Rugby Union Today: Who’s hot and who’s not
Another busy day in the rugby union game as we looked back at the week’s events and picked out the main talking points in the sport.
What’s on the site
In ‘who’s hot and who’s not’, there were a number of topics discussed, including the New Zealand sides’ success in the Sevens series in Dubai, Jake White’s phone call leak and the Naka Drotske shooting.
Elsewhere, there is a quiz on the weekend’s action in the big leagues in Europe, while we also have highlights from those competitions: Premiership, PRO14 and Top 14.
What’s in the news
The Scarlets have announced that former Crusaders assistant coach Brad Mooar will replace Wayne Pivac as head coach next season.
Meanwhile, Ireland and Leinster prop Jack McGrath will be out for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on a hip injury, meaning that he will miss the Champions Cup double-header against Bath, as well as the games over Christmas.
In the southern hemisphere, there is talk of the Sunwolves being axed from Super Rugby as SANZAAR look to reduce the number of teams in the competition back to 14.
What’s on social media
A minute before the Barbarians left the dressing room to face Argentina.
We believe #rugby should be fun & bring people together 🙌
That’s why we do stuff like this…👀
Yeah, we are a little bonkers 😂#Baabaas #rugbyunited #KillikCup 🏆 https://t.co/AGc4XBInkX
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) December 2, 2018
What’s on TV
The Champions Cup returns this weekend with the double-headers, which will no doubt play a crucial role in qualification. It is live on BT Sport with Munster v Castres, Bath v Leinster, Edinburgh v Newcastle and Wasps v Toulouse looking like the standout encounters.
On Sky Sports, it is all about the World Rugby Sevens Series, which heads to Cape Town. South Africa are the defending men’s series champions but produced a disappointing performance in Dubai and will look for an improvement on home soil.