Who’s hot and who’s not!

Colin Newboult

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

Marika Koroibete: Deservedly earned the John Eales Medal after a stunning season for the Wallabies where he was unplayable at times. In what was a disappointing World Cup for Australia, which saw them eliminated at the quarter-finals, Koroibete starred and scored a stunning try in that last-eight contest versus England. Impressed whenever he took to the field and, alongside Samu Kerevi, they were the two best performers for the team in 2019.

Joe Simpson: Gloucester were second best, for pretty much most of the contest, to Toulouse’s physicality and dexterity on Friday, but two opportunistic scores from the Cherry and Whites scrum-half gave them hope. Simpson twice benefited from mistakes by the visitors to scamper clear and touch down to help the hosts into a 20-9 lead. They couldn’t hold onto that advantage but it wasn’t because of the half-back, who did his best to lead his side to victory.

Exeter Chiefs: Rob Baxter’s men have often been criticised for failing to transfer their Premiership form onto the European scene, but perhaps their performance on Saturday will change that. The West Countrymen were absolutely superb as they thrashed La Rochelle at the intimidating Stade Marcel-Deflandre. They quietened the crowd early on by playing some excellent rugby, while the hosts also struggled to deal with the Chiefs’ defensive pressure. Exeter swarmed all over their opponents and deservedly came away with a 31-12 triumph.

Toulouse’s fightback: They were a bit naïve, possibly slightly arrogant, in the first half as the visitors failed to respect the threats Gloucester had, but they were far better in the second period and deservedly came away with a win. Les Rouge et Noir were too slack with their passing before the interval, but Ugo Mola’s men tightened that up after the break and continually put Gloucester under pressure. It sets them up nicely for the rest of the group.

Clermont’s powerhouse Fijian duo: While Alivereti Raka is a French international, he was born and raised in the Pacific Island nation before joining Clermont’s academy in 2014, and his power, pace and skill has become a crucial component of the Top 14 side. Alongside Fijian representative Peceli Yato, those two absolutely terrorised Harlequins on Saturday. They scored two tries apiece and caused several other problems for the visitors, who simply could not deal with their excellence.

Irish provinces: The Irish machine in Europe has revved into gear almost immediately as all four sides claimed victories. It was comfortable for Leinster and Munster, who defeated Benetton and Ospreys respectively, but Ulster and Connacht had to work slightly harder. However, those performances were arguably even more impressive as the former edged Bath at the Rec and the latter defeated big-spending Montpellier. In particular, Andy Friend’s men were outstanding as they overcame a number of injuries to edge the Frenchmen and start their Champions Cup campaign in superb fashion.

COLD AS ICE

Gloucester’s set-piece: While the scrum, which was expected to struggle, went well for the English outfit, their lineout was simply abysmal. They effectively only had one out-and-out jumper in Gerbrandt Grobler and Toulouse enjoyed that battle, particularly in the second half. Corne Fourie came on to the field at hooker in the second period and he especially struggled with the Cherry and Whites losing seven at the set-piece. With that facet faltering, the Frenchmen dominated and starved the hosts of possession, with this home loss a major early blow to their hopes.

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Harlequins: The Premiership outfit came into their Champions Cup encounter against Clermont Auvergne after suffering successive defeats to Northampton Saints and Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. Such form did not bode well for Paul Gustard’s charges and they struggled for long periods of that encounter with Les Jaunards and eventually conceded seven tries en route to a 53-21 defeat. Quins supporters will be hoping for a much improved performance from their side when they host Premiership rivals Bath in their second Champions Cup clash, at Twickenham Stoop this Saturday.

La Rochelle: After notching four out of four wins at their Stade Marcel-Deflandre home in the Top 14 this season, there was an air of confidence in the La Rochelle ranks as they went into their Champions Cup opener against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday. Jono Gibbes’ troops were naive in their approach and did not respect their opponents, especially during the early stages of that match when they tried to play an offloading game without doing the basics first. They paid a heavy price, however, as they trailed 14-0 at half-time and eventually suffered a humiliating 31-12 defeat.

Leone Nakarawa: Although the Fiji second-row is one of the best locks in the business, he let himself and his club – Racing 92 – down when he returned to the Top 14 outfit two weeks late from the recent Rugby World Cup in Japan. Because of that indiscretion, Racing have suspended the 2017/18 EPCR Player of the Year and, according to French media reports, the 31-year-old is set to appear before a club disciplinary hearing on November 22.

Lyon: Considering they are top of the French league and have a wealth of talent in their ranks, they simply did not turn up against Northampton Saints on Sunday. Lyon have a gargantuan pack but they lacked intensity at Franklin’s Gardens and were outplayed by the Premiership outfit. The Saints are an improved team under Chris Boyd and have plenty of ability in their squad but, considering the form of Pierre Mignoni’s men, the Englishmen would have expected a far sterner test.

Challenge Cup