Ulster Rugby’s Stuart McCloskey is the man in the spotlight after his try in the 19-9 victory over Wasps in Round 1 is our Try of the Round.
The winning try was determined by a combination of the fans’ votes and the choice of a rugby expert. This week Matthieu Lartot’s of France Télévisions said of McCloskey’s score: “In a tough match, Ulster scored the weekend’s finest try with remarkable movement and, notably, two offloads executed to perfection.”
The try was also the most popular among fans.
Steff Evans’ sensational try for Scarlets in the pouring rain in Wales last Friday night has been voted the Try of the Round for Round 2 matches in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The left-wing rounded off a superb move begun in his side’s half in their 18-13 defeat by Bath to win the vote of fans and BT Sport pundit Lawrence Dallaglio.
Dallaglio, the former England No.8, said: “Steff Evans’ try is No 1. It was a fantastic team try in atrocious conditions, showing ambition to run from deep with a great combination of superb offloading and support lines.”
HAYWARD MAKES TRY OF THE ROUND HISTORY
For the first time, the Try of the Round has been won by a player from an Italian club, with Jayden Hayward of Benetton Rugby winning a close vote for Round 3.
The public were well divided in their choice – which only included tries from the round up until the end of play last Sunday – but beIN SPORTS’ Dimitri Yachvili selected Hayward’s score in their thrilling Champions Cup Pool 5 encounter away to Scarlets in west Wales.
The former France scrum-half said it was a “magnificent team try that recalled memories of that scored by Gareth Edwards during the legendary 1973 match between the Barbarians and the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park”.
Check out the page next week for more thrilling action and to choose the Try of the Round after Round 4! #TryofTheRound
Anthony Watson’s dazzling second try for Bath Rugby in their thrilling 26-21 home victory over RC Toulon has won the Champions Cup Try of the Round for Round 4.
The England international scored two tries in the Pool 5 tie, but it was the second – a 30-metre run leaving Josua Tuisova and Hugo Bonneval grasping at thin air – that was shortlisted and topped a combined vote by fans and our rugby expert, Sky Sports’ Will Greenwood.
The former England centre explained: “Anthony Watson’s angelic arc for his second try was a thing of rare rugby beauty. Even Eddie Jones’ poker face cracked as he watched from the stands. Watson is one of those players who terrifies defenders and gets fans on their feet.”
SCARLETS TEAM TRY IMPRESSES BOTH IBANEZ & THE FANS
Scarlets have added to their many plaudits by scooping their second Try of the Round award of the season so far in the Champions Cup.
The scintillating team move, finished by Tadhg Beirne, which took the Pool 5 contenders from inside their own 22 to the tryline in the win away to Bath Rugby, was the top pick of fans and also the favourite of France Télévisions’ Raphaël Ibañez.
“There were some very special individual tries in Round 5 but I would always back a team effort, and the best example for that is the Scarlets try”, said Ibañez. “It combines the ambition of the team to counterattack from its own 22m, good running lines, many offloads and both speed and accuracy in the passing: you’ll find everything that makes great rugby!”
Glasgow Warriors signed their European Rugby Champions Cup season in style with victory over Exeter Chiefs – and now have another reason to be satisfied after Tommy Seymour landed Try of the Round for the concluding weekend of pool matches.
Over three-quarters of a record number of fans selected the scintillating score as their favourite, leaving other nominees Simon Zebo, Tom Cruse, Anthony Watson and Marcelo Bosch in his wake. BT Sport’s Austin Healey agreed with the public vote, saying: “Seymour’s try was all about pace, angles and offloads. I also loved the fact that Glasgow backed themselves to attack from deep: they saw the space and went for it.”
A public vote, combined with the thoughts of beIN SPORTS’ Rodolphe Pires, has confirmed Racing 92’s Leone Nakarawa as the scorer of the Try of the Knockout Rounds in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Nakarawa’s superb score in the away win over ASM Clermont Auvergne at Stade Marcel-Michelin during the quarter-finals enabled him to eclipse the tries of James Ryan and Andrew Conway in a competition taking in both quarter-final and semi-final matches.
“From my point of view, Nakarawa’s try is the most beautiful because it illustrates two important aspects,” explains Pires. “First, the long-distance phase shows the desire and support capabilities of Racing, as six players touch the ball during the phase from Marc Andreu launching the attack, Maxime Machenaud passing on the ball, to the finishing of Nakarawa with speed present throughout. On the other hand, it highlights the evolution of Racing players’ game, often criticised for their game that is too direct, and who can develop an ambitious and instinctive game when the situation requires it.”
Beirne wins Champions Cup Try of the Season!
After combining over 3,000 public votes and the expert opinion of BT Sport’s Brian O’Driscoll, we can announce that the try of Scarlets forward Tadhg Beirne against Bath Rugby has been awarded European Rugby Champions Cup Try of the 2017/18 season.
After Rhys Patchell caught a high kick, the ball was spread wide through Hadleigh Parkes and Scott Williams before a string of delightful offloads that allowed Beirne to lay a perfect dummy on the final Bath defender, Anthony Watson, and dive over the try line.
Three-time European Cup winner Brian O’Driscoll said: “This was an incredible team try combining wonderful offloading, clever angles of running, ball handling of the highest order, eventually finished off by a second row flat-footing Anthony Watson with a step any outside back would have been proud of.”
