Rupert Cox's Off Load: Hurricanes, Toulouse and Nick Williams all come under scrutiny
Monday 30 March 2015 16:56, UK
Rupert Cox shares his highlights from the week's rugby action in his round-up blog.
Black day for NZ
You’ve got to feel for fans of the Silver Fern; that was a tough watch. From the moment ‘Captain Fantastic’ (as labelled by our own Sean Fitzpatrick) got cleaned up by Mitchell Starc, the Black Caps endured a slow and painful defeat. Australians have long enjoyed their superiority complex over New Zealanders – what transpired at the MCG will prolong the patronising for years to come.
But wait... surely the New Zealand 7s team would save a bit of national pride by, not long after the cricket ended, raising the Kiwi flag in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens? This time – no! Not even Sir Gordon Tietjens, gunning for a ninth Hong Kong Sevens title as head coach of the All Black Sevens, could find a way to stop the flying Fijians.
Apart from a tight quarter-final where they very nearly came unstuck against England, Fiji were unstoppable at the So Kon Po Stadium. Ben Ryan, after failing in many attempts with England, has finally won a Hong Kong title – with Fiji!
The Blitzbokke still lead the way, but just three points now separate the top three with three rounds left to play (that’s a lot of threes), and it’s game on! Australia only managed to win the Plate, but in doing so knocked out England and tightened their grip on that fourth and final automatic Olympic place.
Gale force Hurricanes
At least in Super Rugby the Kiwis still rule the roost. The Hurricanes, despite resting several key players, picked up a sixth straight win, and they lead all teams.
The Highlanders knocked over the Stormers in Dunedin and joined the Chiefs in the top six, while the Chiefs also had a good win over the Cheetahs in Hamilton.
A few of the South African teams had decent weekends, too. The Bulls picked up a bonus-point win over the Crusaders in Pretoria – that's four on the bounce now for the Loftus lads.
The Sharks hung on against the Force in Durban, and the Lions secured a remarkable third win on tour when they trounced the struggling Reds in Brisbane. Oh, and in case you missed it – the Blues lost again for the sixth time in 2015, but Sir JK still reckons they can reach the playoffs. Err… okay then.
Battle of the rouge et noir
There was a massive away win for Toulouse in front of a record 65,000 crowd in Marseille. Never-reticent Toulon President Mourad Boudjellal said after the game that he would send the Bouclier de Brennus back to the French league, as the champions no longer deserve to have it in their trophy cabinet.
But no amount of trophies thrown out of prams can take away from the performance of Toulouse, who played some of the best rugby they've managed in a long time. With Clermont also falling to Stade Français in Paris, with five rounds left to play, the top two in the Top 14 are suddenly not looking so certain.
Try fest in PRO12
Looks like the Irish teams in the Guinness PRO12 have caught the Six Nations try-scoring bug. Munster, Ulster and Leinster all picked up try bonus points at the weekend. Leinster vs Glasgow at the RDS was a superb game which ended 34-34 and saw the Warriors go back to the top of the table.
There was more good news for Scottish rugby as Edinburgh inflicted a first home PRO12 loss on the Scarlets since 2013. After a disappointing Six Nations there's again the possibility of two Scottish sides qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. But – the Scarlets were very average; scrum-half Gareth Davies was sent off minutes after coming on as a substitute, which says it all.
Brickbat
Nick Williams. The Ulster forward's challenge on Cardiff Blues' Rhys Patchell looked cheap and nasty. Patchell was treated on the pitch for 10 minutes and spent the night in hospital.
"A forearm to the head? It should be a red card. I've done it enough, I should know," said Cardiff coach Dale McIntosh.
Bouquet
Chris Henry, back playing rugby for after a heart scare. The Ulster loose forward received a rousing reception at Ravenhill, and if he stays healthy and continues to play well, he could batter his way back into Joe Schmidt's World Cup plans.
