Who’s hot and who’s not: Leinster and La Rochelle shine while it’s the end of the road for three head coaches

Adam Kyriacou

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!

Leinster show their quality: How about that performance from the Irish province? To prevail at Racing 92 is one thing but to run out 42-10 winners after a marathon 14-hour journey due to the weather takes some doing. Leinster were outstanding throughout the whole team as World Player of the Year Josh van der Flier crossed twice while back-row colleague Caelan Doris also stood out in the game. This result is a message to the rest of Europe that Leinster are once again serious challengers for the Champions Cup silverware, with the same going for…

Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle: Fresh off celebrating a new contract as head coach of La Rochelle, O’Gara helped steer his side to a 46-12 victory over Northampton Saints on Saturday. The English visitors’ two tries came in the 71st and 76th minute so in truth the scoreline does not reflect just what a hiding the Saints took at Stade Marcel-Deflandre. Gregory Alldritt starred for O’Gara’s side as, like Leinster, they look set to be major players in the competition this season. In fact, it could well be another Leinster v La Rochelle final if they avoid each other.

Exeter and Sale hint at a better Premiership showing: England have not had a Champions Cup semi-finalist since 2020, but there were promising signs from this duo at the weekend. We certainly didn’t see their results coming as the Chiefs comfortably beat Castres, who are formidable at home, and Sale hammered Ulster, giving them the perfect start to the competition. The Greater Manchester side have been the country’s most successful club in Europe over the past two seasons, reaching the quarter-finals twice, but on this form they could go even further. Meanwhile, Exeter claimed the title in 2020 but have struggled for form since then. However, this was much better and it looks as if they could go far. With Saracens back in the top-tier and Leicester also in the mix, there are reasons to be positive for England’s elite clubs.

South Africans’ start in the Champions Cup: The Sharks claimed South Africa’s first win in the Champions Cup when they triumphed 39-31 against Harlequins in Durban before a second-string Bulls outfit defeated Lyon 42-36 on Saturday. Although the Stormers succumbed to European giants Clermont Auvergne on the road, they were excellent in the opening period. The Cape Town-based side rather imploded after the break but it was still an excellent way to begin for the South Africans. Many within the country were quite rightly circumspect over their chances going into the world’s biggest club tournament, but the initial signs seem to be positive as their teams could go deep in 2023.

Cardiff end Wales’ drought: A 21-game winless streak for Welsh regions in Europe was finally, and emphatically, brought to an end on Saturday when Cardiff thumped Brive 41-0 at the Arms Park. This drought dated back to December 2020 so it must be a huge relief for all Welsh supporters that the monkey is off their back. Cardiff can be delighted with this seven-try win as they start the Challenge Cup in style.

COLD AS ICE!

South African turnout: On a less positive note for the South African teams was the supporter numbers in each of their games. The crowd size looked sparse at all the venues, with the Lions’ clash with the Dragons a particularly poor showing from the fans. Obviously, for those used to Super Rugby, it is a big change, but there were surprisingly few people there considering it is an exciting new venture. They weren’t the only teams to struggle, with London Irish fans failing to turn up in what was the Champions Cup opener and not many in attendance for the Ospreys v Leicester Tigers clash in Swansea, but we expected more South Africans to cheer on their respective sides in their opening ties.

Eddie Jones and Wayne Pivac: It was confirmed early last week that both had been sacked from their roles as England and Wales head coaches respectively. One was, in our view, a surprise, while one wasn’t. Pivac falls into the latter category. After taking over from Warren Gatland following the 2019 World Cup, he has failed to really find an identity for this Wales team. Yes, they won the 2021 Six Nations, but other than that success, results were poor and his departure was inevitable after home defeats to Italy and Georgia. As for Jones, we fully expected him to stay until the end of the World Cup, especially since that is what he has always prepared this England side for, but results and performances have ultimately been poor over the past two years. They have been a team in decline, with no hint that things are going to improve, and that cost Jones.

Gary Gold the next coach to go: Pivac and Jones weren’t the only people to depart their roles as the USA saw their head coach resign after they failed to qualify for the World Cup. Gold, who has an excellent rugby mind, was a good appointment at the time and they had some early success with him in charge, but ultimately not reaching the global tournament is an abject failure. There is more to the Eagles’ issues than their boss, however, and they need to sort it out, especially with a home World Cup only nine years away. It may seem a long time away but it is not when there are the fundamental issues with US rugby.

Northampton go down easily: They may have been playing the defending champions but that was pretty awful from the Saints, who were bullied throughout the contest. Their defence was porous and they failed to match up physically, making it all too easy for La Rochelle. Northampton statistically have the worst rearguard in the Premiership and it doesn’t look like things have improved now that they have moved on to Europe. Phil Dowson’s men are in play-off contention in the league but they need a vast improvement, both with and without the ball, if they are to challenge for silverware.

Ulster don’t show up: And they almost literally didn’t when their flight to England was cancelled due to the poor weather conditions. The Irish province obviously had a disrupted build-up ahead of their game with Sale and it ultimately played a role in the large defeat, but you still have to produce some type of performance on the field. As mentioned above, the English side were excellent, but Ulster didn’t fire a shot and it was a poor way to start their Champions Cup campaign.

READ MORE: Leinster and Sharks claim bonus-point wins over Racing 92 and Harlequins respectively

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