Tuesday 18 October 2016 00:04, UK
Glasgow Warriors and Clermont Auvergne lead the way with three players apiece in our team of the week following their impressive wins in the opening round of this season's Champions Cup.
Glasgow kicked off this season's competition with a five-try thrashing of Leicester Tigers in Scotstoun, with Clermont bringing an end to round one with a comprehensive win in Exeter.
Reigning champions Saracens have two players included following their victory in Toulon, as do Leinster and Wasps.
Read our team of the week below and then vote for your standout performer.
15. Nick Abendanon (Clermont Auvergne)
Abendanon scored one try and was heavily involved as Clermont tore Exeter apart. The full-back produced a great step inside former Bath team-mate Ollie Woodburn for his 43rd-minute score and it was his kick and chase that led to Wesley Fofana's second try.
Fofana was the star man for Clermont but Abendanon more than played his part, averaging 7.1 metres per carry and beating three defenders.
14. Leonardo Sarto (Glasgow)
The Italy winger was outstanding as Glasgow lay down an early marker with a 42-13 thrashing of Leicester at Scotstoun.
Sarto bagged the Warriors' first try when he ran through an unmanned ruck to dot down and he also finished off the scoring when he intercepted Freddie Burns' pass on the edge of his own 22 and race downfield to score.
The 24-year-old finished with an incredible 150 metres from just seven carries, which includes a jinking crossfield run during the second half. He made four line breaks and beat eight defenders.
13. Bundee Aki (Connacht)
Yet another inspirational performance from the 26-year-old Kiwi as Connacht came from 10 points down to defeat Toulouse in Galway.
Aki suffered a nasty cut to his head during the first half and was nursing sore ribs in the second after executing a fantastic choke tackle to prevent Toulouse's powerful pack from trundling over the line.
As well as working his socks off in defence, Aki made 77 metres from 18 carries, beating six defenders, and it was fitting he grabbed the equalising score when he burned Paul Perez with a fantastic dummy, fended off TGray and crossed in the corner.
12. Wesley Fofana (Clermont Auvergne)
The France international was man of the match in Clermont's comprehensive win at Sandy Park, beating an incredible 10 defenders in a two-try performance.
Having had a hand in Julien Bardy's try, a brilliant break by Camille Lopez teed up Fofana for his first and he crossed again from close range with 11 minutes remaining when he took Ludovic Radosavljevic's precise cut-out pass.
Fofana made 58 metres from 10 carries, which includes four line breaks, while he also made five tackles and won a turnover in defence.
11. Sergeal Petersen (Free State Cheetahs)
There were plenty of excellent performances from wingers in European rugby over the weekend but Petersen gets the No 11 shirt after scoring a hat-trick in the Free State Cheetahs' crushing Currie Cup semi-final win over the Golden Lions.
Back in the starting line-up after recovering from an ankle injury, Petersen did extremely well to claim Uzair Cassiem's pass and beat Anthony Volmink to cross in the corner for his first try. He then showed searing pace to tear downfield after Reniel Hugo's clearing kick for his second, leaving two Lions trailing in his wake.
Petersen's fantastic all-round performance was rewarded five minutes from time when Cheetahs captain Francois Venter put him over in the corner to complete his hat-trick.
10. Danny Cipriani (Wasps)
Owen Farrell shone on his return to the Saracens starting line-up as they stunned Toulon while once again Joey Carbery seamlessly slotted in at fly-half for Leinster in the absence of Johnny Sexton, beating 11 defenders.
But Cipriani gets the nod for us after tearing apart the Zebre defence. Wasps may have been up against inferior opposition but the 28-year-old was in devastating form as he led his side to a record win.
With England coaches Paul Gustard and Steve Borthwick watching on, Cipriani created four tries and mixed his game up by sometimes using crossfield kicks to unlock the Zebre defence. He also slotted six of his seven conversion attempts.
"He pulled the strings for us, did a great job in steering the ship and couldn't have done anymore," said Wasps director of rugby Dai Young.
9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets)
The Wales scrum-half put the Scarlets on course for an opening round victory over Sale when he charged down Dan Mugford's kick to score.
Sale were unable to curb Davies' influence and he made a sniping run through the Sharks defence in the build-up to DTH van der Merwe's first try.
That was one of two line breaks by the 26-year-old, who has forged a fine half-back partnership with Rhys Patchell.
1. Jack McGrath (Leinster)
McGrath marked his 100th Leinster appearance with a try as the Irish province bullied Castres into submission in Dublin.
Leinster's dominant maul paved the way for three first-half tries, McGrath grabbing their third on the half-hour, and the Ireland international was also an integral part of a dominant scrum that had the Castres pack in a world of bother.
Mako Vunipola also caught the eye in Saracens' victory over Toulon, as did Bordeaux's Sebastien Taofifenua against Ulster.
2. Jamie George (Saracens)
Should Dylan Hartley fail to recover in time for the autumn internationals, Eddie Jones need look no further than the Saracens hooker, who shone once again as the European champions upset Toulon.
George was unflappable at the lineout, all of his 10 throws finding a team-mate. He put Sean Maitland over in the corner for Saracens' first try and then produced a majestic offload to send Richard Wigglesworth underneath the posts for their second.
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors)
The 20-year-old tighthead continues to show maturity beyond his years. Fagerson was a key cog in a solid Glasgow scrum against Leicester and he also worked hard in the loose, making five carries for small gains.
Mike Ross also caught the eye when sprung from the bench against Castres, helping Leinster win a penalty try, while Davit Zirakashvili performed well on his 50th Clermont appearance.
4. Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Danny Cipriani picked up the official man of the match award but Dai Young felt his skipper should have been given the bottle of champagne.
The powerful second row returned from a groin strain against Zebre and looked keen to make up for lost time, bossing the lineout and putting in some shuddering tackles as Wasps made short work of the Italian strugglers.
Launchbury crossed for a try shortly before departing on 59 minutes and Young hailed the forward's performance.
"He was impressive in the first 25 minutes when the game was in the balance as he secured big turnovers and made big tackles," said Young.
"He looks a world-class second row and we are really pleased to have him back. The big challenge for him is to remain fit."
5. Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
Jandre Marais impressed for Bordeaux in their win over Ulster but Gray gets the No 5 jersey after an outstanding showing against Leicester on Friday.
The Warriors skipper made 16 tackles, winning one turnover, and was excellent in the lineout as the Tigers were trounced at Scotstoun.
And Gray's performances this season haven't gone unnoticed, with Toulon linked with a move for the Scotland lock.
6. Julien Bardy (Clermont Auvergne)
We're moving Bardy across to the blindside after his phenomenal showing against Exeter. He was a rock in defence at Sandy Park, making a phenomenal 25 tackles and winning two turnovers to negate Exeter's big ball-carriers.
The 30-year-old popped up all over the park and combined well with Noa Nakaitaci to score Clermont's first try. He also displayed quick thinking by moving into scrum-half four minutes later in the lead-up to Nakaitaci's try.
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
Van der Flier picked up the man-of-the-match award as Leinster got their European campaign off to a winning start.
He was joint-top of the tackle charts with nine, winning one turnover, and was heavily involved as Leinster's driving maul yielded three first-half tries.
Van der Flier was also highly effective with ball in hand, making seven carries and one line break in what was another complete 80-minute performance.
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
"If you were picking a fantasy world 23, which would be dominated by All Blacks, you'd have to fit in Mako and Billy Vunipola. They're quite sensational."
That's the view of Will Greenwood after the Vunipolas again starred in Saracens' win in Toulon. Younger brother Billy topped the charts for tackles (17) and carries (15), making 51 metres and beating three defenders in yet another standout display.
Vunipola takes the No 8 shirt ahead of Louis Picamoles, who was against excellent against former side Montpellier as Northampton Saints snatched a late win, and Harlequins' James Chisholm.
