The RugbyPass Champions Cup XV - Round 4
The European Champions Cup pools really began to take shape this week, as the “double header” rounds, perhaps the most tactically interesting two-week slot in the competition, were wrapped up.
Wasps bounced back from a disheartening loss to keep their qualification hopes alive, Ulster and Ospreys continued their resurgences and pool leaders Leinster, Bath, Munster and Clermont will all go into January confident about their chances.
We picked our XV of the week below.
- Anthony Watson, Bath
Watson scythed through the Toulon defence for two tries in front of a watching – and seemingly pleased – Eddie Jones.
His vision to exploit holes or mismatches in the Toulon defensive line was excellent and it was the kind of showing that will add fresh impetus to the calls for Watson to don the 15 jersey for England, as well as for Bath. He kicked and dealt with aerial balls well, too, making it a complete performance from the full-back.
HIGHLIGHTS: @BathRugby are now on top in Pool 5 after this victory over @RCTofficiel at The Recreation Ground. #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/3IeGQnhlqt
— Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2017
- Aled Brew, Bath
Brew might have been playing on the left wing for Bath, but the 14 on his back gives us an easy out here, on a weekend when left wings were dominant.
The Welshman has reinvigorated his career at the Rec and is in blistering form. He gave Josua Tuisova a constant headache on Saturday evening, both as an attacking threat raiding down the wing and stopping the Fijian powerhouse defensively before he built up the momentum to go on his trademark bullocking runs.
A nod, too, to Craig Gilroy and Charlie Walker, both of whom impressed in Belfast on Friday.
- Paul Asquith, Scarlets
The Australian was one of the few Scarlets players to really impress in their narrow win over Benetton last week and backed it up with another strong showing this week.
The centre was a constant threat on phases after Scott Williams crashed the ball up, either as a runner himself or linking with wings Johnny McNicholl and Steff Evans. It was that variety to his game that saw him narrowly pip the equally impressive Frans Steyn.
- Ma’a Nonu, Toulon
There were flashes of vintage Nonu on Saturday, with the Kiwi running the out-to-in line and targeting the space between Rhys Priestland and Ben Tapuai on several occasions.
Stuart McCloskey also excelled, albeit in a more open game, but Nonu’s powerful carrying kept Toulon in contention at the Rec right up until the 80th minute.
- Nemani Nadolo, Montpellier
If it was a relatively quiet week for right wings, it was a barnstorming one for left wings. Jacob Stockdale, Isa Nacewa, Elliot Daly and Virimi Vakatawa were all excellent in their respective games, but none that managed quite the same dominance as Nadolo.
The behemoth wing battered and bruised the Glasgow defence and whilst there were a couple of moments when he was compromised defensively, the positives he brought in attack overwhelmingly outweighed those moments. There may be no player in the world game who the opposition must tactically prepare for as much as Nadolo.
HIGHLIGHTS: @MHR_officiel clinched back-to-back victories over @GlasgowWarriors? in Pool 3. #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/BheQquTygO
— Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2017
- Danny Cipriani, Wasps
Ulster’s Christian Lealiifano came very close with a classy display on Friday night, but Cipriani orchestrated a vital win for Wasps off the back of a pummelling in France a week previously.
The veteran Englishman played with freedom and fearlessness on the gain-line, allowing himself to take several big hits in the process of unleashing runners through holes. He lost his pressure valve, Jimmy Gopperth, to injury early in the game, too, but managed the disruption perfectly and took on full puppeteering duties for 80 minutes.
- John Cooney, Ulster
A second commanding performance in as many weeks for Cooney, as he contributed 27 points personally, as well as popping up to assist three tries, making him responsible for 42 of Ulster’s 52 points against Harlequins.
His distribution was excellent, he constantly picked the right runners or options and his own work as a support runner was invaluable to keeping Ulster attacks alive. In this form, Cooney should be catching the eye of Joe Schmidt.
Dan Robson and Gareth Davies both deserve honourable mentions, too.
- Beno Obano, Bath
A second appearance in as many weeks for Obano, whose ascent this season is beginning to border on meteoric.
He took his try well to give his side a fast start to the game and continued to make impact players at the Rec, whether it was powerful carries around the fringes to keep Bath on the front foot or manful tackles on the gain-line. The Scarlets’ Rob Evans deserves a nod, too, for his strong display against Benetton.
- Kevin O’Byrne, Munster
Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Dunn came close but O’Byrne excelled on his European debut.
At a rainy Welford Road where ball security was paramount, O’Byrne nailed all 15 of his lineout throws, as well as forcing a couple of knock-ons with powerful tackles in the greasy conditions. It was the perfect foundation for Munster in a dogged, close contest.
- Vincent Koch, Saracens
Montpellier’s Johannes Jonker was in the mix, as would’ve been Kyle Sinckler if only his first 40 minutes at Ravenhill had counted, but it was Koch who distinguished himself from the rest of the pack this weekend.
It wasn’t just his marauding runs, but the amount of clearing work he did at the breakdown and the eagerness with which he dived on and secured loose balls. Scrummaged well against a cohesive Clermont unit, too.
- Sébastien Vahaamahina, Clermont Auvergne
Vahaamahina’s powerful thrusts through the middle of the Saracens defence were one of the key differences between the sides in the second half and something which allowed Clermont to sneak a game that was balanced on a knife edge for most of the contest.
Clermont struggled for the go forward that they enjoyed so prolifically at Allianz Park in the previous round, but Vahaamahina helped make up for a Clermont pack unable to exert the same kind of physical dominance they had a week earlier.
- Jonny Gray, Glasgow Warriors
Fair play, Gray. Glasgow’s chances of European qualification were ended a week earlier, but the big lock didn’t let that stop him from putting in a powerful and impactful performance against Montpellier.
Sam Skinner came close with a very good outing, but a late penalty for obstructing at the maul cost Exeter a shot at securing a rare win in Dublin.
- Sean O’Brien, Leinster
It wasn’t quite the blood and thunder with ball in hand performance that O’Brien is capable of, but it was the physicality he brought in the tackle and the contact area that played a key role in subduing a much-improved Exeter side.
Where Exeter had success was when they shifted the ball wider and played with speed, because their often used one-out runner strategy was constantly being stymied by the physical presence of O’Brien and a handful of his teammates.
HIGHLIGHTS: @LeinsterRugby dug deep and secured victory at the @AVIVAStadium. #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/u5Fw0ebYkO
— Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2017
- Francois Louw, Bath
James Davies went well against Benetton and a big cameo from Dan Leavy helped Leinster see out their win over Exeter, but Louw just sneaks it.
The South African was a vice over the ball, both as an individual fetcher and supporting teammates who got to the contact area ahead of him. He carried and tackled strongly as well, helping counter the Toulon power game.
- Leone Nakarawa, Racing 92
It doesn’t seem to particularly matter where you play the big Fijian, as you know you’re going to get an outstanding performance irrespective of the number on his back.
Nakarawa brought all the power carries, offloads and defensive lineout ability to the eight jersey that he has shown countless times in the row. The duelling Jack Conan and Sam Simmonds came close, as did Nathan Hughes, but none could quite match the authority that Nakarawa stamped on the game in Paris.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
7 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
7 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
7 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
7 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
2 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to comments