Power Ranking Europe's Top 15 Club Teams After Weekend of December 5-7
It can be a tricky time of year to assess the power rank of Europe’s top club teams.
The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pool stages have resumed after a period of international weekends, lower-tier cup competitions for the players left behind and league fixtures played with understrength teams for those sides who lost a lot of bodies to their national squads.
Following that somewhat jumbled set of circumstances under which clubs have been fulfilling their fixtures through the month of November, the opening weekend of December at last allows us to see teams with their full rosters available to them, injuries permitting.
And so we can assess once again the form of the top teams on the continent. One addendum to that task is to decide on the merits of a team’s form in Europe versus their progress in their domestic league.
For the purposes of this assessment, we will view a team’s success in Europe as the deciding factor over their league placing in giving them a rank on this 15-team ladder.
The caveat to that stance would be that if a side are doing relatively well in their league yet have clearly opted not to bother with Europe or have struggled in a competitive pool, they will get a nod—just not as high a rank as if they were waging winning campaigns on both fronts.
Clear as mud? Good. Here we go.
15. Wasps (Premiership)
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Wasps secured a fine win away to Castres, 32-17, to keep slim hopes flickering of progress from their European pool.
They still have a two-point gap to close on Leinster above them but have shown on occasions this season that they can beat anyone when on their game, as skipper James Haskell explained after this win, reported by Mike Averis in the Guardian: “If I was a coach I would be frustrated. We like to self-destruct a couple of times but once we got it together we were very dangerous.”
He has a point. Wasps sit seventh in the Premiership and have taken the scalps of the top two this season as well as running Leicester close at Welford Road, yet they let a nine-point half-time lead slip in their European opener against Leinster.
14. Ulster (Pro12)
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Ulster notched their first win of the pool with a 24-9 victory over the Scarlets, but they may have paid a heavy price on the injury front.
ESPNScrum.com reports the club have concern over five players ahead of their return trip to Parc y Scarlets next weekend, when they require a second consecutive bonus point win to stay alive in the pool: "Stuart Olding, Stuart McClosley, Wiehahn Herbst, Franco van der Merwe and Nick Williams were all forced off in the club's bonus-point win over Scarlets at Ravenhill on Sunday and are injury doubts ahead of the crucial return fixture."
The Red Hand Gang are having a god campaign in the Pro12 thus far, though, as one of three clubs bunched on 31 points, just one behind pace-setting Munster.
13. Bath (Premiership)
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Second in the Premiership with only two defeats all season, Bath have had their struggles in Europe, losing to both Glasgow and Toulouse.
But a 30-5 win in Montpellier at least gave them a glimmer of a chance at progressing. We also saw a little more of Sam Burgess, with mixed success as the Telegraph’s Alasdair Reid reported:
"Along the way, they also managed to add another 28 minutes to Sam Burgess’s rugby union career, although that could easily have been knocked back to 18 had the referee taken a dimmer view of his head-high tackle on Charles Geli and sent him to the sin-bin. The crowd were baying for Burgess’s blood at that point, but overall they had more cause to be outraged by their own side’s feeble performance.
“That’s the way he is,” said Bath coach Mike Ford of the Burgess tackle. “We’re not going to change him. He’s going to be our enforcer a little bit with the way he defends. We’re pleased with where he is.”
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This win and Bath’s lofty position in the Premiership see them earn their way into this ranking ahead of Stade Francais, who may sit third in the Top 14 but have clearly thrown the towel in as far as the Challenge Cup is concerned.
They have won one of their three games and sit six points behind second-placed Dragons and even further back from pool leaders Newcastle, who beat them 30-23 last weekend.
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12. Leinster (Pro12)
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Three-times champions Leinster fell 24-18 to Quins away from home to continue a fitful season on both fronts. They are fifth in the Pro12 and have not looked hugely impressive so far in Europe.
Two wins before this reverse still leaves them handy in second place behind Conor O’Shea’s men, and the bonus point gained in this contest could prove vital, but it will be a confident Harlequins team who arrive in Dublin next week, particularly after the number they did on the Leinster scrum, as George Hook of the Irish Independent wrote:
"The home props destroyed the Leinster scrum and had enough energy to carry the ball with real intent. Mike Ross was destroyed, gave away three penalties at the first four scrums and looked a beaten man at the end. A repeat next week guarantees a loss and an exit from the group.
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11. Harlequins (Premiership)
5 of 15On their league form Quins would not get a sniff of this top 15, but they moved to three wins from three in Europe with an excellent display to beat Leinster at the Stoop.
Nick Easter, Danny Care and Chris Robshaw all performed well, while Joe Marler made minced meat of his opposite man Mike Ross in the scrum as the Quins produced a 26-15 win.
If they can only reproduce this sort of form in the league, they will soon climb from their lowly spot of ninth.
As for Europe, it is probably the tie of the round in Dublin next weekend against Leinster, where we will find out just how false a position their league placing currently is.
10. Glasgow (Pro12)
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Two wins on the spin could not become three for Gregor Townsend’s side as they sank 19-11 in Toulouse.
They will be wondering if a repeat of their 2009 win in the Pink City was on the cards after a decent start, but as David Ferguson of the Scottish Daily Record wrote, that plan was in tatters when they went down to 14 men.
"This was a harsh lesson for the Warriors, who dominated possession and territory for long spells in the first half but could not turn that into the vital points. Toulouse hung in and when given a sniff of a chance, when Glasgow fly-half Finn Russell was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle, they stormed through the doors and moved from a 3-3 scoreline into an unassailable 16-3 lead.
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Sitting third in their own league and with Toulouse to arrive next week, there is still plenty for the Warriors to play for, but this will have been a sobering defeat.
9. Ospreys (Pro12)
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Josh Matavesi’s late try secured a 19-19 draw and a European lifeline for the Ospreys, but to hang on to it they must beat Racing Metro in next week’s return fixture.
Had Dan Biggar not hit the post with a penalty when it looked harder to miss, this would have been a rousing story of comeback rugby to stand alongside some of the most thrilling pool matches we have seen in Europe.
In the Pro12, Steve Tandy’s men sit second, just a point behind Munster.
8. Munster (Pro12)
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Munster were outmuscled by Clermont Auvergne to lose the top spot in the table, and Neil Francis of the Irish Independent did not hold back in his criticism:
"I have rarely seen a Munster side be marshalled and manhandled at the breakdown to such an extent. Once the first two or three runners came around the corner and were stopped dead in their tracks Munster had nothing else to offer and their limitations of their game plan collapsed in a heap. A sterile midfield and a talented back three who were looking for half chances that never came.
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Away trips to Clermont and Saracens still await Paul O’Connell and Co., so they will need to find improvement fast to ensure progress from a devilishly hard pool. At home, things look rosy atop the Pro12.
7. Leicester Tigers (Premiership)
9 of 15The Tigers recorded a thrilling win over champions Toulon and are poised second behind the Frenchmen in their pool.
Owen Williams stole the show with 20 points from the boot, but the Tigers' back-row pair of Julian Salvi and Jamie Gibson also deserved credit for their ferocious work at the breakdown against the best back row in European club rugby.
Despite crippling injuries for the first half of their season, Leicester sit third in the league and have a realistic shot at the knockout stages in Europe.
6. Saracens (Premiership)
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Saracens might sit third on their European pool but they are equal on nine points with Munster and still have the Irish side to visit their Allianz Park home.
They got the job done over Sale in rather unspectacular fashion with a 19-15 win in Manchester. More pleasing would have been a return to some sort of form by Owen Farrell, who scored a try and generally looked sharp against England rival Danny Cipriani.
Sarries are fourth in the Premiership, some 10 points adrift of leaders Northampton, which perhaps speaks to their injury woes compared to the Midlanders' relatively trouble-free campaign.
Farrell in particular has not had much rugby, but won high praise from coach Mark McCall after assuming the No. 10 job when colleague Charlie Hodgson was retired hurt, per the Telegraph's Steve James:
"Faced with the inevitable questions about Farrell’s state of mind after being dropped by England at fly-half for George Ford, McCall chuckled. 'Owen’s great,' he said. 'He’s a brilliant young fellow and a brilliant young player. He comes back to the club and he understands that he’s not played much rugby this year. With Charlie Hodgson off injured, it was wonderful to have someone of Owen’s calibre to see us home. His drop-goal was good, he almost had another one but Owen’s going to get better and better.'
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5. Toulouse (Top 14)
11 of 15Toulouse brought Glasgow’s fairytale start to the European campaign to a grisly end in Stade Ernest Wallon with a suffocating display built on forward power.
Maxime Medard came up with the only try of their 19-11 win, with Glasgow rather hobbling their own cause with two yellow cards.
After a nightmarish start in the Top 14, Guy Noves’ side have clambered back into the hunt for a top-four position and sit seventh currently.
They have won all three pool matches in Europe and have a three-point cushion at the halfway stage.
4. Racing Metro (Top 14)
12 of 15Racing endured a frustration outing at the Liberty Stadium as the Ospreys pegged them back to a 19-19 draw.
They threw away a commanding 16-6 lead in the second half and as a result share top spot in the pool with Northampton, whom they still have to meet at Franklin’s Gardens.
They are fourth in the Top 14 and stand a good chance of progressing in Europe if they can complete the job over the Ospreys next weekend.
3. Northampton (Premiership)
13 of 15The Saints completed a comfortable 38-15 bonus-point win over Treviso, and Racing Metro’s draw away to the Ospreys means they now have parity with the French side in Pool 5.
Sitting atop the Premiership by two points and seemingly heading for the knockout stages of Europe, next week’s visit of Treviso at the Gardens looks set only to keep the good times rolling for Jim Mallinder’s men.
2. Toulon (Top 14)
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Toulon went down 25-21 away to Leicester thanks to 20 points from young Welshman Owen Williams, but they remain favourites to top the section with the Tigers set to travel to the south of France next weekend.
They still lead the way in Pool 3 and top the Top 14 log by a point over Clermont Auvergne.
The result perhaps underlined the importance of Matt Giteau and Leigh Halfpenny to Bernard Laporte’s side; both were absent for the defeat in the East Midlands.
1. Clermont Auvergne (Top 14)
15 of 15Clermont did what used to be impossible back in Munster’s heyday and won at Thomond Park.
The Red Army’s home may not be the fortress it once was, but getting a result there is still something to write home about.
Clermont’s 16-9 win came courtesy of tries from Fritz Lee and Wesley Fofana and puts the Frenchmen a point clear at the top of Pool 1.
They sit a point behind Toulon in second place in the Top 14, too.
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