Monday 9 January 2017 16:41, UK
Stuart Barnes on the new head tackle directives, the return of The Hask and magnificent Munster...
1. Where else to start but the highly contentious new zero tolerance approach to reckless and accidental head contact? It was a troubled first weekend for a few of the officials involved.
Let's begin in Llanelli with Friday night's headline moment when Sean Reidy of Ulster was yellow carded for a high tackle as an opponent drove for the tryline. Andrew Trimble was nearby with what looked like a swinging arm to compound the debate.
Marius Mitrea got it right. The Ulster back-row forward did commit an offence that was reckless under the new interpretation and without the infringement, the Scarlets would most probably have scored.
Did the winger get away with the high arm though? The opinions were mixed, a few of our pundits thought he did, I wasn't sure he didn't pull away from contact in the last moment. Two players were involved and it wasn't easy to decide.
Roll onto Saturday and Saracens where Richard Barrington was red carded for a high challenge that ended Geoff Parling's participation for the afternoon.
A split second before the Barrington incident, Brad Barritt clearly swung his arm high and caught the lock around the neck. His was the initial incident. In going high, the player knew or should have known that there was a risk of making contact. The obvious red belonged to the Saracens captain, maybe there was a case for two reds but the point again needs making that with two players involved in the tackle, the referee's decision became doubly difficult.
2. Nobody said it was going to be easy but to see Parling stretchered off at Saracens was a reminder why World Rugby has acted so decisively. Consistency is going to be the key and for that reason I would prefer referees to officiate purely according to the law book.
The best referees have a degree of empathy that marks them apart but empathy is the enemy of zero tolerance. I am usually deeply rooted in the empathy camp but right now, for this law to become embedded all the quicker, players have to be officiated according by the letter of the law.
If that means dubious infringements like the one we saw Jake Ball yellow carded for continue to be treated with an absence of tolerance then all the better. The stakes are, after all, pretty high.
3. James Haskell made a long-awaited return from injury from the bench against Leicester. It lasted all of thirty five seconds.
The Tigers were forcing their way back into the game, Haskell was desperate to see some action it was, sadly, the perfect set up for what followed.
Roaring into the game, pumped up with adrenaline, the England star made a head first tackle and was sparked out.
Technically, it wasn't pretty, some would say it was reckless, with himself the victim sent to the touch line as a result of a poor tackle. David Young made light of the incident. It is good to see The Hask and his infectious personality back. Now his Lions mission begins.
4. Wasps withstood a determined Leicester fightback. Combine this with the dazzling accuracy of their attacking game in the first half hour and its impossible not to make a case for them as potential European Champions.
Saracens are struggling with injuries but are in a great position to top their pool and earn a home quarter-final by which time they should be much stronger in terms of returning personnel. With their know-how and determined defence, they remain my favourites to win the title.
5. But winning the Champions Cup is going to be a much trickier task than last season where there only ever looked like one winner from my position in the stands. That is not the current situation.
Clermont will probably blow up but while they are playing with their power and pizzazz, they cannot be ruled out. Nor would I write off the big two from Ireland, who are looking somewhere back near their best after their horrible year in 2015/16. That's my five against the field.
6. Munster were magnificent against Racing 92. The French champions were poor but that should not detract from the edge, ambition and accuracy of Munster's performance. They made the emotional intensity of the occasion their ally. Yet to win the competition, they probably need a home quarter-final given the quality of the teams mentioned in point 5.
7. That will likely be decided on Saturday night. The game between Glasgow and Munster looks set to be one of the highlights of the pool campaign. Glasgow is finding domestic form and has a dramatic demolition job against Leicester to their name at Scotstoun.
Munster are in a position to qualify as best runners-up should they lose Friday but there is no floor for Glasgow. They have to win this game and, probably, their final match in the East Midlands (although a best-placed runners-up berth is possible with seventeen or eighteen points).
There is a lot on the line in Glasgow. Munster know it will be a lot tougher than it was in Limerick when Glasgow were blown away by the occasion. I can't wait to call this one. This is what Europe is all about.
8. Away from Europe, for the first time, Bristol lost their tag as favourites for relegation - in my mind anyway. They may still be bottom of the table but they are within one point of Worcester and have a fair head of steam.
They were disappointed not to win at Franklin's Gardens whereas Worcester was woeful at Gloucester. Yes, Worcester did win a home game at Christmas but that was against Harlequins who have not won away in the Premiership all season.
Form lines and momentum suggest Bristol can make an unlikely escape. Bristol Rovers fans might say `just as well' because Bristol owner Steve Lansdown's Bristol City are nose-diving towards relegation along with Miles's beloved Forest. As an Arsenal fan, I am still basking in the glow of an epic away win at Preston on Saturday evening.
9. There has been much debate on the nature of the other sort of dismissals, the ones from the boardroom. Is rugby becoming trigger happy, too much like football? Well, no one could say the decision to sever links with Andy Robinson was hasty and, right or wrong, the Tigers board took their time coming to their decision to dismiss Richard Cockerill.
Were they right? Nobody knows for sure. I was disappointed when I heard the news. I like my former adversary a lot. He is a Leicester man, a rugby man and, most of all, a good man. But the board has responsibility to its shareholders, in this instance the Leicester fans, to act. They did what they did in good faith, right or wrong. The recent dismissals are not some sign of creeping insanity into the sport.
10. Warren Gatland gave a thumbs up for Owen Farrell quite recently. Doubtless you saw the interview on Sky or read about it the next day in the press. The Lion King mentioned the fact that the Saracen makes so few mistakes. If error free performances are a priority for Gatland, George Ford's hopes must have tumbled in the North East on Friday night. His kicking was terrible.
It cost Bath the game but the rest of his game was strangely scrappy and devoid of influence. If he wants to make the plane trip to New Zealand he will need to tighten his game through the course of the Six Nations. Even Eddie Jones, one of his greatest admirers, cannot have enjoyed what he saw in Newcastle. Ah, but as one goes down, the other pops up...credit and a mention to Joel Hodgson who, at times, played with the control of a former English fly half by the same name....that standard will do for Dean Richards and the Falcons.
