Watchability Rankings: December 2017 - a strange time of year

December is a strange time of year for rugby, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

The leagues give way to the nail-biting continuation of the European group stages, before domestic competitions return over the festive period, distracted somewhat by copious amounts of food and the Father Ted Christmas special. Gone are the days where the Boxing Day matches are played hungover, but more pressing concerns and the generally naff weather round these parts mean that rugby can still sometimes take a back seat. That’s not to say there isn’t some entertaining stuff going on, as evidenced by this month’s Most Watchable teams:

4: Northampton
As a Saints fan, it’s been a painful few weeks/months/seasons. A string of poor performances and worse results ultimately led to the sacrificial offing of Jim Mallinder, but Northampton have remained must-see TV for those who enjoy the slow-motion car crash of a formerly dominant club imploding week after week. Despite being thumped by the previously unimpressive Ospreys and fellow most-watchables Exeter, the Saints still keep showing glimpses of promise that render their matches that bit more entertaining than fellow strugglers like London Irish.

The occasional skilful try won’t offset the lack of wins, but there’s enough quality in the squad to at least offer a sliver of optimism about the future.

3: Exeter
Speaking of Exeter, the Chiefs have had something of a mixed month results-wise but looking a little deeper at the performances reveals the Devonians’ status as the best team in England is well-deserved. Back-to-back European losses against Leinster (more on that later) might not seem great, but dominant domestic displays against the likes of Bath mean the Chiefs won’t be writing off their chances of bolstering their trophy cabinet with an elusive league-cup double just yet. Perhaps the best example of the Chiefs’ quality comes from Will Chudley’s try of the week contender, after Exeter’s scrum utterly obliterated the Saints pack, before a moment of individual brilliance from the scrumhalf tore through the floundering defence.

The ability to create scoring opportunities from all over the field is the main reason Exeter remain a must-watch team, regardless of whether they’re getting the wins those performances deserve.

2: Clermont Auvergne
Clermont’s place on this list comes not necessarily from the results they’ve notched up this month, but the manner in which they’ve dispatched their lofty opponents.

A win against Agen may have been offset domestically by a loss against Section Paloise, but the real prized scalp from Clermont’s December battles comes from their double against the previously formidable Saracens. Whilst Sarries may be on something of a poor run of form of late, racking up 46 points in a rearranged clash at Allianz Park will always remain an impressive feat for Clermont, especially considering the logistical shenanigans that besieged the match. To follow that up less than a week later by edging the home leg compounded Saracens woes, and whilst Clermont sit in a mediocre tenth in the Top 14 at the time of writing, they’ve finally avenged last season’s Champions Cup final defeat and can hopefully start putting those lingering demons behind them.

1: Leinster
Leinster may be second in their Pro14 conference, but they’re arguably the form team not just in that competition but the whole of Europe right now.

A 36-10 victory over struggling Benetton at the start of the month was something of a formality, but to put Exeter to the sword twice and then to defeat Munster at Thomond Park speaks to the genuine quality in the Leinster side at the moment.

Sandy Park can be something of a fortress at times, so to keep the Chiefs from even getting a losing bonus point was impressive enough, let alone ending their year-long unbeaten streak at home. In the return leg, Leinster managed to come back from a strong Exeter start to secure the win and go five points clear at the top of Pool Three, showing some rock-solid defence at the end. Leinster’s most striking performance however came against long-time rivals Munster, with Jordan Lamour’s outstanding solo try the highlight of a gripping match. It’s been a while since an Irish side have reached the final of the top European competition (Leinster winning the trophy themselves in 2012), but if this form continues it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Leinster re-emerge as genuine European contenders come the end of the season.