Champions Cup QF Stats Leaders: Most Tackles, Carries, Metres Gained, Defenders Beaten and More

The action-packed quarter-finals over the past weekend yielded some great rugby, broke some hearts and elated others. The round kicked off with a shock Leinster loss – their first one of the season – to Saracens (25-17) before Racing 92 trumped Clermont 36-27. On Sunday, Toulouse thrashed Ulster 36-8 while, in the final game, Exeter held their own against Northampton, posting a decent 38-15 victory.

We now take a look at the top performers in the stats columns before the semi-finals get underway.

Tackles

1. Maro Itoje (Saracens) – 19
2. Mako Vunipola (Saracens) & Jonny Gray (Exeter) – 18
3. Jamie George (Saracens) – 17

In a game in which Saracens were forced to defend like Trojans, Itoje was his usual busy and menacing self, plaguing Leinster’s attack with every opportunity.

Carries

1. James Ryan (Leinster) – 17
2. Thomas Ramos (Toulouse) – 14
3. Billy Vunipola (Saracens) & David Ribbans (Northampton) – 13

Impressive as ever, James Ryan busily assaulted the Saracens defensive line. Unfortunately, his mammoth attacking effort was not enough to see his team achieve victory.

Metres gained

1. Thomas Ramos (Toulouse) – 125
2. Antoine Dupont (Toulouse) – 106
3. Damian Penaud (Clermont) – 105

The hot-stepping Toulouse fullback really stretched his legs on against the unfortunate Ulster outfit, his efforts yielding some brilliant runs and a try as well.

Defenders beaten

1. Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont) – 9
2. Caelan Doris (Leinster) & Jack Nowell (Exeter) – 7
3. Henry Slade (Exeter), Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse), Jacques Vermeulen (Exeter), Sofiane Guitoune (Toulouse) – 5

The speedy, jinking Matsushima was a lot for the Racing 92 defence to handle on the weekend, dancing over the line for a try as well tearing things up in broken play, as usual.

Clean breaks

1. Matt Faddes (Ulster) – 3

As was to be expected, defences were, by and large, pretty tight during the quarters. With a whole host of players making one or two clean breaks, Ulster’s Faddes topped the list.

Turnovers won

     1. Michael Rhodes & Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 3

The South African duo did great work on the ground for Saracens over the weekend. With many players managing one or two turnovers, Rhodes and Koch find themselves topping the stat with three apiece.