Champions Cup Round 3 review
Tuesday 12 December 2017 15:56, UK
Round 3 of the Champions Cup is now over and the collection of games we have been treated to has been utterly superb.
We've seen it all from around Europe over the past three days, with drama of near epic proportions. But what have been the highlights?
Game of Round 3
There were almost too many good games to mention from the latest batch of Champions Cup action.
From the excitement and madness of the Ospreys' 43-32 win at Northampton to the sheer quality on display in Leinster's victory over Exeter at Sandy Park.
La Rochelle, Munster and Clermont (belatedly) put on dominant showings, Scarlets got out of jail against Benetton, while Ulster fought off Harlequins and the snow to claim victory at the Stoop.
But the game of the round came from the Stade Mayol, where Toulon and Bath played out a humdinger.
Bath went in at the half 13-7 to the good but Toulon came roaring back in the second period to regain the lead before an amazing error at the back... but more on that below.
With that, Bath had regained the lead before an incredible climax. Relive all the action from a quite stunning game below:
Player of the Round
As we do every week, we picked the best from the best of all the rugby action over the last week for our Team of the Week on Monday.
We've narrowed it down to five players for you to decide on: Montpellier's Louis Picamoles, Leinster's Tadhg Furlong, Ospreys' Dan Evans, Munster's Peter O'Mahony and Clermont's Alivereti Raka!
Have your say below!
Try of the round
After the plethora of scores we were treated to over the weekend, we've narrowed the choice for try of Round 3 down to three efforts.
Anthony Belleau's moment of magic to win the game for Toulon against Bath.
Jack Conan's extraordinary effort for Leinster at Exeter after a record-breaking 44 phases.
Vincent Rattez's fantastic effort at home to Wasps for La Rochelle after a flowing team move.
And Flip van der Merwe's try for Clermont in their annihilation of Saracens on Monday, created by the unstoppable Alivereti Raka.
Vote for your favourite below!
Stat of the round
Five minutes and 10 seconds - that's how long Leinster held onto the ball for their match-winning try against Exeter at Sandy Park.
To put it into context, Leinster were in possession for just over 25 minutes in total during the whole match, so that one passage of play was more than 20 per cent of their entire time with the ball, and Exeter themselves were in possession for 14 minutes and 23 seconds during the entirety of the encounter.
Stats don't tell you everything, but in this case they paint a picture of the patience and energy required by both sides during a crucial period in a big game.
Blunder of the round
Teddy Thomas managed to cough up a guaranteed try in the seventh minute of Racing 92's match against Castres, and with the Parisians losing that game, you'd have to imagine he will hear more about it at the next team meeting.
Normally Thomas' mistake would be enough to give him the round's least desirable accolade, but two Toulon players combined for their own effort at Stade Felix Mayol…
Chris Ashton's slice makes for interesting watching, but Josua Tuisova has to take some responsibility for that casual throw into his own in-goal area!
Toulon were still able to salvage the game after the pair's team-mates pulled together for a late win, so it's likely to be Ashton and Tuisova buying the drinks at Toulon's Christmas party.
Tweet of the round
Never one to shy away from laughing at himself, Ashton took to social media to take responsibility for his unfortunate error - and thank his team-mates and supporters...
