Who’s hot and who’s not!

Adam Kyriacou
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It is time for our weekly wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons this past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE!

Bordeaux-Bègles: What a performance from UBB as they shocked leaders La Rochelle on Saturday. Both these sides play entertaining rugby and while there was plenty of that, Bordeaux-Bègles also showed a hard edge to beat one of Europe’s in-form sides of 2017/18. Despite speculation surrounding the future of coach Jacques Brunel, UBB remained focused and won 29-19 to go seventh in the table, six points off second place.

Edinburgh: Speaking of impressive showings, Edinburgh surely take first prize this weekend. How they edged an in-form Glasgow Warriors side is still baffling us as, with 14 men for 75 minutes, Richard Cockerill’s team came out on top 18-17. Credit to each member of their squad and as Cockerill said, “I can’t coach the players to have the will to do what they did tonight – so they should take all the credit.” It’s worth remembering this was a Glasgow side that had won every PRO14 game this season before Saturday. Edinburgh, take a bow.

Sale: Crossing the border south to Salford and another side impressing was Sale Sharks, who thumped Bath 32-9 at the AJ Bell Stadium. They were in excellent form and if they can maintain this style and rise up the standings, their game when the weather improves will be a match for many. Faf de Klerk, AJ MacGinty, Rohan Janse van Rensburg and James O’Connor all impressed as Sale move two points off fifth position.

U Arena: A 32,000 capacity new home for Racing 92 officially opened on Friday when the Paris side beat Toulouse. One end boasts a huge TV screen while the venue can also host concerts, with The Rolling Stones having been first to perform. Dan Carter is clearly impressed.

Wayne Barnes: Congratulations to Barnes as he broke the record for most Premiership matches refereed on Friday when he took charge of the Worcester versus London Irish clash. Barnes surpassed the mark set by Chris White, who officiated 190 matches in English rugby’s top league between 1997 and 2011. He often doesn’t get the credit he deserves and this is some achievement from Barnes, who has plenty more matches to come.

COLD AS ICE!

Simon Berghan: What was he thinking? Berghan had to be sent-off by referee Frank Murphy following his stamp on the head of Glasgow hooker Fraser Brown. But, the Edinburgh tighthead prop will surely be feeling a lucky, lucky man today after his team-mates somehow won the game.

Northampton: It’s been a rough few weeks, months even for the Saints. Their latest setback came at the hands of champions Exeter, who put four tries past them in a 35-14 victory at Franklin’s Gardens. That’s now six Premiership losses in a row for Northampton, who of course, recently said farewell to long-time director of rugby Jim Mallinder. Saints are now 10th in the standings ahead of a trip to Quins.

Ulster: One of their worst performances in recent memory as while Connacht were excellent, Ulster were hugely disappointing. They went down to a 44-16 defeat at the Sportsground as their hosts brushed them aside, with boss Les Kiss admitting afterwards to BBC Sport that they would have to go away with their tails between their legs. Their defence was far too passive and six tries leaked certainly proves that.

Beka Kakabadze: How not to impress your scrum-half. Morgan Parra was clearly stunned by the decision of Clermont replacement Kakabadze to slap a Pau player with time almost up on the match clock. That ultimately handed the hosts a chance to win the game, which Tom Taylor took. Sometimes there are no words and we feel Parra’s look summed up both Clermont supporters, coaches and also the neutral’s reaction to this.

 

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