Now that the dust has settled on the Champions Cup quarter-finals, we have gone through the action to pick the best players from the matches.

Following their dominant victory over Glasgow Warriors, Saracens lead the way with six nominations while Leinster and Toulouse are next best with three apiece, so without further ado, here’s out selection.

Champions Cup: Team of the quarter-finals

15 Liam Williams (Saracens): Sarries delivered a superb attacking display in their triumph over Glasgow Warriors and the Wales international was at the forefront of that effort. Williams gained 52 metres with ball in hand from 12 runs which included a clean break, two defenders beaten, a couple of offloads and he finished with a brace of tries. Also won a turnover and beats out Darcy Graham of Edinburgh.

14 Lucas Tauzin (Toulouse): The young flyer came to the fore with a brilliant performance as his side edged out Racing 92 in a thrilling encounter in Paris on Sunday. The 20-year-old was excellent on attack, gaining 54 metres from two clean breaks, beating five defenders but also finished with two off-loads. Also did his bit on defence with six hits and is preferred to Saracens’ David Strettle and Racing’s Teddy Thomas.

13 Darren Cave (Ulster): Sofiane Guitoune of Toulouse and Racing 92’s Virimi Vakatawa also impressed but Cave gets the nod after an excellent defensive display, albeit in a losing cause to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium. In a tightly contested encounter, Cave’s reads in defence were superb and stopped Leinster’s attack from truly firing. Eventually completed 13 tackles and was unlucky to finish on the losing side.

12 Brad Barritt (Saracens): The Saracens skipper came to the fore with a fine all-round effort as his side booked their semi-final berth with a superb performance against Glasgow Warriors. Barritt did well on attack and eventually gained 40 metres from 11 carries which included one clean break. Also won a turnover and made six tackles. Chris Dean of Edinburgh was next best.

11 Keith Earls (Munster): The Ireland international was Munster’s hero as he scored the match-winning try in his side’s narrow triumph over Edinburgh at Murrayfield. Earls crossed the whitewash on two occasions and caught the home side’s defence by surprise when he took a tap penalty before scoring his first try. Finished with 31 metres gained from seven runs, with two clean breaks, a defender beaten and also managed an off-load.

10 Alex Goode (Saracens): Came into the Sarries starting line-up as a late replacement for Owen Farrell and gave a good account of himself. Goode’s game management was superb and he did well to unleash his side’s dangerous outside backs. Gained 34 metres from nine carries and managed a try assist. Also put his body on the line in defence with nine tackles and edges out Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont.

9 Sebastien Bezy (Toulouse): With Dupont shifting to fly-half – after Zack Holmes received a red card in the win over Racing 92 – Bezy came on at scrum-half and slotted in seamlessly. Varied his play excellently and combined well with Dupont but was particularly impressive on defence where he made 22 tackles. Comes in ahead of John Cooney of Ulster and Leinster’s Luke McGrath.

8 Jack Conan (Leinster): Continues to impress for the Irish province and was a key part of their victory over Ulster. Set up the the second try for Adam Byrne with an excellent burst and off-load, while his carrying, especially after the break, consistently got Leinster on the front foot. The number eight really stood up when Leinster needed it, making 67 metres from 16 carries, to help Leo Cullen’s men qualify for the semi-finals. Edged out Toulouse’s Jerome Kaino as a result, who put in a monumental effort against Racing 92.

7 Jordi Murphy (Ulster): Showed what his former employers are missing with an excellent shift on Saturday. With ball in hand he carried 17 times, while in defence the openside made a staggering 22 hits as the Northern Irish province came so close to ousting the defending champions from the competition. Outplayed Sean O’Brien in Dublin and, with Dan Leavy and Josh van der Flier unfortunate long-term absentees, Murphy could come into Ireland contention.

6 Maro Itoje (Saracens): Wherever the England player features for Sarries, he impresses and the back-five forward did an outstanding job on the blindside against Glasgow Warriors. Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster) and Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse) also stood out for their respective teams but Itoje was exceptional in several aspects of play. He ran for 29 metres, made eight tackles and was influential in the lineout. The 24-year-old is also a nuisance for the opposition around the breakdown and maul, and Glasgow struggled to contain him.

5 James Ryan (Leinster): There were several contenders here as Kieran Treadwell, Tadhg Beirne and Richie Grayall impressed for Ulster, Munster and Toulouse respectively at the weekend, but we’ve gone for the ‘boy wonder’ Ryan. He is not quite at the levels of last year but the 22-year-old is still above the majority of his competitors for this position. Ryan is utterly relentless, producing game-high contributions in both defence and attack, after carrying 21 times and making an incredible 27 tackles.

4 Will Skelton (Saracens): Has improved significantly since joining the English club. Looks fitter, leaner and, as a result, more powerful. Skelton is less of a lumbering presence nowadays and instead uses his carrying ability to greater effect, which Glasgow failed to halt. Was only on the field for 50 minutes but, in that time, his work ethic was excellent as he consistently got Sarries over the gain line.

3 Charlie Faumuina (Toulouse): While Tadhg Furlong was good for Leinster and put pressure on the Ulster scrum, the Ireland tighthead is still searching for his top-end form. Elsewhere, Cedate Gomes Sa made a significant impact off the bench for Racing, but we’ve gone for former New Zealand international Faumuina, who helped Toulouse control the scrum battle in the opening half. He also carried well and looked to off-load in contact, which kept Les Rouge et Noir on the front foot before the interval.

2 Jamie George (Saracens): The Londoners’ hooker displayed a range of skills as they thrashed Glasgow on Saturday, making 47 metres in the loose and helping the hosts win clean ball on their own lineout. Leinster’s Sean Cronin was similarly excellent in the wider channels and made significant indents against Ulster, but George just edges it after setting up David Strettle with a fine pass from the scrum-half channel.

1 Cian Healy (Leinster): Despite the error of judgement, Pierre Schoeman played well for Edinburgh while Cyril Baille (Toulouse) continued his fine season with another all-action display, but we’ve gone for the Irishman, who had the upper hand in the scrum and carried well in the loose. Healy was also busy in defence, making 11 tackles, as he helped fend off a superb Ulster display.