Who’s hot and who’s not: All Black ‘finally’ fires, French dominate Champions Cup, South Africans bow out and lack of Leicester ‘criticism’
Leinster's Rieko Ioane and Sharks' Eben Etzebeth.
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 after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
And then there were eight: All eyes were on the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 this weekend as the top clubs in ‘Europe’ battled it out for prized places in the quarter-finals. The tournament structure still leaves much to be desired, and while it is far from perfect, the action was still enthralling. Bordeaux, Toulouse, Northampton, Glasgow, Bath, Toulon, Leinster and Sale continue their journey to Bilbao in the Champions Cup, whilst the same is true for Montpellier, Connacht, Zebre, Dragons, Benetton, Exeter, Ulster and La Rochelle in the Challenge Cup.
The Tank turns the tide: Bath’s Champions Cup journey hung in the balance on Saturday at the Rec as they trailed the far-less fancied Saracens 10-0 at half time. However, Johann van Graan had an ace up his sleeve in the form of Springboks powerhouse Thomas du Toit, who emphatically turned the tide at scrum time after replacing Archie Griffin at the break. The man affectionally known as ‘Thomas the Tank’ erased Sarries’ dominance at the set-piece and was just as impactful around the park as Bath romped to a 31-22 victory…oh how The Rec faithful will miss having The Tank in their arsenal next season, but for now a two-trophy send-off is still on the cards.
Manny shines on Exeter return: Fears that Immanuel Feyi-Waboso would be undercooked in his first game in three months were quickly eased as the England star rampaged his way to a man of the match, 45-minute cameo. He racked up 132 running metres, beat a mind-boggling 11 defenders and scored a truly sensational try as Exeter battered Munster into a 31-0 half-time scoreline. Munster rallied in the second half but left themselves with far too much to do as they succumbed to a 31-21 defeat. Overall, a fantastic week to be an Exeter Chiefs fan as the club progressed to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals while Rob Baxter announced that he’d be sticking around a little while longer.
Brilliant LBB and Bordeaux: Louis Bielle-Biarrey is just ridiculously good at rugby. Last week, he was crowned the 2026 Six Nations Player of the Championship, scooping the gong for the second time in just his third tournament, and then his attentions turned to Leicester Tigers. Bordeaux were clear favourites heading into the fixture, even before the Tigers named an understrength team, but Bielle-Biarrey didn’t rest on his laurels as he ruthlessly tore the Tigers to shreds, gaining over 170 running metres, beating 13 defenders, and finishing the match with three try involvements. His solo try in the 35th minute was simply glorious, but it was very much a team effort to put Leicester to the sword as Bordeaux cemented their status as the favourites to lift the title, even with Toulouse next on their hit-list!
Rieko Ioane finally fires for Leinster: It’s been a long time coming for Leinster fans who have criticised the All Blacks veteran for not shining during his stint in Dublin in the same manner as Jordie Barrett did. However, on Sunday, Ioane stepped up to the mark and fired Leinster past a tenacious Edinburgh effort. He played a key role in several big moments for the Irish club before scoring a confidence-boosting try to seal the result as he flexed his trademark raw pace down the left wing. Leinster look to be hitting their stride late this season and the same is true for Ioane but both will be real threats to all.
French domination: It was a good weekend to be a Top 14 club in the Champions Cup this weekend with only Castres failing to progress to the quarter-finals, falling to an eight-point defeat at the hands of Northampton. The Saints were always going to be a tough task for CO but the likes of Toulouse, Bordeaux and Toulon flew the Top 14 flag high. Antoine Dupont and co. maybe light work of Bristol Bears scoring a point a minute to lead 40-7 at halftime, before taking their foot off the accelerator to secure a 59-26 victory, while Leicester offered little resistance to UBB. Toulon worked incredibly hard to knock the Stormers out of the tournament, with Charles Ollivon coming up in the clutch right at the death.
Crusaders’ fitting send-off and Taylor’s milestone: 100 and out as the Crusaders bid farewell to the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch by trashing the Fijian Drua 69-26 to notch up a century of wins at the venue before their move to One NZ Stadium. It was a fittingly dominant performance in the farewell fixture and a particularly special one for Codie Taylor as the club legend scored four times in his 150th appearance in the red jersey.
Hansen’s blitzing finish: Ex-All Blacks bosses Sir Steve Hansen and Ian Foster endured a torrid start to the Japan Rugby League One season, losing seven of their opening eight matches. However, five wins on the trot, including a 24-7 victory over third-place Kubota Spears, has put them squarely in the race for a play-off spot. They sit in seventh place after 14 rounds of action, needing to improve their standing by just one to clinch a spot in the knockouts and have four rounds of the regular season to achieve that.
COLD AS ICE!
South African teams bow out: Before the Easter festivities got underway, three South African franchises remained in EPCR tournaments but by the end of the weekend, there were none. The Sharks were the first to go as the return of Eben Etzebeth was not enough to inspire a much-changed team to victory over Connacht in Galway. The Bulls fought valiantly against Glasgow Warriors in torrential conditions, but they too came up short while the Stormers were one TMO decision away from beating RC Toulon. The latter two results were incredibly close and could have gone either way but considering the defeats came on the road, the South African teams may consider taking the pool stages of next season’s Champions Cup more seriously if they are to finally reach the semi-final stages of the competition.
Bears and Tigers batterings: As mentioned above, the Champions Cup format is far from perfect, highlighted by the incredibly one-sided results in Toulouse and Bordeaux. The Bears rallied late to make the scoreline more respectable and fielded possibly the strongest team available, but the same cannot be said of Leicester. South African clubs have copped criticism previously for not respecting the tournament, but the same complaints weren’t levelled at the Tigers, who rested a host of their top talents for the trip across the Channel. They shipped 64 points as a result and were dumped out of the tournament as focus turns to their PREM Rugby bid.
Munster’s first-half failure: Back to the Challenge Cup and Jack Crawley almost single-handedly pulled Munster into a position to secure a magnificent come-from-behind victory over the Exeter Chiefs. However, the proud Irish club were so woeful in the first half that it was simply too tall a mountain to climb. Exeter deserves credit for their ruthlessness but at the same time, Munster made it easy for them with a stuttering attack and poor defence. Serious adjustments need to be made with it being squeaky bum time in the URC for the club to reach the play-offs.
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Mammoth blows for Wallabies and Springboks: Australia and South Africa will be without their powerhouse locks Will Skelton and RG Snyman for at least the start of the international season. The former is only expected to return next year and the same could be true for the latter as La Rochelle and Leinster provided crushing updates on the locks who easily rank among the best in the world.
Sale and England’s double setback: Alex Sanderson and Steve Borthwick have also been dealt major setbacks, with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Bevan Rodd suffering season-ending injuries and both are in doubt for the start of the Nations Championship.