Who’s hot and who’s not!
It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!!
Saracens: Soaked up the pressure and then turned Munster over in Dublin to win by a comfortable 16 points, and that would have been more had it not been for CJ Stander's late consolation try. Saracens gave a masterclass in defensive patience with the timing of their turnovers and tackling as they kept Munster out. A second straight European final awaits, and is well deserved.
Camille Lopez: Clutch moments late on from the Clermont number ten with Leinster surging, as the France fly-half banged over two drop goals to stretch the scoreboard and ultimately put les Jaunards into the final. Lopez has had a fine season and this was another example of how confident he looks in 2016/2017.
Jules Plisson: From one matchwinner to another. Plisson's drop goal ultimately clinched the semi-final win over Bath after George Ford failed to find the posts with a penalty, and the fly-half was busy all afternoon, scoring a try for Stade and finishing with 18 points as they advanced to the Challenge Cup final.
Gloucester: La Rochelle had not lost at home all season, making the Cherry and Whites win on Saturday night a huge result as they made it back to the Challenge Cup final, hoping to defend their title from 2015. Of course had Brock James had his kicking game in the second half things would have been different, but a much-needed lift for Gloucester and impressive speed from Billy Burns for his try.
Kings: What a shock! Saying the win over the Waratahs came out of nowhere would be harsh considering they have shown patches of form against the Force and Reds, but the Kings' 26-24 win over the Waratahs on Friday still stunned everybody. Chris Cloete has been absolutely phenomenal this year and the flanker led the way once again in Sydney.
Crusaders: Make that eight wins in a row, as a clash between two supposedly in-form sides turned out to be one excellent team against another still finding their feet. George Bridge most likely will not grab an easier hat-trick in his entire career, but this was a devastating performance from the Crusaders whose pack took control with the backs never short of space to exploit.
Hurricanes: Punished the Brumbies in the first half and looked devastating from close-range, with Vince Aso grabbing a hat-trick as the defending champions scored over a half century of points. All which makes the fact that the Brumbies led 21-14 at half-time all the more strange. There was definitely a clear winner come the final whistle, and TJ Perenara started on the bench.
BROKEN THERMOSTAT
Jaguares: After an enormous letdown against the Bulls in the previous week this was much improved from the Jaguares, even if the result eluded them late on at Ellis Park as they fell to a defeat against the Lions. No yellow cards, good at the breakdown, lethal in attack – the Jaguares ticked plenty of boxes only to be sunk by that Elton Jantjies' penalty. Positive signs though.
COLD AS ICE
Daryl Gibson: The writing is on the wall after Friday's stunning loss to the Kings. Gibson might be well liked by his squad but something clearly isn't right in Sydney, given that most of the 2014 title winning side remain and yet the Waratahs have lost six of their eight games this season and are close to the bottom of the Australasian Group. The fish rots from the head…
Jone Qovu: Set for a date with the citing commissioner after his punch on Richard Hibbard – not that we're oblivious to what Hibbard was doing to Qovu before the offending swing of the arm – but even so, the big lock looks in trouble on a strange night for the Top 14 leaders against Gloucester.
Poor Richard Hibbard…??
Smacked in the spuds! ?
Accused of simulation! ? pic.twitter.com/vIIfEvXH2l— BT Sport Rugby (@btsportrugby) April 22, 2017
Sharks v Rebels: If you attended King's Park – and clearly few did based on the rows of empty seats – then we don't blame you for wanting a refund. What a dire, unimaginative contest that even a late penalty to snatch a draw couldn't save. A pretty clear pattern to watching Super Rugby is developing if you're based around GMT – watch Friday morning, watch Saturday morning, and avoid anything else from mid-morning onwards.
Racing 92: Still in with a chance of making the play-offs but you wouldn't know it based on Saturday's humbling from Montpellier, as Racing shipped over 50 points. Making the top six is still within reach but only with results in the final two games of the season. Otherwise the defending champions can kiss their hopes of winning another title goodbye.