European Rugby Champions Cup Team of the Tournament 2014-15

2014-15 European Rugby Champions Cup winners Toulon built their success around teamwork and defensive cohesion, but individuals still starred for them and their nearest challengers, Clermont Auvergne.

In selecting this team of the tournament, priority has been given to those players who had a consistently significant impact on the tournament, particularly in the knockout stages.

Toulon have six players in this XV, Clermont five, with one apiece for Leinster, Saracens, Bath and Northampton Saints.

Vincent Debaty (Clermont Auvergne): A fine scrummager and a dynamo in the loose, France’s Debaty is one of the northern hemisphere’s premier loose-head props.

Guilhem Guirado (Toulon): Guirado is a hooker with great hands. Accomplished in the set piece, he stands out in the loose, where he is comfortable in midfield or out wide. His offloading skills are up there with the best. From the front row, that is remarkable.

David Zirakashvili (Clermont Auvergne): The Georgian powerhouse gets the nod over Toulon’s Carl Hayman on the tight-head side on the back of his continued scrum dominance throughout the cup.

Sebastien Vahaamahina (Clermont Auvergne): Vahaamahina is sure to be in the reckoning for France at the World Cup later this year after a series of impressive performances at European club rugby’s top table. The 23-year-old enforcer was particularly strong against potent Northampton Saints pair Samu Manoa and Courtney Lawes in the quarter-final.

Devin Toner (Leinster): Toner, the giant Irish lock, has matured into a stand-out player in Leinster blue.  As a leader and line-out master, he dominated for club and country this season.

Chris Masoe (Toulon): Veteran Kiwi Masoe forms part of a powerful back row as strength dominated the European Champions Cup breakdown. His carrying was particularly imposing in the final and his offload for Bryan Habana’s try against Ulster was one of the season’s moments of magic.

Steffon Armitage (Toulon): Armitage was not the all-conquering force in the competition he was last year, but his breakdown work was its usual high standard. Most impressive though, was his carrying. Squat, with a low centre of gravity, he bumped Clermont players all day in the final (see video above).

Billy Vunipola (Saracens): Vunipola held off the compelling case made by Jamie Heaslip with a series of high-octane running performances throughout the Champions Cup season.

Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Toulon): Tillous-Borde is a fine all-round scrum-half, combining sniping runs from the base with good tactical and game-management skills. Along with Matt Giteau, he directs the Toulon back division.

George Ford (Bath): Ford is not the finished product, but the work in progress is something to behold. He still has a tendency to be charged down, but his running, and more importantly, the way he times his passes ensured that he was the best fly-half in the tournament this year. He was a catalyst for Bath’s stunning victory in Toulouse, and produced two moments of magic against Leinster (see above) in the quarter-final.  

Wesley Fofana (Clermont Auvergne): Fofana, with four tries in the tournament, claims the 12 jersey. A tidy finish in the semi-final was bettered by the fine footwork he demonstrated against Northampton in the quarter-final and Toulon in the final.

Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon): Bastareaud is much-maligned, but he has been invaluable to Toulon’s third consecutive successful assault on the European rugby summit. With five tries in the tournament, powerful defence and breakdown work, Bastareaud was one of the players of the Champions Cup.

George North (Northampton Saints): North was injured for the Saints’ quarter-final against Clermont, but he left his mark on the competition after scoring seven tries in five group-stage appearances.

Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon): Jonny Wilkinson’s replacement at Toulon has maintained his stellar goal-kicking, whilst his all-round play remains very impressive. He is moved to the wing in this XV so that Nick Abendanon can play in his favoured position of full-back.

Nick Abendanon (Clermont Auvergne): Abendanon was simply outstanding in his first season in France with Clermont. He produced so many moments of magic in the Champions Cup, but his performances against Saracens in the return pool match and especially Northampton Saints in the quarter-final will remain long in the memory. He had a mixed Champions Cup final, but his vision and execution for a solo try were an “exceptional circumstance.”

Abendanon was the Bleacher Report player of the Champions Cup and named 2015 European Player of the Year.