Investec Champions Cup team of the week | Round one

Club rugby’s great rollercoaster has returned! All aboard for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup were the cries of the week last Friday as Bath hosted La Rochelle in a clash that set the tone for an incredible weekend of action.

Split across three days, the Champions Cup offered the perfect excuse for those up north to cosy up in the living room and avoided Storm Darragh. Down south, the vibes looked off the chains with the two South African fixtures played in stunning conditions.

Delivering the heat on the pitch were some truly special performances across the board. Having now watched every fixture, here is the RugbyDump team of the week for round one.

1. Dian Bleuler – Munster Rugby
Munster’s medical joker might just be one of the best bits of midseason business done by any club over the past few years (Blair Kinghorn to Toulouse aside). Answering the Irish powerhouse’s prayers amidst a front-row injury crisis, the Sharks man might just be too good for the IRFU to deny Munster hanging onto him long-term. Runner-up: Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors

2. Jamie George – Saracens
England’s skipper was impervious in conditions that were borderline playable. Putting in a 62-minute shift and scoring a textbook maul try in the process, the 34-year-old was a key part of one of the most impressive showings by a Saracens pack in quite some time. Runner-up: Curtis Langdon – Northampton Saints

3. Kyle Sinckler – Toulon
Out of sight but certainly not out of mind, the former England international had himself a day in Gqeberha against the Stormers. Playing a key role in Toulon securing 100% of their own scrum ball whilst putting in some decent shots in defence. Runner-up: Uini Antonio – La Rochelle

4. Emmanuel Meafou – Toulouse
11 Carries, 40 meters made, 2 tries scored… No, that wasn’t a winger’s stat line. It was Toulouse’s 6’8″ and 145kg second row. At times, and with the greatest respect to Ulster, it looked like men against boys as the champions shredded the Irish side 61 – 21. Central to this disparity in physicality was the giant Auckland-born lock. Runner-up: Temo Mayanavanua – Northampton Saints

Stade Francais locks lose their minds against Munster causing all in brawl

5. Perceli Yato – Clermont
Clermont and a magical Fijian? Never! Now, eleven years into his time with the Massif Central-based club, Yato has already been established as a club legend. Dotting down for two tries against Benetton in round one, Yato ended the day as Clermont’s top carrier with 12 for 44 meters to go with his 14 tackles. Runner-up: Evan O’Connell – Munster 

6. Siya Kolisi – Hollywoodbets Sharks
Clearly, in the form of his life, the Springbok skipper had yet another monster day for the Sharks. Scoring 2 tries, making 3 line breaks and beating 4 defenders offers a snapshot of Kolisi’s development over the year. Gone are the days when he was an exceptional workhorse around the park (which he is); since Tony Brown’s introduction to the Bok coaching staff, he has added another layer to his game. On a side note, number eight looks like his best position at this stage of his career. Could we see a positional shift with the Boks in the near future? Runner-up: Oscar Jegou – La Rochelle

7. Josh van der Flier – Leinster Rugby
In terms of context, we could simply copy and paste Kolisi’s description for the former World Player Of The Year. Like his Springbok rival, the Irish international has gone to a new level in 2024. Adding some extra oomph to his carrying, the Leinster backrow topped the carries charts (10 for 56 meters) against Bristol and scored yet another exceptional close-range try. In short, we are running out of ways to make people aware of just how good the 31-year-old is. Runner-up: Jacques Vermeulen – Exeter Chiefs

8. Tom Willis – Saracens
Whilst his brother rightly garners love poems in the French media for his work at Toulouse, younger brother Tom has quite a career of his own. Starting at number eight against the Bulls, Willis was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. Ending his day with a try to go with his monstrous stat line, which read 10 carries, 46 meters made, 25 tackles, 2 turnovers and 9 defenders beaten (yes, 9!), Willis proved why so many are calling for him to start for England. Runner-up: Gavin Coombes – Munster 

9. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors
Scoring a hat trick of tries is always special, but when those tries take individual brilliance, that is when you know you’re on for a good day. In a world of Antoine Duponts, Jamisin-Gibson Parks, Grant Williams and Cam Roigards, the Scottish halfback might just be the most underrated nine in World Rugby. Hitting that sweet spot in his career where he is at his physical and mental peak, the 29-year-old will be key to the Warriors shocking the world for a second straight season by claiming a big piece of silverware. Runner-up: Antoine Dupont – Toulouse

10. Sam Prendergast – Leinster Rugby
Annoyingly good for this writer who had him on his fantasy rugby bench, the Leinster flyhalf played his best game to date in a Leinster shirt. At times, he was mesmeric as he put to rest any notion that he didn’t have enough pace for top-level rugby. Scoring two tries, nailing all of his kicks at the post and drilling his kicks from hand, Prendergast is the real deal, ladies and gentlemen. (Clarifier, there is no bigger Jack Crowley fan than this writer). Runner-up: Romain Ntamack – Toulouse

11. Thaakir Abrahams – Munster Rugby
Joining his front-row countryman (Bleuler), Munster’s offseason star signing proved once again why the Irish province was buzzing with anticipation when they signed him. Scoring the opening try of the clash was the cherry on top of a very productive day for Abrahams, who ended his day with 84 meters made from 12 carries, 3 line breaks and 2 defenders beaten. Runner-up: Makazole Mapimpi – Hollywoodbets Sharks

Sharks and Springbok star Makazole Mapimpi’s off the ball incident spotted

12. Santiago Chocobares – Toulouse
Often times it is easy to forget just how good the Los Pumas centre is given the talent he is playing with in Toulouse. On Saturday, he put in yet another exceptional showing as the man who straightens up the Toulouse attack. Carrying the ball 9 times for 67 meters, beating 3 defenders, and scoring a try, the physical centre brings a hard edge to the midfield. This physicality not only makes him a statistical monster but also opens space for those around him. Runner-up: Jordie Barrett

13. Nicolas Depoortère – Bordeaux-Begles
Returning from an injury which ruled him out of France’s Autumn Nations Series, the highly touted centre was immense against Leicester. Carrying 8 times for 81 meters with 2 sweet line breaks, Depoortère reminded fans why he is likely the long-term solution at 13 for France. Garnering comparisons to the great Yannick Jauzion and for good reason, Bordeaux have a special talent on their hands. Runner-up: Tom Farrell – Munster 

Damian Penaud pulls off incredible moment of skill against Leicester

14. Ange Capuozzo – Toulouse
Although Italy’s Autumn Nation Series was quite far off what they would’ve hoped, Capuozzo was a stand-out performer. Parlaying this form into a strong run in the starting team for a stacked Toulouse team, he has already scored 7 tries this season in 12 matches. Two of those scores came this weekend against Ulster and both were magnificent efforts. Although he was rarely called upon defensively when he was, he put in some good shots. One, in particular, was a bone-shuddering effort. Runner-up: Damian Penaud – Bordeaux-Begles

15. Freddie Steward – Leicester Tigers
292 meters made… Sure, sometimes stats can be misleading, but when a player is as dominant as Steward was in Bordeaux, you can believe the numbers. He is often criticised for not being as dynamic as his rivals, but in reality, he is simply underutilised. Rather than asking him to be a distributor, Michael Cheika has clearly leaned into his strengths as a world-class operator under the high ball and a lethal strike runner. Under the new World Rugby kicking laws, Steward is the prototypical fullback to dominate matches. Runner-up: Louis Bielle-Biarrey – Bordeaux-Begles