Round 2 of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup took place at the weekend, find out which 15 players stood out across the two competitions.
December’s back-to-back European Cup weekends are complete and with two games now played by every team in the competition we’re starting to get an idea of how the pools are likely to shake up.
Glasgow’s remarkable comeback against six-time champions Toulouse was the story of the round, with the Scottish side coming from 21-0 down at half-time to win 28-21. They now sit top of Pool 1 as one of just three teams in the Champions Cup to have maximum points after two games, along with Northampton Saints and Bordeaux-Begles, both in Pool 4.
Two URC heavyweights in the shape of the Stormers and Leinster sit at the top of Pool 3 while it’s anyone’s guess who will take home top spot in Pool 2 at the conclusion of the group stage with all six sides separated by just one point.
In the Challenge Cup there are also three teams on the maximum points, including Montpellier and the Ospreys in Pool 1, along with Stade Français Paris in Pool 3.
Which individuals stood out across the weekend’s fixtures, though? We used the Opta Index to select the best XV.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
Cadan Murley put in an excellent performance during Harlequins’ emphatic win over Bayonne. The England winger registering both a try and an assist – one of just two wingers to manage that across the European fixtures at the weekend, alongside Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Murley gained 147 metres with ball in hand, more than any other player at the weekend, with teammate Nick David (144m) the only other player in the Champions Cup to get within 40 metres of that total.
His four line breaks were also a joint high (also Fabien Brau-Boirie) while his six defenders beaten placed him in the top three in the Champions Cup. It was an impressive outing that will certainly give Steve Borthwick food for thought, as he ponders the wing depth at his disposal ahead of this Six Nations.
The Best of the Rest
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was just pipped by Murley for the Star Player of the Week, but the young Stormers fly half put in yet another excellent performances as his side downed Stade Rochelais in Port Elizabeth.
He scored 12 points from the tee but it was his playmaking which really caught the eye, assisting four of the Stormers’ six tries. It was just the sixth time that a player has assisted four or more tries in a Champions Cup game since Opta have recorded this data (2009-10) with Antoine Dupont the only other player to manage it in the last seven years – not bad company.
4 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu assisted four tries for @THESTORMERS against Stade Rochelais, just the 6th player to assist 4+ tries in a @ChampionsCup game since Opta have recorded this data (since 2009/10). Creative. pic.twitter.com/6nKgF052CK
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) December 15, 2025Elsewhere in the back line, Northampton’s George Hendy was the only player to cross for a hat-trick of tries in the Champions Cup at the weekend. Meanwhile in the centres Fabien Brau-Boirie made an impressive four line breaks, despite his side’s heavy defeat to Bristol Bears, a joint-high across Europe, alongside Star Player Cadan Murley.
In the pack, Henry Pollock and Benjamin Grondona forced their way into the back row as the only forwards to both score and assist a try in the Champions Cup at the weekend, with Pollock also gaining the most metres of any forward (83) and Grondona averaging the most metres per carry (9.7).
In the front row, Zander Fagerson showed no signs of the injury that kept him out of the Lions tour and the beginning of this season – he made 17 carries, the second most of any forward in the Champions Cup (Tom Willis – 18), also adding 11 tackles – at a 100% success rate – and 35 ruck hits.
His combined total of 63 carries, tackles and rucks was the most of any tight five forward, six more than Julien Marchand (57) who tallied the second most – enough to take the number two jersey in our XV.
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European Rugby Team of the Week: Magical Murley Shines for Quins Opta Analyst.
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