After two weekends of Champions Cup action, the Premiership, TOP 14 and United Rugby Championship returned, we take a look at the standout players.
It was back to the bread and butter of domestic rugby at the weekend, as the Premiership, TOP 14 and URC all saw a final weekend of action before Christmas.
In the English top flight, Bath and Bristol both recorded emphatic victories away from home to maintain their spots at the top of the league, with Saracens leading the charge from the chasing pack.
Over in France, Bordeaux-Begles’s victory over Castres saw them edge past Toulouse – who drew with Lyon – at the top of the table, although the two sides do sit level on points. RC Toulon continued their fine form with a fourth consecutive victory to stay within reach of the leaders.
Bragging rights were at stake in the URC, where it was a weekend full of local derbies. Leinster maintained their 100% record to stay top of the league, but Glasgow continued to keep the pressure on the league leaders with a comfortable win against Edinburgh.
Which players stood out during the weekend’s action though? We used the Opta Index to pick out our data-powered team of the week.
Eleven different teams are represented, with Bristol’s excellent win at Leicester seeing them rewarded with three players in the XV, more than any other club.
Opta’s Star Player of the Week
There were multiple Bristol Bears near the top of the Opta Index rankings over the weekend, but it was Kalaveti Ravouvou who took the top spot overall.
The Flying Fijian crossed for two tries as the Bears dismantled the Tigers and he carved open the Leicester defence all afternoon.
From his 18 carries he made five line breaks, which was not only the most in the Premiership at the weekend but the joint-most in a match this season, alongside Tom Roebuck who made five versus Gloucester in October.
He also became the first Bristol player to hit double figures for defenders beaten in a league game this season, evading 10 attempted tackles, but it was the distance he travelled with ball in hand which was most impressive.
The 26-year-old gained 230 metres against Leicester, the most by any player in a Premiership match this season, surpassing the previous best – recorded by teammate Gabriel Ibitoye (149 vs Exeter) – by over 80 metres.
Overall, it was the second most by any player in the English top flight since Opta have recorded this data (since 2008-09), after Chris Pennell’s tally of 233 against Harlequins over 10 years ago.
230 – @BristolBears' Kalaveti Ravouvou gained 230 metres against Leicester Tigers, only one other player has gained as many metres in a @premrugby match since Opta have recorded this data (since 2008/09) – Chris Pennell for Worcester Warriors back in 2013 (233 v Quins). Electric. pic.twitter.com/dl23d6PaHN
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) December 23, 2024His tally was made all the more impressive by the fact he gained those metres while playing at centre – no other player has gained 200+ metres in a Premiership match while wearing the 12 or 13 jersey.
Ravouvou’s incredible performance did mean that for the second week in a row, the second-highest-ranking player in the Opta Index missed out.
This week it was Munster’s Tom Farrell, who scored a hat-trick but only gained 140 metres. Sorry Tom…
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Opta’s European Rugby Team of the Week: 20-22 December Opta Analyst.
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