Best XV in World Rugby for Weekend of January 22-24
Exeter Chiefs stormed the gates late on to seal their spot as the surprise entrants in this season's Champions Cup quarter-finals, defeating Ospreys 33-17 on Sunday to steal in front of Clermont Auvergne and make the last eight.
The Aviva Premiership side joined fellow English outfits Saracens, Leicester Tigers, Wasps and Northampton Saints in the quarters, while Top 14 giants Toulon, Racing 92 and Stade Francais also made it through.
A host of Exeter stars make this week's best XV following their contributions in a stunning win against disappointed Ospreys, with the Champions Cup showcasing a cast made up entirely of English and French sides.
A small group of Challenge Cup performers also lace up in our team of the weekend after Harlequins, London Irish, Sale Sharks, Gloucester, Newport Gwent Dragons, Connacht, Grenoble and Montpellier progressed to the quarters of Europe's second-tier contest.
Read on for a rundown of this weekend's best XV as the pool stages of Europe's elite tournament ended with a bang.
Back Three
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15. Gio Aplon, Grenoble
Two late tries from South African full-back Gio Aplon ensured Grenoble came away with a 34-23 win in their final Challenge Cup pool-stage clash against Edinburgh, showing superb hops for such a small player.
Aplon rose above the competition and reversed Grenoble's fortunes after they entered the final 10 minutes trailing 23-19.
Ulster's Jared Payne deserves an honourable mention for his scoring performance against Oyonnax, but the level of Aplon's competition means he just about sneaks ahead.
14. Craig Gilroy, Ulster
The Ulster backs enjoyed a field day against Oyonnax on Saturday. Craig Gilroy and Co. were allowed to run rampant at Ravenhill, scoring eight tries through eight different scorers in a 56-3 win.
The Ireland speedster missed out on a place in Joe Schmidt's squad for the Six Nations, but the national team may be ruing his omission after Gilroy beat six defenders for a grand total of 147 metres with ball in hand. Gilroy's 21 runs were also a match-high, and he teamed up well with fellow flyer Andrew Trimble.
11. James Short, Exeter Chiefs
Exeter's last-minute Champions Cup turnaround was by all means a team effort as they trod over Ospreys with a 33-17 victory on Sunday, but James Short's brace of scores ensured he stood apart from the rest.
Altogether, the winger raced for 191 metres from 11 carries, beating six defenders and making four clean breaks in total. According to OptaJonny, Short's metre haul was also a club record for Exeter in Europe.
Centres
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13. Cory Allen, Cardiff Blues
Perhaps a 74-6 thrashing of Italian minnows Calvisano is nothing to write home about—especially when the match took place at the Arms Park—but Cardiff Blues centre Cory Allen was nevertheless dazzling on Friday night.
Along with a brace of tries, the Wales centre boosted his bid for a stating berth in Warren Gatland's Six Nations XV after steamrolling his way to 110 metres with ball in hand from three clean breaks.
12. Luke Marshall, Ulster
Luke Marshall has quietly been developing his reputation as a driving force at Ravenhill, and the Ulster centre geared up for the Six Nations with another sterling club display against Oyonnax on Saturday.
The midfielder didn't finish as one of his side's eight scorers, but Marshall was responsible for a hefty chunk of Ulster's ball-carrying creation, beating four opponents from three breaks and managing three offloads.
Half-Backs
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10. Ben Botica, Harlequins
Proof that individuals don't need the result to run in their favour to enjoy a standout performance, Harlequins fly-half Ben Botica was a live-wire in the 42-9 defeat to Montpellier on Friday, far above the majority of team-mates.
BT Sport Rugby showed one of the fly-half's best breaks of the game, which should have led to a try, and Botica finished kicking all Quins' points of the evening, completing all 12 of his tackle attempts and beating eight defenders, with 98 metres to his name.
9. Baptiste Serin, Bordeaux
To beat Clermont 37-28 on Sunday at Marcel Michelin was a grand achievement for Bordeaux, and it was largely thanks to the non-stop engine of scrum-half Baptiste Serin that the visitors turned the screw time and again.
Never resting on his laurels, Serin outshone Morgan Parra in just about every aspect, and he also managed to rack up a very respectable 43 carrying metres—the second-highest tally among Bordeaux players—not to mention slotting two penalties.
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Back Row
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8. Thomas Waldrom, Exeter Chiefs
Joining team-mate Short on the brace-scorer list for Exeter came ever-present hero Thomas Waldrom, who clocked up a clean 100 metres against Ospreys and made a massive five offloads, just one fewer than the rest of his team combined.
Rugby World writer Paul Williams rightly attested to the No. 8's rather portly frame as proof that back-row fiends don't have to be slim and sleek to get the job done.
7. Poutasi Luafutu, Brive
Poutasi Luafutu was unfortunate his late drive against Newcastle Falcons didn't result in more than one try, but the openside's 85-metre running record nonetheless made it a close call in Brive's 27-23 loss.
6. Robbie Diack, Ulster
No Ulster player made more clean breaks in the win over Oyonnax than flanker Robbie Diack (four), who exorcised any frustrations he had at being left out of Ireland's Six Nations squad, rampaging for 83 metres and making nine tackles to boot.
Second Row
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5. Ben Toolis, Edinburgh
Scotland lock Ben Toolis celebrated his Six Nations call-up with a heavy-hitting display during the 34-23 loss against Grenoble, where he pitched in with a massive haul of 18 tackles in total.
4. Joe Launchbury, Wasps
A low, driving run from just inside Leinster's 22 saw Wasps star Joe Launchbury help his team en route to a 51-10 drubbing of the Irish outfit on Saturday, as shown by BT Sport Rugby.
The lock didn't rely solely on being in the right place at the right time, however, as he led Dai Young's pack members with an awesome record of 38 carrying metres from 14 runs to go along with his seven tackles.
Front Row
6 of 63. Rabah Slimani, Stade Francais
Leicester's pack appeared to do their best to target tighthead Rabah Slimani on Sunday, but the Stade Francais wrecking ball stood firm, maintaining a fine set piece and mustering nine tackles altogether in his side's 36-21 win.
2. Rob Herring, Ulster
It's not all too often a hooker gets into the double digits for yardage made with ball in hand, never mind bustling their way to 59 metres as Ulster's Rob Herring did on Saturday.
Oyonnax were caught sleeping as the hooker dotted down for an instinctive, short-range score, and the Ulster captain was assured from the lineout all day, hitting every single one of his throw-ins.
1. Sebastien Taofifenua, Bordeaux
Clermont's steadfast scrum was one of the few positives in their 37-28 home defeat to Bordeaux on Sunday, but loosehead Sebastien Taofifenua was a haunting presence to the hosts all the same.
As well as grinding over for a crucial second try for the visitors, Taofifenua made five tackles, missing none, and ensured his side of the scrum was a force to be reckoned with for the most part.
All statistics come courtesy of ESPN Scrum.
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