficient and dependable tackler when called upon in defence. The trio of Benjamin Kayser, Dylan Hartley and Guilhem Guirado all deserve recognition, too.

3. Pat Cilliers, Montpellier
A week after a horror show in his Montpellier debut, Cilliers bounced back superbly, liquefying Paul James time after time in the scrum. With Nick Auterac, the South African’s nemesis from the week before, on the bench, Cilliers was able to go to town on James, helping Montpellier to a significant set-piece advantage, albeit in a blowout loss to Bath.

4. Bradley Davies, Wasps
George Robson came close, but Davies put on a defensive clinic for Wasps against Castres. The Welsh lock made a number of choke tackles that resulted in Castres giving up turnovers, as well as several ferocious hits that helped keep the English side’s pack on top of their French counterparts.

5. Ali Williams, Toulon
The former All Blacks lost his trusted engine room partner, Bakkies Botha, to injury early on against Leicester, but certainly picked up the slack, turning in one of his best games in a Toulon jersey. The lock ruled the skies, taking seven lineouts, whilst he also made his presence known on the score sheet, crossing the line for a try in the first half, before setting up Mathieu Basteraud for Toulon’s second later in the game.

6. Mathieu Babillot, Castres
The young flanker had a great game off the bench for Castres, playing with an energy and tempo that no one else in his side could match. At times in the second half it seemed as if Babillot was the only Castres player making an effort and if the French side are looking for a spark to turnaround their ailing season, Babillot could be one of the men they need to turn to. Calum Clark, like so many Saints this weekend, deserves an honourable mention, but the lack of any kind of significant opposition make it hard to pick him, as good as he was in both the loose and at the breakdown.

7. Francois Louw, Bath
On his first game back from neck surgery, Louw had himself a great game against Montpellier, all but negating the breakdown ability of Akapusi Qera and even outplaying Fulgence Ouedraogo, who had a very good game in his own right. The South African dominated the contact area at The Rec and though he was run close for this spot by Glasgow’s Rob Harley, the efficiency and tempo of his performance, fresh off an injury, was impressive enough to earn him the nod.

8. Louis Picamoles, Toulouse
Without doubt, the hardest position to pick this weekend. Samu Manoa grabbed a hat-trick off the bench for Northampton, Nathan Hughes put in a man of the match-winning performance for Wasps, whilst the likes of Alex Tulou, Fritz Lee, Billy Vunipola and Josh Beaumont also all shone, but Picamoles sneaks ahead due to his importance in Toulouse’s win at Scotstoun. Without Picamoles’ consistent metres with ball in hand or his powerful defensive effort, Toulouse would have likely succumbed to defeat against Glasgow.

9. Kahn Fotuali’i, Northampton Saints
The scrum-half was the spark at the heart of everything Northampton did well on Saturday, playing at a tempo that Treviso could just not live with. He left a defender utterly dumbfounded on the way to his try with an audacious dummy step and was also a creative force, setting up two further tries for his teammates as they cut loose at Franklin’s Gardens.

10. Johan Goosen, Racing Metro
Rumours are rife that Dan Carter could be arriving in Paris next season, but if Goosen can consistently play at this level, the Kiwi might have a rival for playing time. The former Cheetah was exceptional against the Ospreys, exploiting the Welsh side’s defence with his play on the gain line, whether it was distributing or backing himself with ball in hand. Owen Farrell shook off the recent rust and looked good against Sale, whilst Camille Lopez continued his impressive run for Clermont, but both were still someway short of Goosen this weekend.

11. Matt Banahan, Bath
Honourable mentions are due for George North and Tom Varndell, but it’s hard to ignore Banahan when he picked up a hat-trick on his way to helping Bath rout Montpellier. Historically, Banahan has usually picked up tries with barnstorming runs and great aerial ability, but on Friday night he was consistently in the right place at the right time and able to complete flowing moves by dotting the ball down over the line, looking every inch the consummate finisher.

12. Ian Madigan, Leinster
This call is tough on Tom Stephenson, who was exceptional against Treviso, but factoring in quality of opposition faced, Madigan sneaks in ahead of the Northampton Saint. Madigan ultimately proved to be the difference maker in Leinster’s hard-fought win over Harlequins, nailing the kick which gave Leinster their one-point lead. He was also a good facilitator at inside centre, linking up well with new centre partner Luke Fitzgerald and defensively prevented George Lowe from giving Quins the front-foot ball they wanted from their inside centre.

13. Ben Jacobs, Wasps
Jacobs’ second stint at Wasps has largely seen him fulfil a backup role, but on Sunday he showed all the incision and guile that made him a fan favourite in his first spell at the club and as such, narrowly pips George Pisi for this spot. The centre ran two nice lines to grab a brace and also set up teammate Varndell for the second of the winger’s two tries, drawing his man and sweeping a pinpoint pass out to clinical winger.

14. Ken Pisi, Northampton Saints
Like the aforementioned Banahan, Pisi simply cannot be ignored after bagging a hat-trick this weekend. The Samoan winger danced through the Treviso defence, at times toying with the Italian side’s defenders, as he linked superbly with both his brother, George, and Stephenson inside of him. Racing’s Juan Imhoff and Clermont’s Noa Nakaitaci can both count themselves unlucky for missing out after both players put in eye-catching performances.

15. Anthony Watson, Bath
The England winger continues to make a case for his inclusion at the international level in his favoured position of full-back. He repeatedly gouged the Montpellier defence for big gains with his deceptive step and blistering change of pace on Friday night and looked as comfortable in the air as any of his fellow 15s this weekend.