Saints Spoil Dublin Party
The stage was set for a classic repeat of the 2011 final in Dublin between Leinster and Northampton Saints, especially after Leinster moved the match to the Aviva Stadium but unfortunately for the paying public what was played out was nothing more than a training session for the hosts.
As if Northampton are not in enough trouble with their handling of George North’s head injuries, they will now be investigated for playing a perceived weakened team at the weekend.
They rested Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Luther Burrell and Louis Picamoles for the game in Dublin and many have seen it as disrespectful to fellow rivals in the group that they would take on a European giant with a host of star players when they were fully available.
They are now out of the competition after their 60-point mauling so expect a full strength side on Friday night against Sale.
Wasps Stung
It may take Wasps’ players and management a while to fully get over their loss against Connacht at the weekend. It is extremely difficult to stomach a last minute loss at the best of times but the way in which it unfolded on Saturday away at Connacht will certainly leave a bitter taste.
European Professional Club Rugby have had to come out and apologise for the huge error that the replacement referee Mathieu Raynal made, as Connacht kicked the ball into touch from a penalty after the 80 minutes was up on the clock.
As Connacht drove over for the try and then converted it to snatch the victory their jubilation was palpable but should never have happened in the first place.
The referee, fourth official and TMO not being able to tell the time and communicate with each other leaves Wasps precariously placed on the same points as their opponents and also Toulouse when they should be out in front.
Even the greats have off days
The finger cannot just be squarely pointed at Dan Carter for Racing 92’s abject display against Glasgow on Friday night but in years to come, if anyone asks him what his most ineffective performance ever was, this may well be the front runner.
Racing just couldn’t get any ball at all to play with and missing 21 tackles in the first half alone doesn’t stand anyone in good stead.
Glasgow were sharp and concise and but for missing the fourth bonus point try, this was the perfect evening.
For Carter though, his misery was compounded when around the hour mark, a smug statistician flashed up on the screen the former All Blacks legend’s stats. Zero carries, zero metres gained, zero defenders beaten and zero offloads.
The loss leaves Carter and his Parisian team out of the competition and concentrating on climbing up the Top 14 table so they can play in the competition again next season.
Solomona case could be a watershed moment for both codes
Denny Solomona made his first appearance for Sale Sharks at the weekend but him being on the field of play is not the big news, it’s the furore and impending court case off the field that is grabbing all of the attention.
Relationships between the fraternities of Rugby Union and Rugby League have been frosty at times over the years but this case could sever ties completely.
The former Castleford RL winger has left with two years still to run on his contract, saying that he has retired from one sport to take up another one. Castleford are now trying to sue the player and his agent as well as Sale Sharks themselves.
As it stands, there is no governing body that rules over the two sports so if Castleford do not get any damages paid to them, not only will they have lost their most prized asset but they will also have opened a Pandora’s box of potential cross code switches that affect the whole sport moving forward.
Scarlet try line fever
An absorbing encounter at Parc y Scarlets on Sunday saw the Welshmen claim a famous victory over Toulon by the skin of their teeth.
It could have been so much easier for them though had they not spurned so many chances to score in the first half. DTH van de Merwe and Steffan Evans missed some difficult but takeable chances and Gareth Davies inexplicably dropped the ball over the line after a flowing Scarlets move.
The second half was a complete reverse with Toulon dominating the late proceedings, but spurning chance after chance, and after Pierre Bernard fluffed a late drop goal it was on the shoulders of Leigh Halfpenny to seal the win for Toulon only to miss his fourth penalty of the game as Scarlets held on.
Flying Finn lurking in Lions background
What a performance this was from Finn Russell. Not only did he shame Dan Carter but he also put on a show that highlighted that he has an impressive skill set in his armoury. The vision for the chip and chase that set up the first try was followed by a fizzing flat pass for the second.
Scything through the defence at ease in the first half to create opportunities was delightful viewing and although he won’t be one of the favourites to get a starting Lions berth, if he continues to play like this and take that into the Six Nations then there may be a place on the plane as a different option.
Andy Daniel
Follow Andy on Twitter (@scrum5ive)
That Carter stat is tautology at its finest. If you don’t make any carries, it’s not a stretch to assume you would not have made any meters, beaten any defenders or made any offloads.
Not saying he had a good game, but the stat may have just read “zero carries”.
If Saints are ‘out of it’, then is ‘why bash our brains in a lost cause’ behind their latest ‘selection’?
Likewise Racing?
Both deciding to concentrate on their respective leagues?
And didn’t SBW perform a similar trick to Solomona when the former ‘walked’ on the Bulldogs?
A few more ?’s than answers?
What will they authorities do?
I don’t understand the mooted investigation into Saints playing a weakened team. Surely this has happened before? Haven’t the French sides made a habit of it?
It’s a very murky area to get into, I can’t see how any team can or should be forced to play a particular set of players. Who decides what a weakened team is anyway?
Ideally teams with no hope would still make a fist of it, particularly if fans have travelled, but the only way I can see to enforce it is to have nominated squads for competitions with a set number of players and you can only use players outside of the squad as injury or suspension replacements. But then you’d have players feigning injury or even getting themselves suspended tactically.
Playing weakened teams has also gone on for decades in football (a different sport i know before anyone says but nonetheless a fitting comparison)
With about six footy cups/honours to aim for per season its hardly surprising that managers and coaches concentrate on some at the expense of others. Why should it be different in rugby?