The opening round of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup took place at the weekend. Find out which players stood out in our European Rugby Team of the Week.
The weekend saw the return of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup for the 2025-26 season, as the Prem, TOP 14 and URC clubs clashed across Europe and South Africa.
There were some standout wins, not least Bath’s demolition job on Munster, Glasgow Warriors coming from 14-0 down to win away at Sale, and Bordeaux mounting a second-half comeback to defeat the Bulls in Pretoria.
Using the Opta Index, we’ve selected the standout performers across both competitions – beginning with the star of the weekend.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
The reigning champions, Bordeaux-Begles, started off their campaign with an impressive win in Pretoria against the Bulls, after trailing by 11 points at the interval. The TOP 14 side scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to win by 13, with their victory orchestrated by fly-half Matthieu Jalibert.
The Frenchman was directly involved in three of UBB’s tries, scoring one and assisting a further two as his side rediscovered the incisive attacking rhythm that carried them to last season’s title.
Jalibert was the top-ranking fly half for carries (14) and defenders beaten (6) across the opening round of both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, with his two line breaks also a joint-high alongside Northampton’s Fin Smith.
Even when he was tackled he was still a threat: no one made more offloads than him at the weekend (4), while his kicking from hand was accurate too. Bordeaux regathered five of the eight kicks he made in open play, with his 63% retention rate the best of any player (min. 4 kicks attempted).
The Best of the Rest
The Champions Cup may be the elite competition, but several Challenge Cup players delivered performances worthy of top billing, with Ulster’s Zac Ward our top-ranking player in that competition by some distance.
Ward’s nine defenders beaten were the most by any player in either competition, while his 125 metres gained matched USAP’s Jefferson Joseph at the top. Only Ange Capuozzo (5) – who also earned a place in the Team of the Week – made more than his three line breaks.
The Ulsterman crossed for two tries, made 100% of his tackles and also won a turnover in an impressive all-round performance with Ireland head coach Andy Farrell watching on in Belfast.
9 – Zac Ward beat nine defenders v Racing 92, the most by any player in the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup at the weekend and the most by an @UlsterRugby back since Jacob Stockdale beat nine v Stade Rochelais in January 2018. Elusive. pic.twitter.com/Op0IRUm1cG
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) December 8, 2025Benetton’s Leonardo Marin was another Challenge Cup player who stood out across Europe this weekend, helping his side to an impressive victory away to the Lions. With the Italians trailing 18-11 going into the final 10 minutes, the 23-year-old centre scored twice in the space of four minutes, before a Tomas Albornoz drop goal helped seal a 26-18 victory.
Marin made three line breaks, a joint-high for any centre at the weekend and behind only the aforementioned Capuozzo overall, while only star player Jalibert made more offloads than his three.
In the pack, the Stormers’ Paul de Villiers put in a tireless performance against Bayonne and was rewarded with a well-deserved try. He made 12 carries, completed 17 tackles and hit 13 attacking rucks and 14 defensive rucks – the only player to hit double figures for all four categories across the weekend’s European fixtures.
De Villiers’ teammate Ntuthuko Mchunu also made a huge impact for the Stormers. From just four carries he gained 41 metres, the most of any front row forward at the weekend, making one line break and beating two defenders. In defence, he also completed 7/7 tackles and won a turnover as the Cape Town outfit won in Bayonne.
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European Rugby Team of the Week: Jalibert Gives Masterclass to Take Top Spot Opta Analyst.
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