At the midway point of the Heineken Champions Cup pool stage, we’re taking a look at the current team statistics, and Pool A leaders Leinster Rugby are in charge across several key areas after their commanding start…

Tries – Leinster Rugby (15)

Last season’s finalists were rampant in their two wins, running in six tries at Racing 92 before crossing a further nine times against Gloucester Rugby in Dublin. Josh van der Flier has fronted Leinster’s try-scoring, dotting down for a trio of scores.

Exeter Chiefs (10) are the only other side to hit double figures when it comes to tries after two rounds, with Stade Toulousain, Sale Sharks and Stade Rochelais all managing nine.

Points – Leinster Rugby (99)

Leinster’s powerful performances also see them lead the points-scoring, and with just 10 conceded, their points difference (+88) is by far the healthiest of any side in the competition heading into Round 3.

La Rochelle (82) and Exeter (71) are the Irish province’s nearest challengers when it comes to points scored.

Penalty goals – Stade Rochelais (7)

Pool B leaders La Rochelle have also enjoyed a strong start, and their wins against Northampton Saints (46-12) and Ulster Rugby (36-29) have been aided by seven Antoine Hastoy penalties. The former Section Paloise fly-half hit two against Northampton before a further five against Ulster.

Leicester Tigers and ASM Clermont Auvergne have both slotted six times from penalties.

Conversions – Leinster Rugby (12)

Predictably, Leinster have added the most extras to tries, hitting the target with 12 from 15 attempts. Ross Byrne (8), Harry Byrne (2) and Johnny Sexton (1) have all contributed.

Stade Rochelais have converted eight of their 10 scores while Vodacom Bulls have enjoyed a 100%-success rate – Morné Steyn has hit eight from eight.

Clean breaks – Leinster Rugby (17)

With Leinster scything through defences at will over the opening rounds, they have also amassed the most clean breaks – James Lowe has managed for than any other play in the competition with five while Jordan Larmour recorded three in a 27-minute cameo from the bench against Gloucester.

Leinster’s closest competition in the statistic are Sale, London Irish and Lyon – they have all made 15.

Metres – Leinster Rugby (897)

And amid those clean breaks, Leinster players have been racking up the metres – Lowe (167) has led those efforts too, with 106 coming in the win over Gloucester.

Sale (880) are again among the leaders in the statistic, with ASM Clermont Auvergne (865) completing the top three, Alex Newsome contributing a massive 195 to that tally.

Defenders beaten – Edinburgh Rugby (50)

The Scottish region have been tricky customers on their return to the Heineken Champions Cup, with Damien Hoyland proving tough to put down – the versatile back has evaded nine would-be tacklers during a narrow defeat to Saracens (30-26) and a battling win over Castres Olympique (31-20).

Lyon players have beaten a total of 49 defenders while London Irish have dodged 43, Ben Loader skipping through on a phenomenal 13 occasions – nine of those came at DHL Stormers in Round 2.

Carries – Northampton Saints (251)

Despite falling to defeats against La Rochelle (46-12) and Munster Rugby (17-6), Northampton have hammered away at opposition defences – Lewis Ludlam has amassed 29 carries across the two games, the third-most of any player in the competition.

Saints’ total eclipses that of Leinster (250) and London Irish (240), with the latter’s tally also coming amid two successive losses

Offloads – Lyon (42)

Last season’s EPCR Challenge Cup winners have produced some scintillating rugby in the Heineken Champions Cup despite losing to Vodacom Bulls (42-36) and Saracens (28-20), making at least 15 more offloads than any other team.

Toulouse (27) and Saracens (23) have both kept the ball alive well but are some way adrift of Lyon.

Tackles – Montpellier Hérault Rugby (311)

The TOP 14 champions have endured a stuttering start to their Heineken Champions Cup campaign, battling past London Irish (32-27) before going down to Ospreys (21-10) in a surprise home defeat.

Spending large spells on the back boot, Clement Doumenc has led their defensive efforts, completing a breathless 34 tackles – more than any other player in the competition.

La Rochelle and Leicester each have 100%-win records but both have relied on their defensive solidity for periods, racking up 304 and 291 tackles respectively.

Penalties conceded – Castres Olympique, Ulster Rugby (31)

Castres and Ulster have fallen to back-to-back defeats in the opening two rounds and their ill-discipline has been a factor in their disappointing performances. Castres were penalised a staggering 23 times in their 31-20 loss at Edinburgh in Round 2.

Two other TOP 14 outfits are among the four teams to have conceded the most penalties, in Montpellier (30) and Racing (29).