Last week’s post-Christmas block of fixtures took us beyond the halfway point in this season’s Gallagher Premiership and a number of the round nine results have certainly whetted the appetite as English ruby welcomes in the new year.
It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
They were due to fly to Penzance the following Thursday for Friday's PRC game versus the Cornish Pirates, but the journey never happened. Instead, they were told at dawn that the club was being liquidated and would not take its place in the 2023/24 Championship.
Three matches are scheduled for Athlone: Ireland-Australia (2pm local time), France-Wales (4:30pm) and South Africa-England (7pm). Over in Stellenbosch, it’s Argentina-Fiji (2pm), Georgia-Italy (4:30pm) and New Zealand-Spain (7pm).
Three matches are scheduled for Stellenbosch: Ireland vs Georgia (kick-off 2pm local), France vs New Zealand (4:30pm) and South Africa vs Argentina (7pm). Over in Athlone, Wales vs Spain is the opening match (2pm) followed by England vs Fiji (4:30pm) and Australia vs Italy (7pm).
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has named an unchanged team to take on Toulouse on Sunday from the one that he believes put in their performance of the season against Bath last week.
For a player that stands at 1.96 metres and weighs 112 kgs, Bath flanker Ted Hill showed to the rest of Europe that he can shift on Saturday.
The Welsh were beaten 24-45 by the French in Cardiff last Sunday and their reaction for the wooden spoon encounter versus the Italians has been to change their midfield and alter two more in their pack.
A 17-year-old has been selected to boost the women's camp, with school-girl sensation Justine McGregor rewarded for her continued excellence at every level of the game.
The Wales tighthead packs down against Italy knowing competition is stronger than ever but that bodes well as Wayne Pivac builds depth towards France 2023