The World Cup and its aftermath have served to deny the Welsh regions the services of a number of key players during the European campaign to date — but others have stepped forward.
New faces and some little-known ones have made significant marks in both the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Challenge Cup.
There have also been some bright shows from Welsh players based further afield.
MARK ORDERS ran through the stats to see who's been doing what...
METRES MADE
CHAMPIONS CUP
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester) 234
How good has 18-year-old Louis Rees-Zammit so far this season?
He has made more metres than all but two players (Thomas Ramos and Vicent Rattez), while a host of big names are below him in that particular chart, including Teddy Thomas, Mike Haley and Jordan Larmour. Against Connacht last weekend he made 111 metres and in the previous round against Montepllier he made 106 metres.
For the avoidance of doubt, those are impressive figures.
CHALLENGE CUP
Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets) 185
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 184
There are two Wales-qualified players here with an extra gear of three in McNicholl and Morgan.
Both are renowned for making ground in matches and they haven't disappointed in the Challenge Cup so far.
CLEAN BREAKS
CHAMPIONS CUP
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester) 7
It’s him again.
Not for nothing has Gloucester coach Johan Ackermann labelled Rees-Zammit ‘Speedy’.
He beat four defenders against Connacht last weekend having swept past two would-be Montpellier tacklers in the previous round. In that game, he was up against the 6ft 5lb, 19st 5lb Nemani Nadolo, but pace answers most questions on a rugby field and Rees-Zammit wasn't found wanting.
He's still filling out physically, but he's joint-third with Virimi Vakatawa for making breaks, with Juan Imhoff, Larmour and Finn Russell immediately below.
CHALLENGE CUP
Toby Fricker 5
Matthew Morgan 5
Jarrod Evans 5
Owen Lane 5
Playing for Bristol Bears, former Ebbw Vale favourite Fricker has made a bright started to the campaign with his pace and direct running. For Cardiff Blues, Morgan, Evans and Lane have also been catching the eye.
DEFENDERS BEATEN
CHAMPIONS CUP
Morgan Morris 10
Few casual fans would have heard of Morris before the season started, but he’s proving a serious breakout act, starring in the Guinness PRO14 and effortlessly making the step up into Champions Cup rugby. He may not be the biggest but the back rower is hard to stop and regularly crashes over the gainline.
CHALLENGE CUP
Cardiff Blues are enjoying life in the Challenge Cup, aside from one off-key effort against Leicester, and leading the way have been their creators in chief, Evans and Morgan. The pair are quick and elusive and last weekend’s opponents Pau found them a nightmare to deal with.
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 17
Matthew Morgan (Cardiff Blues) 11
CARRIES
CHAMPIONS CUP
Morgan Morris (Ospreys) 29
Morris has been putting his hand up for hard work in every game, with his carrying helping the injury-hit Ospreys achieve a measure of go-forward. The former Swansea player doesn’t hide and his low centre of gravity helps him make ground with ball in hand.
CHALLENGE CUP
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 36
He just seems to be enjoying life and is happy to take on responsibility and offer a running threat. It’s something Wayne Pivac will enjoy.
TRIES
CHAMPIONS CUP
Aled Davies 2
He was Wales’ third man when it came to scrum-half matters at the World Cup, but he has been bang on form since returning home, last weekend producing one of his finest displays for the Ospreys. His try against Racing was opportunist, seeing him dive over a ruck, while he also scored off the bench against Munster.
CHALLENGE CUP
Jonah Holmes 4
Josh Adams 3
Toby Fricker 3
Taine Basham 3
All four of Holmes’ tries came in Leicester’s 41-20 thrashing of mediocre Pau.
Injury then took a hand, ruling him out until the new year.
Leicester consider him a vastly improved player since he returned from World Cup training squad duty with Wales. Again, Pivac will doubtless watch out for the versatile back-three man after he returns.
Taine Basham’s scored a hat-trick against Castres and so did Josh Adams on his debut for the Blues against Pau.
POINTS
CHAMPIONS CUP
Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) 46
Northampton may have lost to Leinster in round three, but Biggar has been a shining light. He drove them to their wins over Lyon and Benetton and his place kicking has been deadly. It’s what he does.
CHALLENGE CUP
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) 41
Ioan Lloyd (Bristol Bears) 26
Evans has been starring for the Blues, embellishing his excellent all-round contribution with some notable points accumulation.
But let’s hear it, too, for Ioan Lloyd, still only 18 and playing out of Bristol.
He’s not shy of razzle dazzle but he can keep the scoreboard ticking over, too.
One to look out for, if ever there was.
OFFLOADS
CHAMPIONS CUP
Sam Cross (Ospreys) 3
He is alive and well and doing his stuff at Ospreys, just over a year after being sighted in a Wales shirt in Cardiff.
Cross is never less than committed and the former Wales sevens man is athletic and skilful with it, managing three offloads so far.
CHALLENGE CUP
Steff Evans (Scarlets) 5
The Scarlets have had to roll up their sleeves in the Challenge Cup to date but Evans is adept at keeping the ball alive and his ability to ship possession out of the tackle has helped fuel their attacks.
TACKLES
CHAMPIONS CUP
Olly Cracknell 55
Morgan Morris 47
The Ospreys have had a lot of tackling to do in the Champions Cup so far and no one has totalled more hits than Cracknell.
A high point was the 25 tackles Cracknell came up with against Munster.
He and Josh van der Flier lead the way in the competition as a whole, but there’s also an especially noteworthy effort from Morris, who has been close to perfect in defence, completing 47 tackles and missing just one.
TURNOVERS
CHAMPIONS CUP
Olly Cracknell 4
Morgan Morris 4
Fritz Lee heads the top-tier turnover chart with six but the Welsh pair are not far behind.
Morris is multi-skilled, not only good in attack but also adept in defence, a player who has the courage and technique to lock over the ball.
Matching him steal for steal has been Cracknell, who has dramatically improved his work at the breakdown.
CHALLENGE CUP
Will Boyde (Cardiff Blues) 5
Facing an uncertain future barely six months ago, the former Scarlet has started the Guinness PRO14 season with a series of exceptional performances and taken that form into Europe.
He’s in good company at Cardiff Blues because they specialise in turnovers.
Boyde has shown himself better at the art than anyone else in the Challene Cup to date while offering so much more in his game.
LINEOUTS WON
CHAMPIONS CUP
There have been 10 line-out wins from the Ospreys’ non-Wales qualified lock Marvin Orie.
CHALLENGE CUP
Max Williams (Dragons) 15
He’s viewed as a player with potential and at the line-outs for the Dragons he’s proven an absolute mainstay.
