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

Exeter Chiefs: The Premiership outfit have underachieved in the Champions Cup over the years, but have hit the ground running in this season’s competition and have two bonus-point victories under their belt from as many matches played. Rob Baxter’s troops secured a valuable 31-12 win at La Rochelle in their tournament opener and followed it up with a 34-18 triumph against Glasgow Warriors at the weekend and are on course to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016. Could 2020 finally be the year they hit the big time in Europe?

Dave Rennie and Australia: We have to disagree slightly with our learned colleagues at Loose Pass and say that it is a shrewd appointment by Rugby Australia. Despite his lack of international experience at the top level, Rennie was hugely impressive as boss of the New Zealand U20s and has been a success wherever he has gone. Having guided the Chiefs to consecutive Super Rugby titles in 2012 and ’13, he moved to Glasgow and has continued the good platform laid by Gregor Townsend. Like Michael Cheika, the 56-year-old prefers an expansive style, but perhaps won’t be quite so naïve or stubborn as his Wallabies predecessor. Bravo, Rugby Australia.

Joe Marler: The prop had a strong outing on Saturday but his appearance in this section is more for his hilarious interview ahead of facing Bath. Since the game has gone professional, there aren’t quite as many characters as there used to be so it is refreshing when someone like Marler comes along and displays his personality. When describing how Quins were going to respond to defeat at Clermont, he produced this response which went viral.

Dan Biggar and Tom Hardwick: The two pivots were their respective clubs’ heroes as they knocked over match-winning penalties in injury time and both feats were achieved in away matches. Biggar showed his class as he slotted a three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 85th minute of Northampton’s 35-32 Champions Cup victory against Benetton. Hardwick meanwhile showed nerves of steel to land his goal-kick two minutes into injury as Leicester Tigers sealed a memorable 14-11 victory over Cardiff Blues at Cardiff Arms Park in the Challenge Cup.

Chris Ashton: The England flyer continued with his impressive try-scoring record in the Champions Cup when he crossed the whitewash in Sale Sharks’ 25-15 victory against La Rochelle at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday. That was the first time Ashton had dotted down in the competition as a Sale player and he has now amassed 40 five-pointers in 64 matches after also scoring regularly during stints at Northampton, Saracens and Toulon.

COLD AS ICE

Ospreys: Their poor Champions Cup form continued on Saturday when they suffered a humiliating 44-3 loss to defending champions, Saracens, at Allianz Park. That scoreline tells a story as Allen Clarke’s men battled from start to finish and asked little questions of their opponents’ defence. The loss means Ospreys are firmly rooted to the bottom of Pool Four with zero points from their first two matches and a points difference of minus 60.

Cameron Clyne: Will not stand for re-election as Rugby Australia chairman after a tough few years in the role. He has faced plenty of criticism during his tenure having axed the Force and then backed Cheika, despite the Wallabies’ continual struggles on the pitch. However, the biggest controversy was the Israel Folau saga and, although it was a difficult situation to handle, many felt Clyne did not do his duty well enough in the fallout.

Pierre Bourgarit: Discipline was a big problem in La Rochelle’s ranks during their Champions Cup match against Sale Sharks in Salford as lock Remi Leroux and prop Dany Priso were yellow carded for technical infringements. However, their hooker, Bourgarit, had a moment of madness when he was caught eye gouging Sale back-row Tom Curry on television replays. The incident occurred late in the first half with the home side holding a slender 10-7 lead and referee Andrew Brace had no hesitation in giving Bourgarit his marching orders. The inexcusable offence proved costly as Sale had an edge during the rest of the match and eventually sealed a 25-15 victory.

All Blacks coaching race: No one seems to want the biggest job in the sport with the candidates gradually being reduced after Jamie Joseph re-signed with Japan and Rennie became the new head coach of Australia. Unless New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have someone else in mind, that leaves only Ian Foster and Scott Robertson vying for the position. Although both have their positive traits, Foster has not had much success as the main man, while Robertson lacks international experience, despite his brilliant recent record in Super Rugby with the Crusaders. It will be intriguing to see what transpires, but NZR perhaps would have wanted more options to select from.

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