Hot: Baker - Not: Farrell
It is time for our weekly wrap up of who has their name in lights at the moment...and who is making the headlines for the wrong reasons.
They're on fire!
Ulster: Extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 13 matches with a convincing 25-6 away win against Northampton in the Heineken Cup. This gives them a six-point lead at the top of Pool Four.
New Zealand Sevens: Gordon Tietjens' side made history when they won the Port Elizabeth leg of the Sevens World Series to become the first side to win the same leg of the competition for a fourth consecutive time. No other team has achieved this feat since the tournament started in 1999.
Clermont: Extended their unbeaten home record to 51 matches with a narrow victory over defending champions Leinster. What made their win extra special is that it also ended Leinster's 17-match unbeaten record in the Heineken Cup.
Kurt Baker: Made his return to the Sevens circuit - after an absence of nearly three years - in fine style by leading New Zealand's charge at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Baker scored eight tries in Port Elizabeth, including two hat-tricks on finals day.
Jared Payne: Put in a top-class display in Ulster's win over Northampton. Payne was at the heart of Ulster's attacking play and apart from scoring a try he also set one up for Tommy Bowe.
Harlequins: Scored eight tries in their 57-14 Heineken Cup victory over Zebre which has taken them six points clear of their nearest rivals at the top of Pool 3.
Connacht: The Irish province claimed the biggest upset of the weekend when they beat Biarritz 22-14 in their Heineken Cup tie. The victory moves them into second spot, behind Quins, in their pool.
Someone turn on the heater...!
Owen Farrell: The Saracens stalwart had a shocker from the kicking tee in his side's 15-9 Heineken Cup loss to Munster. Farrell missed four out of seven shots at goal which proved the difference between winning and losing in the end.
Northampton: Although Ulster delivered a superb performance, more was expected from the Saints who were playing at Franklin's Gardens. They hardly put up a fight and suffered an ignominious defeat in front of their home crowd.
England Sevens: Ben Ryan's team are usually amongst the frontrunners on the international Sevens circuit but they have been far from impressive this season. They are currently languishing in 13th position in the point standings behind minnows like the United States, Canada and Portugal.
Dan Carter: He might have won the IRB's Player of the Year award but DC is not hot in his homeland. This after he failed to make the shortlist for the New Zealand Rugby Union's Kel Tremain Memorial Player of the Year award.
Dylan Hartley: The Northampton and England hooker is in trouble after he was cited for allegedly striking Ulster's Rory Best in their Heineken Cup tie. Hartley is no stranger to disciplinary hearings and was banned for eight weeks after being cited for biting Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during a Six Nations match earlier this year.
Sevens World Series organisers: The system being used for allocating teams places the top three teams from the previous tournament into pools A, B and C with the rest of the teams selected randomly from tiered bands. The results of this saw New Zealand being drawn in the same pool as traditional rivals Fiji and England in the Port Elizabeth tournament while hosts South Africa had Australia, Samoa and France to contend with. We have to agree with Tietjens who believes a seeding system using the current rankings as a barometer would be a fairer option.
By David Skippers
Comments
hellovanite says...
Benny... I do have a problem with it, in all those situations you mentioned. Tell me NH folk are you so blinded by your need to win that you cheapen the honor of a national jersey so. It is turning the international game into club rugby. I have no problem with players signing for overseas clubs but this is something different. It's a blight on the international game and the rules have to change. International rugby shouldn't be about money it should be about pride in your heritage!
Posted 08:25 12th December 2012
powerplay says...
@ ferdie Damn fast isnt he?!!!
Posted 08:18 12th December 2012
Startledwombat says...
For the end-of-year Hot wrap-up, seems that Cobus will be in there for best commentator!
Posted 07:06 12th December 2012
kakapo76 says...
Baker is signed with the Crusdaers wider training group- should be on the field by April given the normal attrition rate- he is prone to brain fades but awesome to watch when it all clicks so all the best Kurt!
Bit harsh on DC as noted by others- IRB Player of the Year last week- whats changed?
Jared Payne heading overseas was a cockup- SBW / Nonu etc seemed to be in the way of his AB call up, we loved him in his brief stint with the mighty Red n Blacks and would welcome him home.
Posted 05:48 12th December 2012
cuw3100 says...
A little indulgent, don't you think to put DC in the cold section, when he has nothing to do with nominations for awards :)
How come Read or Smith were not cold when they were not in the IRB list???
Posted 05:31 12th December 2012
Waz4before says...
@ Sincero - a good point well made: presumably you'll be supporting less places for Welsh, Scottish & Italian clubs on the same basis??
Posted 05:12 12th December 2012
BillyMutt2 says...
Dan Carter "not hot" because of that? You must be joking dude.
Posted 03:20 12th December 2012
missionary says...
@ Benny? Don't be a dick. Conrad Smith on the way out? So he didn't have his best game against England. He is still the premier centre in world rugby right now although Tuilagi is fast closing.
Posted 23:39 11th December 2012
ferdie says...
Hot
For new stars, doubt there is anyone 'hotter' than USA sevens player Carlin Isles.
Started playing rugby 12 weeks ago; ranked in top 40 100mUS sprinters with a 100m time of 10.13 (would qualify for Olympic semifinals)
watch and enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA5bwqVN5LM
'get the athlete, learn the rugby afterwards'
Love it.
Posted 23:19 11th December 2012
GCP_JONES says...
@Benny...
Start Screaming :-), Thanks for the heads up, I won't be surprised if you hear that O'Driscoll extends his contract to Summer 2014, Just as Payne's 3 year residency rule kick ins.
If he keeps playing the way he is,the IRFU will make him an offer he can't refuse, and he'll be playing a lot in the centre.
Posted 22:41 11th December 2012
powerplay says...
IT doesn't matter if Farrell has shocking games for the rest of next year, hell still get nominated for IRB POTY, because that's just how the committee rolls!!!
Arhh..and what a joke for DC to win it, when in NZ they clearly know it wasn't him who deserved it this year!
Posted 20:50 11th December 2012
NHsaints says...
@KentBrockman you make it sound like Hartley has repeatedly (and unprovokedly) attacked Ulster players, Ferris is no saint and he put his hand in Hartley's mouth which is why Hartley bit him, not to mention Pedrie Wannenberg biting Hartley's hand right in front of the ref in the 2010/11 quarter finals and not receiving any punishment whatsoever. Best was holding him back on saturday so he responded by trying to break Best's grip on him...sure he could have done it in a more orthodox way but Best was asking for it by taking him out of the game...
Posted 19:29 11th December 2012
Lucasrg says...
Wouldn't be nice for PR to have a end-of-the-year "Who was the Hottest...and Who wasn't"? just off the box.
@froggy73
Unfortunately you are right, I suffer a bit seeing the FIR's franchise being so out-of-contest, but on the other hand I like to see Dondi's dream unfolding into shame. It's his fault why we have Zebre on the charts. Meanwhile, honor to Treviso who decide not to have any help from the federation and sort out themselves. Brave act...and results.
Posted 19:28 11th December 2012
Benny says...
Re: Payne, he was probably very close to getting a call up. Henry/Hansen hinted that one young player who left NZ was very close to getting into the squad and I suspect it was him. I have no problem with Bent playing for Ireland, Harris for Oz, and Maitland for Scotland but if Payne ends up becoming an Irishman, I'll scream. Especially with Conrad Smith on his way out and Payne being a utility
If JK doesn't perform at the Blues next year I hope he gets the boot and Anscombe will take the job and bring back Payne with him. I almost prefer watching the Aucklanders at Ulster now than watching the Blues
Posted 17:23 11th December 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
No wish to overdo my English bias but why show England 7s as cold due to their lowly ranking and then have a go at the system that will keep them there.
Posted 16:54 11th December 2012
davodiablo says...
Very happy for Kurt Baker . That was certainly a great way to respond to not getting a Super Rugby contract.He should be in fine form for the Naki next year .
Posted 16:40 11th December 2012
Sasquatch says...
Bit harsh on DC. PR needs an end of year hot and not list for all of Anderson's column's. Are we gonna hear any more from Cobus PR?
Posted 16:34 11th December 2012
KentBrockman says...
What has that thug Hartley got against Ulster players?
Posted 16:11 11th December 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Good points on the IRB sevens P.R.
Saints well deserve their roasting too. Must do better. Must try harder. Or are PRL going to blame it on the Pro12 resting their players again??? (after a month of test matches) Saints, you didn't derserve to win with that non effort so stop trying to ruin the best domestic competition in the world and make an effort like Quins are. Anyone want to have a guess why Harlequins are 6 pts clear after three matches if the format favours the celtic teams? It's got nothing to do with rest days, everything to do with a positive game plan, a D.O.R. who loves his job and the sport and players with a great attitude towards great 15man rugby. So, Premiere Rugby Limited, tell me again what's wrong with the Eurocup??? Becasue I'm torn between laughing in your faces or punching you in the face. They seem hell bent on ruining this wonderful competition on the back of the most flimsy, bullet hole ridden argument imaginable. How is that good for the fans, no matter which country they come from? On the plus side I may be a few quid better off a month after I've dumped Sky Sports and ESPN and no, I won't be subscribing to the other lot either. People will be cancelling subscriptions in droves.
Posted 15:35 11th December 2012
99call says...
GCP I do agree that it is always best to select home grown players but this is a professional game and everyone else is exploiting the residency rules so why not us.
And yes Payne is an absolute joy to watch I was gutted when he got injured so early last season, Id made a point of watching him for the Blues when we announced we'd signed him and it was obvious he is a class act and would add to any side in the world. And yes in a couple of years that will be Ireland so as long as the rules are the way they are then so be it. I bet Decaln Kidney wished he come a year earlier as he would be wearing the most famous shirt in the Ireland in the last few years No. 13 while BOD recovers.
Posted 15:33 11th December 2012