1. Sam Underhill making waves in Wales
After a week of constantly second guessing who would be in or out of Eddie Jones’ first EPS there was one Englishman in Wales causing a media storm of his own.
Sam Underhill, the Ospreys flanker, has had the sort of seven days that only us mere mortals could dream of. Last weekend against Leinster he outplayed British and Irish Lion Sean O’Brien and this weekend he helped to spark an inspired Ospreys comeback to beat last year’s European Cup finalists Clermont.
The most impressive part of the former Gloucester back row’s performance was his overall fitness and the fact that he was still making huge tackles and turning over ball in the 80th minute. His tackling turned defence into attack and also allowed the equally impressive Justin Tipuric to run free and cause destruction of his own.
Underhill is only 19 and still at University in Cardiff so we shouldn’t get carried away but he is being mentored by World Cup winner Richard Hill and is tied into a long term contract with the Bridgend Ravens, a feeder club for the Ospreys so there is plenty of time for him to hone his skills in Wales before an English club will inevitably come knocking at his door so he can play in England to represent his country.
2. Southern French grip loosening on Champions Cup?
The two finalists from last year’s competition, Toulon and Clermont, have most certainly not had the smoothest rides in their pools and neither are certain of their place in the knockout stage as we approach the final group fixtures.
This may well open the door for the impressive and consistent Saracens to put one foot in the door and attempt to crowbar the trophy from Gallic hands. Saracens’ match against Ulster was billed as a fight for top spot but they have now guaranteed themselves a home quarter final as they recorded another bonus point victory.
The Allianz again witnessed a comprehensive display of attacking rugby orchestrated by Owen Farrell whilst Eddie Jones will have enjoyed the combination of Jamie George and Maro Itoje at the lineout setting up Billy Vunipola for the first score of the afternoon. There will not be many teams fancying their chances away at Saracens in the knockouts.
Saracens aside, if the cup is to remain in French hands the most likely place for it go at the moment looks like Paris and Racing Métro. The Dan Carter-inspired aristocrats put 64 points past a shell-shocked Scarlets side to confirm a home quarter final also.
3. Never underestimate your opposition
Rob Baxter will have looked at the fixture list earlier last week and weighed up all of the options and potential connotations to Exeter’s group and clearly decided that Clermont would beat the Ospreys which would have affectively knocked Exeter out before they played their away tie at Bordeaux.
With this in mind Baxter duly made 13 changes to the side that beat Gloucester the previous week and how they have paid the price.
After the Opsrey’s put Clermont to the sword a win would have put the Chiefs level on points with Clermont whilst a bonus point victory would have put them second knowing a win against the Ospreys next week would have stood them in good stead to qualify.
An inexperienced Chiefs inevitably lost and only scored three tries meaning that their destiny and future in the tournament is out of their hands.
Baxter does have a long list of high profile injuries at the moment and will have one eye on the rest of the season but this is the biggest club competition of them all, so resting your big name players for an away trip to France did seem like a strange option.
4. What a difference a week makes
It has been a long and gruelling season for Munster but one thing Anthony Foley can be proud of is his team’s reaction to the widespread criticism that was rightfully aimed their way last week after a dire performance against Stade Francais.
Munster welcomed Stade to Thomond Park for the return fixture at the weekend and their fans were rewarded with a bonus point victory full of grit and determination.
Their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages were destroyed in Paris last week but you felt from the outset that Munster had a point to prove and that is exactly what all of their big name internationals did.
It was scrappy at times in the first half and their scrum issues have been far from resolved but internationals Simon Zebo and Keith Earls really stepped up as did CJ Stander, the South African born club captain who is hoping for a call up to the Irish squad as he qualifies through residency.
This may have been a dead rubber for Munster with regards to their involvement in the tournament but could be a spark that kick-starts their season.
5. The TMO needs a bigger influence
After another English Premiership side went to Toulon and returned valiant losers after nearly taking a major scalp it was yet again a controversial moment right at the death that seems to have cost the underdogs.
Bath were on the wrong end of some questionable decisions at the breakdown last weekend but that was not ultimately why they lost. The downfall of Wasps in the last minute of this week’s top two encounter at the Stade Mayol was down to something that was missed by the referee rather than awarded.
During the last phase of play it looked as though Sebastien Tillous-Borde may have knocked the ball on at the base of a ruck with the assistance of a stray forwards boot but it was so slight that Nigel Owens couldn’t see it from his side of the ruck but it was clearly visible on the TV.
It is great when you hear the referee asking the TMO to look at something whilst play continues to which he can get a distinct yes or no whilst the game continues but it needs to also work the other way on decisions as big as these. The guy in the truck situated in the car park quite often has a much better view from an optimum angle compared to the on field man with the whistle.
6. Ashton’s hard work all for nothing?
Chris Ashton has spent the last four years of his career trying to nail down a starting spot for the England team as critics have consistently highlighted his frailties in defence and positional issues.
The winger has worked hard to get himself back to being one of the front-runners for the starting wing shirts and this year his try scoring record has been up there with the best. It is also notable that his positioning and defensive work is paying dividends.
Unfortunately, though, against Ulster at the weekend Ashton made a completely needless challenge on Ulster’s Luke Marshall as a stand-up tackle was heading to touch which involved Ashton grabbing the Ulsterman around the head and dragging him to the floor. The replays do not get any better the more you watch them and it looks likely that Ashton has made contact with Marshall’s eyes. It doesn’t look like he has aimed for them but any contact with the eyes will be dealt with severely in today’s game.
The Saracen winger has been cited and with it he has potentially just ruled himself out of the Six Nations. He only has himself to blame.
Andy Daniel (@scrum5ive)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
If the Os top this group it will be an incredible achievement given their current struggles and the power of Clermont, financially and physically.
7. The challenge cup is a media irrelevance unless it contains an English team.
I had a Tivo meltdown on Sunday so didn’t record the Cardiff Quins game, watched the Sky highlights prog in the eve. 57 mins in, a 30 sec report on the game showed the halftime score and all the Quins 1st half tries. That was it. I had to resort to Twitter to find out that Cardiff actually scored 4 tries in the 2nd half and made a decent fist of a comeback. No info on the Newport game either, plenty of coverage of the Gloucs game.
It’s time to just stop the Challenge cup – nobody cares, it’s a casualty of the competition reorg. Lots of bs lip service was paid to making it a more vibrant comp but the reverse is true. It’s not a totally unloved runt that just drags the season out a bit.
Wasps loss to Toulon was pretty devastating without seeing there had been a knock on. That being said, I didn’t notice in at all in real time so can’t blame the ref. After a WC where everyone moaned about there being too much TMO influence, it seems daft to flip it on its head after one mistake.
Also think you’ve been very harsh on Ashton. I think he can feel pretty unlucky if he gets a significant ban for that.
Ashton has allegedly made contact with the eyes, so unless he gets very lucky he could be banned for a while. I think it would be harsh as it clearly wasn’t an intentional rake across the eyes, more like his arm slipping up during the tackle etc.
But he shouldn’t have started the tackle so high!! Trying to pull a player off a ruck, or another player, if you grab them high, there’s always a chance something like this will happen.
Personally I think he deserves a ban for a high tackle, which is very different. Based on the fact he has been cited for “gouging”, I just think it’s really harsh.
Yes that would be harsh. It was a silly and unnecessary thing to do and he should get a ban, but not up to 12 weeks as been reported for gouging.
That’s exactly my point. I possibly didn’t make that clear. If he had been cited for a high tackle, then you’re looking at 2 to 4 weeks, that would be fair.
I’m not sure how citings work. Can they change the reason for the citing? I.e. say it wasn’t gouging but they’ll ban him for a high tackle. Or, is it simply a decision as to whether it was gouging or not?
I think the ruling starts with contact with the eyes, and then wether it is intentional i.e. gouging etc.
Did he intentionally make contact with his eyes? Not clear from the footage available, looks more like a neck roll which went wrong.
What about a ban for his understated try celebrations? Or has he grown up a little bit since his book sold so few copies.
If this happened in an English league game he could rely on the usual RFU ‘old school tie network’ and not even have been cited so close to the 6n.
Even then it would have been dismissed at the hearing or on appeal and at most he’d perhaps serve a 40 minute ban on a Wednesday afternoon.
rubbish
England are the harshest country in the world for banning players close to big tournaments for infringements in the domestic league