{"id":395227,"date":"2026-01-06T11:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/395227\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:46:09","slug":"european-rugby-team-of-the-week-classy-jalibert-takes-top-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/395227\/","title":{"rendered":"European Rugby Team of the Week: Classy Jalibert Takes Top Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Find out which players
\nranked highest in the Opta Index to earn selection in our first
\nTeam of the Week of 2026.<\/p>\n

From a blizzard in Belfast to South African sunshine, the new
\nyear saw its first rugby action over the weekend and there was a
\nfeast of excellent attacking rugby on show.<\/p>\n

Northampton, Stade Rochelais, Montpellier and Bordeaux-Begles
\nall hit a half century of points but were those free-scoring
\nperformances enough to see their players rewarded with a spot in
\nthis week\u2019s European Club Rugby Team of the Week?<\/p>\n

Here, we break down the selected XV, alongside Opta\u2019s Star
\nPlayer of the Week and several other standout performers who forced
\ntheir way into the lineup.<\/p>\n

\"Rugby
\nOpta\u2019s
\nStar Player of the Week<\/p>\n

Having topped the rankings after the opening round of the
\nChampions Cup and Challenge Cup, Matthieu Jalibert
\nhas done so again, making him our first Star Player of 2026.<\/p>\n

The Bordeaux-Begles playmaker has been in the form of his life
\nthis season and showed his class once again against Racing 92 on
\nSaturday, scoring a try and assisting a further two as his side
\nrecorded a resounding win.<\/p>\n

He carried the ball 20 times \u2013 more than any back across the Big
\nThree leagues over the weekend \u2013 while also registering a
\njoint-high four offloads. No fly-half matched his totals for metres
\ngained (88), line breaks (two) or defenders beaten (10), further
\nhighlighting his all-round influence.<\/p>\n

As always, his distribution and ability to put the players
\naround him into space was excellent. He assisted five line breaks,
\nmore than any other player across the TOP 14, Premiership Rugby or
\nthe URC at the weekend. It\u2019s the second time he\u2019s assisted 5+ line
\nbreaks in a game this season; no other player has managed that feat
\nmore than once.<\/p>\n

\"Jalibert
\nThe Best
\nof the Rest<\/p>\n

Our two wingers \u2013 Jamie Dobie
\nand Elliott Obatoyinbo \u2013 made
\nfour line breaks at the weekend, with George Hendy and Kalaveti
\nRavouvou the only other players to equal that across the Big Three
\nleagues.<\/p>\n

Dobie and Obatoyinbo recorded similar stats for Glasgow and
\nNewcastle respectively, both making 13 carries, gaining over 100
\nmetres and beating five defenders in addition to their impressive
\nline breaks tally. Dobie added two tries and an assist against
\nZebre, while Obatoyinbo\u2019s tally of 12 tackles was at least two more
\nthan any other winger.<\/p>\n

In the pack, Alex Coles and
\nBarnabe Massa both dotted down three times, two of
\njust three players to score a hat-trick over the weekend, alongside
\nMontpellier hooker Christopher Tolofua.<\/p>\n

Coles\u2019 hat-trick was the first by a second row in Prem Rugby
\nsince Jonny Hill managed it for Exeter Chiefs in August 2020, while
\nthe Saints lock also assisted a try to cap off an excellent
\nperformance.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Coles\u2019 teammate in the Northampton engine room,
\nDanilo Fischetti scored twice for
\nSaints against Harlequins. In doing so, he became just the second
\nprop in the English top flight to score more than once in a match
\nthis season after Thomas du Toit who managed it for Bath, against
\nNorthampton, just a week earlier.<\/p>\n

In the back row, Sam Simmonds
\ngained the most metres of any forward across the Big Three leagues
\n(108) while Levani Botia made the most line breaks
\nof any forward (3) and was one of just six to both score and assist
\na try at the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"Breaks<\/p>\n

Check out our
\nother\u00a0Rugby
\nUnion content on Opta
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