While the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour might still seem a long way away – it pays to keep an eye out for who is turning in the big performances in the here and now.
As part of a weekly feature on the site – we wrap up the action across Europe this weekend and pick out some stand-out performances across the four countries for you to consider.
TOP POINTS SCORERS
Leading the way in the points scoring this week was England fly-half Owen Farrell, who racked up 21 points as Saracens continued their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive 26-16 win at Wasps.
He managed one try, two conversions and four penalties in a great all-round display.
Elsewhere, Scarlets’ Aled Thomas finished on the losing side against the Ospreys on Saturday but not before kicking 16 points for his team.
Scotland scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne was a point further back in helping Edinburgh to derby success over Glasgow, one point more than compatriot Greig Laidlaw, who scored 14 for Gloucester in their 39-39 draw with Harlequins.
TOP TRY SCORERS
The leading try scorers for the weekend all came from the Premiership, where Will Chudley, Henry Trinder and Ross Chisholm all managed two tries.
Former Lions George North, Alun Wyn Jones and Sean Maitland were also among the try-scorers in England and Wales.
TOP TACKLERS
It was a busy weekend on the tackling front, with Wales hooker the man to finish top of the pile.
Owens racked up 19 tackles against the Ospreys, although it wasn’t quite enough to secure the victory.
His teammates Aaron Shingler and Morgan Allen managed 16 apiece, while Justin Tipuric chipped in with 15 for the Ospreys.
Elsewhere a trio of Leinster forwards were very active, with Devin Toner, 18, edging back row colleagues Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien, both 17.
Also deserving of a mention is fly-half Ian Madigan who managed 15 tackles for Leinster, while fellow ten Farrell chipped in with ten for Sarries.
TOP METRE MAKERS
Gloucester and Harlequins played an incredible game at Twickenham, so it’s little surprise that the leading metre makers featured in that game.
Henry Trinder scored two breakaway tries which helped him rack up 145 metres with ball in hand, while teammate Rob Cook got 138 including a try.
The other players to go over a 100 metres were both full-backs, Alex Goode of Saracens and Mat Tait of Leicester, with the two set to go head to head next week.
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