Hot: Ross Ford - Not: Aironi
It's time for Planet Rugby's weekly wrap up of who is setting the benchmarks at the moment... and who should be dropped to the bench!
They're on fire!
Ross Ford: Captaining your national side is the highest individual honour to which any player can aspire. Our congratulations to Scotland's 112th Test skipper.
Munster: Six wins from six games. Number one seeds for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. Five tries and 51 points on the road to last year's finalists....'nough said.
The Heineken Cup quarter-finalists: Some have been luckier than others. Top of the lucky list must be Toulouse: Expect an Airbus full of fruit baskets to arrive in Connacht shortly. Leading the not-so-lucky candidates are Edinburgh, whose reward for winning Pool Two is a quarter-final against a certain French team looking for their fifth title after a massive wake-up call. Doh!
The Pro12: With five of the eight HEC quarter-finalists coming from one league, it's hard to suggest that the Pro12 isn't setting the standard in the northern hemisphere. Food for thought indeed.
Simon Zebo, Takudzwa Ngwenya and Sitiveni Sivivatu: There were plenty of 'hot' wingers on show over the weekend with the flyers from Munster and Biarritz bagging hat-tricks along with places in our Team of the Week. But while they we're finishing off flowing moves, Clermont's All Black import was at the origin of attack after attack. It took Sivi a few games to find his feet, but he's firing on all cylinders now and must be considered one of the most dangerous wingers in Europe at the moment.
Stade Français: As the Amlin Challenge Cup top seeds after finishing the group stages with a points difference of +155, the Parisians are the bookies' second favourites (behind Toulon) to go all the way.
Treviso: Three cheers for Italy's top side after they came within a hairsbreadth of toppling the champions of England. Sarries can consider themselves somewhat lucky after the Benetton Boys had a try turned down in the dying minutes by the TMO with a controversial call.
Heyneke Meyer: As the Springbok coach rumour mill continues to turn, it's been reported that South Africa's administrators have finally decided to appoint the Bulls' main man as Peter de Villiers' successor. Meyer, who narrowly missed out on the position in 2008 following the SARU's decision to place a bigger emphasis on transformation than results, has been tipped to be unveiled as the new national coach on Friday. Given Meyer's impressive coaching record at Currie Cup and Super Rugby level, his rare ability to bring out the best in his players in high-pressure matches and his professional communication skills, it's no surprise the top brass at SARU are impressed.
Ewen McKenzie: The Wallaby Head Coach position isn't up for grabs - yet - but McKenzie was given a mighty big compliment by ARU chief executive John O'Neill, after revealing the Reds mentor would be a "fantastic candidate" to be the next Australia boss. The Super Rugby-winning coach, who has extended his Reds contract until 2014, is widely regarded as one of the leading candidates to replace Robbie Deans if and when the Kiwi leaves his post. No pressure then Robbie!
Cecil Afrika: The IRB Sevens Player of the Year was unveiled as the new IRB Keep Rugby Clean Ambassador for Sevens Rugby. He follows Samoa's Uale Mai and Kenya's Humphrey Kayange in becoming Sevens rugby's third anti-doping ambassador.
Someone turn on the heater...!
The European semi-final draws: Why is that the ERC insist on the semi-final venues for the Heineken and Challenge Cups being decided by pulling a little plastic ball out of a drum? Surely it makes more sense for the higher ranked teams to get home (country) advantage? As it stands, Leinster - ranked second after the pool stages - will have to travel to England or France if they make the semi-finals....eh?
Bryce Lawrence (in South Africa at least): The controversial Kiwi referee, who became public enemy number one in South Africa after being blamed by more than a few for ending the Springboks' reign as World Champions, will not travel to the Republic to officiate Super Rugby matches. It's understood that SANZAR are fearful that fans might take matters into their own hands if he controls any games in the Rainbow Nation.
Toulon's retirement village: So Andrew Sheridan is the latest 30-something to head to Toulon. The soon-to-be former Shark is 32, the same age as Bakkies Botha, Jonny Wilkinson, Carl Hayman and Dean Schofield. Simon Shaw is 38 while Sebastien Bruno is 37, just like Kris Chesney. Bernard Laporte might have to make provision for afternoon naps in his training schedule. Not exactly building for the future, is it?
Harlequins: Quins started the season with and bang and a fizz, but are struggling to produce much more than a muffled fart these days. A 21-point hiding at the hands of Saints followed by that defeat in western Ireland has put a damper on spirits at the Stoop to say the least. At least they have a chance to defend their Amlin Challenge Cup title, starting with tricky trip to Toulon.
Aironi: In six rounds of Heineken Cup competition, Italy's not-so-new franchise were the only team who failed to pick up a win. In fact, they didn't even get a point in Pool Four. Not a single one. Some fans are now questioning whether they deserve an automatic place in Europe's top competition. It's a tough call because they have the playing personnel to make an impact and Treviso have shown that with a bit of time Italian teams can be competitive. But just how much time do they need?
Welsh private parts: This one has nothing to do with form. While former Wales U20 player Steven Shingler is training in relative 'warmth' with Scotland, his brother and the rest of the Welsh Six Nations squad are in Poland climbing into frozen chambers for more cryotherapy sessions. We believe the expression goes: cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. i.e. Not hot, coooooooooooold!
Comments
crunchfit says...
@kybone
I'm pretty sure you can get away with having 4 clubs in one area when that area includes London. Google's telling my the population of London is 7,556,900. That's greater than the population of all of Ireland by over a million people and Ireland which has 4 clubs. I just don't think those clubs you're writing of are short of people to pick from.
Posted 11:36 28th January 2012
crunchfit says...
@NHsaints
Not sure about the numbers in France, but England has 5 times the amount of senior, male players Ireland does. So it shouldn't really matter that Ireland have 4 teams (well 3 main ones, not 2 as you said - your assessment of Ulster is a little harsh I think, just my opinion).
@kybone
"You heard"? "If it's true"? Look up the teams. They're on the site man. Or even better, watch the matches. Anyway, Joe Schmidt is rotating the squad quite a lot this season. I've never actually thought about it protecting senior players, but I guess that's a benefit. It's not as bad as "wrapping them in cotton wool" though. Look at the recent team sheets, all the top players will be on them. I've always just thought about how good it is at developing the younger players and it couldn't really be working any better right now so whatever points of view people have on the system, I don't really mind. It's win win for the whole team.
As for Munster, Ulster, Connacht, they don't seem to do it as much as Leinster. This level of rotation is relatively new to Leinster though, ever since Schmidt came.
Posted 11:23 28th January 2012
JMehrtens says...
Some fans are now questioning whether they deserve an automatic place in Europe's top competition.
Where they also questioning E'burgh and Glascow during the previous decade?
Posted 12:21 27th January 2012
Frank81 says...
@liam2me - "Munster has a fraction of that yet have far more Irish players of the correct calibre"...an Irish province has more Irish players than Saracens? Odd that. The correct calibre?! Lovely turn of phrase...
PR - I wouldn't be a fan of the higher ranked teams getting home advantage all the way through. An easier pool (Aironi?) would then set you up for an easier route the rest of the tournament. Good teams should be able to win anywhere, a la Munster & Leicester over the last decade.
Posted 07:47 27th January 2012
kybone says...
liam2me one small detail that you forgot to mention about Saracens..... there are 3 other Premiereship clubs in the same area!
Posted 15:18 26th January 2012
lawynd says...
@liam2me - you're forgetting about the Anglo-Welsh cup, but that's not really here nor there.
All of these exhortations on why England have been average, why clubs struggle in the Heineken Cup, are merely speculation; if it was simply a case of the academies being run better and taking advantage of the sheer numbers then Leeds would be the best team in Europe! The fact of the matter is that numbers don't matter a jot; look at the Olympics. Australia should never perform as well as they do if that's all it comes down to, and the US, UK, France, Germany (the list could go on) should all be significantly better than they are. Sports in general clearly don't operate on simple numbers of players or participants at a professional level. The one criticism in this area I will level however is that there is still snobbery at youth levels in rugby, and unless you attend the right school or know the right people, it is a struggle to have your potential recognised. Even that though has (had?) some basis in logic, as few comprehensives play rugby as part of the national curriculum, so there will always be more applicants from grammar schools and private schools.
Posted 10:49 26th January 2012
liam2me says...
@neXus6
Please explain to me how the AP teams play more games than the Pro12 sides?
12 teams in each league with home and away games.
both leagues have playoffs
At the moment pro12 sides play more HEC games.
So please, explain how pro12 sides play less games?
As for the 'Irish teams are provinces argument', it doesn't hold water. English clubs have their own catchment areas in the exact same way as the Irish provinces do with more clubs in the English catchment areas than in the Irish Saracens, for example, take from Hertfordshire, Essex and Middlsex, that's a massive chunk of London and numerous other towns and cities with National league clubs. Munster has a fracion of that yet have far more Irish players of the correct calibre.
The excuses are nothing more than that, excuses, because at the moment, English rugby just doesn't produce the goods.
Posted 23:35 25th January 2012
liam2me says...
@ Bullitt
and Munster were put, rightly, in the 'not' column, so what's your point?
Posted 23:24 25th January 2012
lawynd says...
@GCP_JONES - For the record, I'm not looking to pick a fight; Ireland have a system that works for them, more power to them. All I'm saying is that simplifying it down to numbers of people is clearly a fallacy, as even the fatuous statistics produced don't actually show what the poster wanted them to necessarily.
I was talking to a Munster-supporting friend of mine about how you could introduce another tier above existing club rugby in England...we came to the conclusion that it'd be nigh on impossible, but that if it ever happened, Tigers, Saints and Saracens would in all probability end up in the same team...food for thought!
Posted 18:13 25th January 2012
kybone says...
kent im not sure what the number of players has got to do with anything that i said but i assume you're refering to the point that i made about the top irish players missing most of the pro 12 fixtures. I don't understand why you think that having less registered players in ireland is justification for the best players being rested for 2/3 of the pro 12 calender? Cant really see how you got to that one. By your logic the best players in Wales and Scotland must hardly ever play a game at all!
Posted 17:08 25th January 2012
GCP_JONES says...
@lawynd..
So Basically England have over 20(don't know the exact number to be honest)clubs playing professional rubgy to some capacity, then how many have an Academy set-up.
Ireland have 4 professional sides, an amateur club game and about 30 schools.
Posted 15:04 25th January 2012
Rosbif says...
HOT - Ring-side seats for "Boudjellal vs FFR" .... soon to be made into fly-on-the-wall TV docu-soap "The Third Sodomoy"
NOT HOT - Juan Smith feeling his achilles in pre-season. Poor bloke.
Posted 13:46 25th January 2012
fattysock says...
@Trinats
Didn't realise that at age 17 you were considered an adult? That's the age that Siti moved to NZ.
Quade moved at age 13 or 14...so both were at High School.
Agree that they should stop with the "NZ-born" stuff though. We don't want any credit for Cooper, thanks.
Posted 13:19 25th January 2012
lawynd says...
@Kent - even assuming those figures tell the whole story, they surely suggest that France defy all odds on a regular basis, as do Wales, and Scotland under-perform in comparison...and Ireland aren't as good as France? As usual, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. I would be willing to bet if you took out all of the amateur fatties (like myself and others here), the figures would be significantly different. You're also ignoring that there are another tier of professional clubs in England, too...
Posted 12:21 25th January 2012
philallen says...
So NHsaints thinks Ireland are weak in positions that Ulster's SH players occupy!
Afoa -Tighthead. Are there many better anywhere?
Muller -Secondrow. Have you heard of O'Connell,Ryan, O'Callaghan, Cullen etc
Wannenburg - Loosie. Ferris, O'Brien, Heaslip - real shortage of talent there!
Pienaar - Scrumhalf. No Irish scrumhalfs either?
Ulster players have to exceptional to get picked by Kidney ahead of a Leinster/Munster player, so we would rather have a strong team no matter their origins.
Posted 11:07 25th January 2012
leinsterblue says...
interesting choice this week...regarding the retirement village in the south of France, I think that Jonny Wilkinson still has the most to give...I also agree regarding the semi final draw for the HC - either give the highest placed seeds left after the quarters home advantage or turn the entire knockout stage into an open draw...don't agree with Bryce Lawerence in the not hot category - is this a pop at Lawerence fearing for his safety in South Africa (and with some of the comments posted on this site he has every reason to be fearful) or a pop at South African fans for some of the vitriolic commets they have made....
some of the posts here regarding Ireland surely are tongue in cheek - I am Irish and I sincerely hope they are...yes, we have 3 teams in the HC quarters, but that is based on progress over 6 matches (and we are going to lose either Munster or Ulster in the quarters) where you can afford to have one dodgy performance and get away with it - thinking of Leinster's performance in Montpellier where we were rather blessed to come away with 2 points...
@mcdb06 - rather excellent post...I am (naturally) going to be biased towards Leinster and hope for honourable mentions every week, but in some cases we just don't deserve them - too many inconsistent performances over the 80 mins - with the possible exception of the Munster and bath games in the Aviva where we played a consistent 80 minutes...
Posted 10:58 25th January 2012
GCP_JONES says...
@NHsaints..
Normally your postings(is that a word) are very insightful and balanced, but I have to say the one about the Irish sides is well... totally the opposite.You could argue the same about Wales for example.
England and France have something like 5 times the amount of players playing into adulthood than Ireland. In the Ulster/Leicester game, Ulster fielded 5 Foreigners while Leicester had 8, Munster at the weekend had 2.
the Irish structure was the same when English teams were winning on a regular basis. As the Gloucester coach said after the match aginst Toulouse, it may be something to with the crash bang nature of the rugby in the premiership, than anything else.
On Saturday besdies the scrum what scoring chances did you create? your American second row was the only one to put his hand up around the park, your back row and 11.to 14 might as well have not been on the pitch.
And please if any English fan is responding to this post don't mention the promotion relegation argument its really not a runner, and remember sport is cyclical in nature.
Posted 10:00 25th January 2012
neXus6 says...
Pro12 setting the standard? No doubt Fre rugby club rugby is over rated for reasons including RCT's behaviour that you cite.
However, the Irish sides skew your equation. They are provinces and not clubs and play far fewer games than their Eng & Frog counterparts. They also (whether wisdom or necessity) do not pollute their game with vast numbers of over paid, SH journeymen = they bring through more local talent and pick their overseas players a lot smarter. Wannenburg v Lauaki...
Posted 09:00 25th January 2012
bullitt says...
Liam2me... I recall 12 months Munster went crashing out with a whimper. Short memory, eh?
Posted 08:12 25th January 2012
caramba13 says...
Can we make this clear: the team based in Galway (and the Province it represents) is called 'CONNACHT'. The large, wooded square in London surrounded by expensive real estate is called 'CONNAUGHT'. The pronunciation is the same.
'backingLeinster' is being provocative. Foolish, really, only a few weeks from the 6N. The Irish, me included, should show a bit of humility in the coming weeks.
Posted 08:08 25th January 2012