Jonny Gray – Exeter Chiefs (34)

It was somewhat of a surprise to see Gray fly to the top of the try-scoring chart after his opening round hat-trick against Montpellier Hérault Rugby, but his appearance among the top tacklers was much more predictable.

The first of the Scottish international lock’s two tireless displays saw him make 11 tackles against Montpellier, before a colossal 23 against Glasgow Warriors - what’s more impressive is that he didn’t miss a tackle across both those games.

Tommy Reffell – Leicester Tigers (28)

Leicester have needed to survive periods of intense pressure in order to record back-to-back wins at the start of their Heineken Champions Cup campaign, and Reffell has been at the forefront of their defense efforts.

The flanker made 16 tackles at Union Bordeaux-Bègles and a further 12 against Connacht Rugby. Over the course of those two fixtures, he missed just two tackles and secured three turnovers.

David Ribbans - Northampton Saints (27)

Although Northampton have suffered two defeats in their opening two Pool A games, Ribbans has earned himself a place among the top tacklers.

The South African was responsible for 12 of his side’s 106 tackles against Racing 92, and 15 of their 109 at Ulster Rugby.

Sam Simmonds – Exeter Chiefs (25)

Renowned for his try-scoring capabilities, Simmonds also gets through a sizeable chunk of defensive graft, as evidenced by his statistics over the opening two rounds.

The No.8 hit double figures for tackles in both Exeter’s games, completing 11 against Montpellier and 14 at Glasgow Warriors, missing just four in the process.

Dave Ewers – Exeter Chiers (23)

The flanker played just under an hour against Montpellier, but that didn’t stop him also getting to double digits for tackles, managing 10 in Exeter's thrashing of the TOP 14 side.

Ewers completed the full 80 minutes in their defeat at Glasgow, clocking 13 tackles, missing two and grabbing one turnover.

After some monumental defensive displays across the opening rounds of this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, we’ve taken a look at which players have racked up the most tackles, and three Exeter Chiefs forwards have earned a spot in the top five...