European rugby Power Rankings 2017/2018: Week 18

Jacob Stockdale 
Jacob Stockdale scores for Ulster

Round 5 of the Champions Cup felt like a relatively uninspiring set of fixtures heading into last weekend. Safe to say the matches themselves exceed expectations, from the Scarlets' outstanding win at Bath to Ospreys holding Saracens, topped off by Harlequins surprising Wasps.

All of which has led to some of the leading sides falling in the top ten, and one big climber up to third place...

Dive in.

40. Kings (0-12, no change)

39. London Irish (3-15, no change)

38. Zebre (3-15, no change)

37. Oyonnax (2-3-15, down one)

36. Dragons (4-1-13, up one)

No joy for the Kings in their South African derby against the Cheetahs, keeping them without a win all season. London Irish's youthful side did get the job done eventually against Russian outfit Kransy YAR, although the second leg this week may prove tricky in Siberia. New investment seems to be just around the corner.

Zebre couldn't live with a weakened Pau outfit. Oyonnax, more focused on avoiding the drop, were well beaten at home by Brive. Spirited effort by the Dragons though at UBB, scoring three tries on the road in France.

Elliot Dee
Wales squad member Elliot Dee in action for the Dragons Credit: GETTY IMAGES

35. Stade Francais (8-12, down one)

34. Treviso (6-12, down five)

33. Agen (6-14, down five)

32. Cardiff Blues (9-9, up one)

31. Northampton (6-12, up four)

Stade lost out in a high-scoring thriller with Edinburgh and they no doubt would have climbed a few spots had they clung on at Murrayfield. Just not their season. Much has rightly been made about the incident between Mathieu Bastareaud and Treviso's Sebastian Negri, turning the 0-36 scoreline for Treviso almost into a subplot. Ugly loss.

Disappointment for Agen at home to Gloucester but again, the French side are more concerned (understandably) about retaining their Top 14 status. Impressed with the Blues' win over Toulouse, particularly as it means Danny Wilson's side have won their pool with a game to spare.

The Northampton revival continues however under Alan Gaffney - now two wins from two! A triumph for all of rugby's coaches in their 70s. Saints are getting their confidence back and it was a treat to see Ben Foden roll back the years. Look past the Anglo-Welsh Cup and Saints visit Bath when the Premiership returns, which now seems like a fascinating fixture.

30. Brive (7-1-12, no change)

29. Leicester Tigers (8-10, down five)

28. Worcester (5-1-12, down one)

27. Cheetahs (7-5, up four)

26. Connacht (8-1-9, down three)    

Job done for Brive at Oyonnax and they have the slimmest of chances to make the last eight in the Challenge Cup as a best runner-up.

Leicester meanwhile... yikes. Yes, they sent a second-string side to France but even so; this was a massacre at Castres, the club's second-worst result ever in Europe. Calls already for Matt O'Connor to go, but what will that change? This is a squad, a club even, in transition.

Worcester and Connacht both find themselves in this block and the pair played out an entertaining 24-24 draw by all accounts. Two scores for Worcester's Perry Humphreys, who has hit a patch of form, but Connacht coach Kieran Keane will be the happier man given the draw meant his side have won the group with a round to go.

Nico Lee was on fire for the Cheetahs by the way against the Kings, grabbing a hat-trick. Bloemfontein's finest can close the gap to second-placed Munster to just three points with a bonus-point win this week.

25. Toulouse (9-2-9, down three)

24. Ospreys (6-1-11, up eight)

23. Sale Sharks (8-1-9, up two)

22. Harlequins (7-11, up four)

21. Clermont (10-1-9, down two)  

Hard to argue with Toulouse's perfectly average record for the season after their defeat to Sale. Cheslin Kolbe though is a treat to watch. Hats off to Sale too for putting away a strong Lyon side at home - Jono Ross has been a brilliant bit of business.

Great fight from Harlequins against Wasps - happy to admit the game looked over with Quins down 12-28 - and the celebrations after James Chisholm's matchwinner were well earned. Still hit hard by injuries, Quins have arguably exceeded expectations, even if their record is a little ugly.

Huge climb for the Ospreys after their draw with Saracens but it feels like Steve Tandy's side are back on track after that dire opening to the season. Dan Biggar looks sharp, Owen Watkin is a future star, and both props - Nicky Smith and Dimitri Arhip - pummelled Saracens upfront.

Clermont continue to hobble through a rough injury period, although they could have won at Northampton.

20. UBB (11-1-8, no change)

19. Toulon (11-9, up two)

18. Lyon (10-10, down two)

17. Edinburgh (13-5, down two)

16. Pau (13-7, up two)    

Spot as a best runner-up is on the line for UBB away at the Dragons this week, which will be a good test for Rory Teague's side. Nice to see Josua Tuisova back in the tries for Toulon against Treviso, who despite an average season find themselves top of Pool 5 with a round to go before travelling to face Scarlets.

Lyon's season is falling apart a little after that amazing start - ten wins now, ten defeats - and they could do with putting the Blues away this week for some confidence. 

Huge fan of what Pau are building under the radar this season and Friday's trip to Gloucester is intriguing given that if they win, a home quarter-final will be in the bag. Junior Rasolea's score with a minute to go meanwhile was enough for Edinburgh to edge out Stade Francais. Viva la Cockerill revolution (or something like that).

15. Bath (10-8, down one)

14. Wasps (10-8, down six)

13. Gloucester (12-6, no change)

12. Ulster (12-1-5, up six)

11. Castres (11-1-8, up one)  

Consistency is killing Bath this season. Ripped open in defence by the Scarlets, their tackle success rate wasn't bad - 88 percent - but coughing up 20 turnovers is criminal.

Sharp drop for Wasps after effectively throwing away their hopes of returning to the Champions Cup knockout stages. They were absolutely cruising and off the back of a wonder try by Nizaam Carr. His last game this week before heading back to South Africa, he's been an outstanding short-term recruit.

Two quick scores for Henry Purdy set the tone for Gloucester's romp at Agen while Castres, courtesy of a Thomas Combezou double, made light work of a really poor Leicester side.

Full credit though to Ulster for grinding out a home win over dangerous La Rochelle. Rory Best was huge, as was Iain Henderson, while Christian Lealiifano has been a joy to watch during his loan spell. They will head to Wasps with some swagger.

Christian Lealiifano
Christian Lealiifano will be missed in Belfast Credit: SPORTSFILE

10. Racing 92 (13-7, up one)

Maxime Machenaud is a hell of a goalkicker. Having the captaincy seems to suit him. Donnacha Ryan's arrival from Munster has added some welcome grunt to the Racing pack and he was excellent on Sunday.

More importantly Racing seem to be adjusting well to the unusual U Arena - Wait, is that what the 'U' stands for? - and it was to fun to see Yannick Nyanga and Dimitri Szarzewski still pulling off trick lineout moves. Win at Leicester and Racing are through.

Racing
Racing's impressive big screen Credit: SPORTSFILE

9. Newcastle Falcons (13-5, no change)

No reason to move the Falcons in either direction after cruising past Enisei as expected. It only took Newcastle 44 seconds to get over the line through Tom Penny, as wing Adam Radwan finished with a hat-trick.

As well as their Premiership campaign is going, Newcastle should targeting this competition for a long-awaited trophy. Up next for them, a chilly trip to Tbilisi (not that Newcastle is exactly the Bahamas).

8. Munster (11-1-6, down one)

Very, very close to an away win at Racing and Keith Earls was truly outstanding on the wing, particularly in the build-up to his own try. Conor Murray's kicking game looked sharp heading into the Six Nations and Ian Keatley is a fine patch of form too.

Top of Pool 4 by a point, it is all in Munster's hands ahead of the arrival of Castres (who realistically cannot qualify). What a signing Chris Farrell has been by the way.

7. Glasgow Warriors (12-6, down one)

Hardly expected a lot out of Glasgow given their Champions Cup plans were dead before they made the trip to Dublin. However they can kill off Exeter's hopes with a win at Scotstoun this weekend.

Just the 17(!) Glasgow players in Gregor Townsend's Scotland squad for the Six Nations, making up almost half the group.

6. Montpellier (12-8, down one)

Disappointing at Exeter, who made Montpellier look like a heavy, slow machine that couldn't keep up. Nemani Nadolo's score was purely a consolation.

That being said, injuries at tighthead and scrum-half have really hurt them, with medical joker Johannes Jonker filling in and young Georgian star Gela Aprasidze getting a first start. The sooner Ruan Pienaar is back the better.

Aaron Cruden
Montpellier star Aaron Cruden Credit: GETTY IMAGES

5. Saracens (11-1-6, down two)

Looked a bit flat in Swansea and the loss of Billy Vunipola is a crushing blow just a couple of games into this return. Here's to a speedy recovery for him.

Vincent Koch is an excellent prop but he really struggled against Nicky Smith, and Saracens couldn't get Liam Williams or Sean Maitland into any sort of space either. Expecting a backlash at home to Northampton. Better news on Wednesday with the announcement that Alex Lewington is joining from London Irish.

4. La Rochelle (13-1-6, no change)

Vital losing bonus point in the end at Ulster that sets up a must-win game at home to Harlequins this weekend. Even with the amount of fight Harlequins showed at home to Wasps, La Rochelle will be targeting a bonus-point success.

Gabriel Lacroix's season-ending ACL injury is an absolute sickener given how well he has performed over the past year or so for both La Rochelle and France. Proper exciting talent.

Gabriel Lacroix
Lacroix (L) suffered an ACL injury at Ulster Credit: AFP

3. Scarlets (14-4, up seven)

Called last week for a convincing performance and the Scarlets sure delivered. So much fun to watch with ball in hand, and Rhys Patchell's form at full-back has been good enough for Wales to consider him in the 15 shirt for the Six Nations. Aaron Shingler has a big role to play in that tournament too.

Few will trust Toulon to go to Parc y Scarlets and win given their scatty form and it seems wrong to back against the Pro14 champions on their home turf. Win and they take Pool 5. No extra incentive required.

2. Exeter Chiefs (13-5, no change)

Back in the mix for the runners-up spots provided results go their way and Exeter pull off a bonus-point win against a potentially disinterested Glasgow. Dave Ewers trucking form ruck to ruck again after his injury layoff is a very welcome sight indeed.

Inevitably the conversation this week will centre around the Exeter players who do no make the England squad, namely Don Armand and Olly Woodburn, with Armand's top form carrying on from 2017 and Woodburn producing a couple of incredible finishes against Montpellier.

1. Leinster (16-2, no change)

Cut above the rest of the continent over the last few months, with Scott Fardy and James Lowe now fully gelled in and Leo Cullen's side playing some phenomenal attacking rugby.

Jordan Larmour is the talk of the town - quite rightly - but what stuck out in the absence of Sean O'Brien last Sunday was the raft of top-quality replacements Leinster have available in Dan Leavy, Ulster-bound Jordi Murphy and Josh van der Flier. Incredible depth.

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