European Rugby Champions Cup Round 5: 5 key head to head battles

As we head into the penultimate round of the European Champions Cup group stage, here are five key individual battles that will shape the weekend and, in some cases, have even more resting on them.

Owen Williams vs Rhys Priestland
Leicester Tigers vs Scarlets
This battle has greater connotations than merely dictating who will win a vital pool three clash. Wales head coach Warren Gatland will be in attendance and will use the game as a direct audition for one of the fly-half spots in his squad for the Six Nations. Priestland is the incumbent but has never consistently re-captured the form that made him such a vital cog in Wales’ impressive 2011 World Cup campaign, and as he is off to Bath next season his time with the national squad could be limited. Williams, of course, has also signed on for another couple of years in the Premiership, but as a much younger man he could be the long term future of the Welsh ten shirt. If he outdoes Priestland this weekend, he could well leapfrog him in the rankings sooner rather than later. For now, whoever wins the individual battle will likely dictate which side ends the game with the slim chance of still qualifying.

Nick Easter vs Nathan Hughes
Harlequins vs Wasps
These two are undoubtedly the top performing number eights in the Premiership this season, and for all the relentless noise surrounding Nick Easter’s fine form and a potential England recall, Hughes’ unbelievably consistent excellence for Wasps has flown largely under the radar outside of London High Wycombe Coventry. With that in mind, if Easter can come out on top of this individual battle then there’s really no reason why he shouldn’t find himself back in the England set-up, because there are genuinely very few number eights performing better than these two in the world right now. They both rank in the top ten for carries in the tournament thus far, so expect them both to be heavily involved. It’s a mouth-watering sub-plot to a crucial game in pool two.

Danny Cipriani vs Camille Lopez
Sale Sharks vs Clermont Auvergne
Sale have not been able to replicate their domestic form in Europe and sit with four losses from four, but could still have a decisive say on who qualifies from the pool. With Munster and Saracens still in contention, a Sale win here could propel either of them to the top of the pool and into the driving seat – and we all know you can never 100% count on a French team away from home. For fly-half Danny Cipriani, this will probably be the most motivated he’s ever been. With the England squad named next week, it’s his final chance to impress Stuart Lancaster – and what better way to do that than to orchestrate a win over one of the top teams in Europe? As for his opposite man, Lopez needs to prove that his early season good form can continue, and an accomplished performance a long way from home – where French 10s have never seemed completely comfortable – would go a long way to enhancing his reputation as his country’s primary playmaker.

Daniel Evans vs Ben Foden
Ospreys vs Northampton Saints
This might not be one of the most obvious individual battles of the weekend, but it is undoubtedly one of the most exciting. According to the stats, Evans and Foden are two of the most potent attacking threats in the competition, the Welshman topping the metres made stats with 371 (indeed, he has allegedly made more metres than any other player across Europe this season) while the Saints fullback sits third in the clean breaks rankings. And then there’s the Six Nations to consider. Evans is a long-shot for the Wales squad, given the nailed-on presence of Liam Willams and Leigh Halfpenny, but all he can do is keep performing and hope for a break. As for Foden, he has stormed back into form as part of a Northampton backline that has ripped pretty much all before them to shreds recently. He’ll have his eyes firmly set on an England place. It’s a clash between two of the most exciting players from the two teams top of their domestic leagues, and it should be a belter.

Census Johnstone vs Paul James
Toulouse vs Bath Rugby
It won’t be the flashiest head to head of the weekend, but it will be one of the most brutal, and vital, between these two gnarled warriors of the front row. It does, of course, presuppose that James will start, which is far from certain given young Nick Auterac’s good form, but you suspect that for such a tough away trip, Bath will trust the more experienced man. That experience hasn’t always served him well this season, with several referees pinging him consistently for his scrummaging technique. Certainly, it will be tested to the full by Johnstone, a Samoan giant who loves nothing more than a pushing battle. That said, in the return fixture earlier this season it was James who came out on top, forcing the Samoan into four penalties at the scrum. It didn’t lead to a Bath win that day, but a similarly dominant performance can lay the foundation for Bath’s revenge mission.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images