Weekend Round-up: Nick Evans takes his bow at the Stoop
Catch up on the best end-of-season thrillers in the Premiership, Pro 12 and Top 14 – and a fearsome display of attack in Super Rugby.
Aviva Premiership: Exeter Chiefs vs Northampton Saints
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A respected English rugby journalist at Sandy Park at the weekend was moved to tweet: “Jeez, @ExeterChiefs are good.” Another, heading home from the same venue after seeing the Chiefs record their seventh Premiership bonus-point victory in a row, added: “A merry Exeter fan just got on the shuttle bus and loudly proclaimed: ‘Bloody hell we are a good side!’ Hard to argue.” There’s no more to add about an eight-try match in which the visitors had both the first and last word, but in which the hosts held court for the rest of the game.
Super Rugby: Highlanders vs Stormers
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Speaking of visitors scoring first and last but getting wiped off the park in between… Most expected the Stormers to bounce back from their crushing loss to the Crusaders last week, and when they crossed for the opening try it was game on. For about the next 15 minutes at least. Once the Highlanders seized control of the game they didn’t give the visitors a look in, running in spectacular tries like it was no big deal. We should all be very afraid of the Highlanders down Super Rugby’s home stretch.
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Pro12: Leinster vs Glasgow Warriors
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The lights went out on Leinster’s RDS ground – literally – for 20 minutes as the clock ticked into the final 120 seconds of a blistering encounter. The game had already seen the Pro 12 leaders roar into an 23-6 half-time lead before the visitors hauled them back to set up an edge-of-the-seat finish. The tension mounted in the blackout, before the teams returned to play the final two minutes, with Warriors hunting down their fourth try to keep their slim hopes of a top four place alive.
Top 14: Pau vs Brive
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The Top 14 weekend kicked off with three playoff places up for grabs. To be fair, one of those places was Toulon’s to lose – and they dutifully didn’t with a routine win at Bordeaux. But the French championship is so close that when this match kicked off seven teams were still effectively fighting for two still-open slots in the postseason. Two of the more unlikely challengers for a top-six berth met at Pau’s Stade du Hameau and played out a hard-hitting – and occasionally sickening -–thriller (Benjamin Petre’s injury was nearly Ieuan Evans-level gruesome) that was decided only by the odd try in seven, and remained in the balance until the final whistle.
Aviva Premiership: Harlequins vs Wasps
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Forget the playoffs. Forget European Champions Cup places. Usually these things take top priority as the end of the season looms – but not here, not this week. This match turned into something more, as ex-All Black-turned-Harlequins legend Nick Evans bade a glorious farewell to a rapturous crowd. Evans is due to retire at the end of the season, after nine years at the London club. And with Quins away at Northampton next weekend, this was his Stoop swansong. He nailed it.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Havili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to comments