Champions Cup Quarter Finals: Standout players

Each team that remains in the 2023/24 Investec Champions Cup is full of quality, and some players in particular have stood out in each of this year’s quarter-final matches.

The latest edition of the Investec Champions Cup has had no shortage of enthralling action in its matches in the 2023/24 tournament, and now we are reaching the business end of the competition with the semi-finals rapidly approaching. The semi-final ties are set to take place from Saturday 4th to Sunday 5th May 2024.

Leinster Rugby will be going head to head with the Northampton Saints at Croke Park on 4th May, before Stade Toulousain go toe to toe with Harlequins at the Stadium de Toulouse in France the following day. The big prize for the winners of these two ties will of course be a place in the 2024 Investec Champions Cup Final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 25th May.

The reigning champions Stade Rochelais, better known as La Rochelle, were knocked out at the Quarter Finals after a 40 – 13 defeat against Leinster away from home at the Aviva Stadium. This was the second of two Champions Cup titles after having won the 2021/22 title after beating Leinster 24 – 21 in the Final at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

As for the clubs still involved in the 2023/24 version of the Investec Champions Cup, it is Stade Toulousain who’ve won this competition the most times, but not just amongst teams left, but their total of 5 is more than any other team to have ever competed in this prestigious competition. They have won it in 1995/96, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2009/10 and of course in the 2020/21 season.

They are followed by Leinster with 4 (2008/09, 2010/11, 2011/12 & 2017/18) and then the Northampton Saints who won their first and so far only title in the 1999/00 campaign after beating Munster 9 – 8. As for Harlequins, they are yet to win this competition.

Now that we have taken a look at the teams left in the competition, let’s now take a look at some of the players that stood out for their respective sides as they made the final four.

Will Porter (Harlequins)

We will start with Will Porter, who stepped up to fill the number 9 spot after Danny Care vacated this position thanks to an injury and because he did such a good job there against Bordeaux that Care may find it difficult to shirt Porter from his spot in the Harlequins team for the semi-final against Stade Toulousain.

Porter managed to contribute two vital tries that helped his side on their way to what was an excellent, if also very narrow, 41 – 42 victory against Bordeaux Begles in the Quarter-Finals.

Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)

Alex Coles proved vital as the Northampton Saints managed to get the better of the Vodacom Bulls, emphatically beating the South African outfit with a 59 – 22 scoreline. Coles put in a fantastic performance alongside Alex Moon to limit the threat their opponents posed from certain situations such as set-pieces.

Coles was also able to add a vital try to make it a truly fantastic and standout performance for the 24-year-old.

James Lowe (Leinster Rugby)

James Lowe was part of the Leinster side who were able to emerge from a tough Quarter Final contest against reigning Champions La Rochelle, with the French side being beaten 40 – 13 at the famous Aviva Stadium.

Not only did Lowe put in a powerful performance where his pace proved lethal for the opposition, he contributed no less than two tries which were vitally important contributions in the context of what was a particularly crucial match for all the players on both sides.

Blair Kinghorn (Stade Toulousain)

Finally, we move on to Blair Kinghorn who had a truly outstanding game for Stade Toulousain in their Quarter Final tie against the Exeter Chiefs. It was an emphatic 64 – 26 win for the French outfit on Sunday 14th April 2024 at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Kinghorn himself was pivotal in this contest, where he managed to not only contribute 2 tries, he was also on hand to score no less than 5 conversions as well as the penalty as he and his team comfortably secured passage into the semi-finals come the final whistle.

Excitement and anticipation are now building for the 2023/24 Investec Champions Cup Final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 25th May, with this showpiece occasion getting underway at 14:45 that afternoon.

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