Who’s hot and who’s not!

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 over the past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE!

Ulster: There’s something special going on at Ulster this season and Friday’s 35-3 win over Connacht provided yet more evidence of that. They are playing with so much confidence at the moment and this triumph was the perfect response to a narrow defeat at Leinster the previous week, with Dan McFarland’s men going over five times to consolidate their position in second place in Conference A. There’s a real strong spine through their team and with a superb start to their Champions Cup pool campaign in their pocket, things are looking good.

Nizaam Carr’s finish: Few predicted a Wasps victory at Ashton Gate against Bristol Bears but Dai Young’s men surprised us all with a 26-21 win on Friday. It had looked as though the Bears were heading towards four points at 21-19 up with a minute left to play, but somehow Wasps rallied and the ball found its way to Carr on the right wing, who showed pace, a strong fend and clever dummy to seal a dramatic win. This vital triumph ended a run of four straight defeats in all competitions and crucially also halts the rate at which Saracens were closing in.

Scarlets: It’s been a busy week at the Welsh region with first news breaking that head coach Brad Mooar would be leaving the role to join New Zealand’s staff at the end of the season. However, that was cushioned slightly when Wales, British & Irish Lions and Saracens star Liam Williams was confirmed to be returning from 2020/21. These were followed by on-field action on Boxing Day when they ripped Ospreys to shreds at Parc y Scarlets in an emphatic six-try 44-0 victory that showed they are fully behind boss Mooar despite his impending departure.

Edinburgh: Levelled the 1872 Cup up at one triumph apiece in a thrilling 29-19 victory over Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield. 27,437 supporters turned out for this contest and they were not disappointed as the intensity and quality was of the highest order. Deadly Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham was one of the standout performers for his side as he started and finished the try scoring with two excellent scores as Richard Cockerill’s team end 2019 on a huge positive. This PRO14 victory takes them just one point behind Munster at the Conference B summit.

Bums on seats: That match at Murrayfield was one of several over the weekend to enjoy huge turnouts. Many games in the Premiership were sold-out while Ulster and Munster did likewise as the festive period brought families out for a day at the rugby. There was also over 75,000 fans at Twickenham for Big Game 12 between Harlequins and Leicester, which is wonderful to see as 2019 draws to a close, with credit needing to go to the marketing teams of those clubs involved in increasing numbers coming through the turnstiles over Christmas.

COLD AS ICE!

Ospreys: “Embarrassing”, “Tough”, “The worst night in an Ospreys shirt by far”; these were just some of the comments made by Justin Tipuric after his side was on the receiving end of that aforementioned hammering at Scarlets. The sizeable derby defeat is clearly a realisation of the situation the Liberty Stadium outfit currently find themselves at the bottom of Conference A and one wonders whether a week is long enough to turn things around when they return to PRO14 action against the Dragons at Rodney Parade next Saturday. Hard times.

Harry Williams: Received his marching orders despite having already been substituted against Saracens on Sunday. With time almost up on the clock, tempers boiled over between the two rivals on the field but what followed was a regretful moment from prop Williams as he got involved in the fracas and was subsequently red carded by referee Wayne Barnes. TV footage of the tighthead in the tunnel afterwards showed a remorseful man and he will hold his hands up that he should have refrained from the scuffle, but it also wasn’t a good look to see chief executive and chairman Tony Rowe laughing with the prop in the aftermath – one would expect better.

Jordie Barrett episode: Storm in a teacup springs to mind over this story, which was reported by several media outlets on Saturday. Barrett was enjoying a day at the cricket in Melbourne watching New Zealand face Australia when he was led out of the stadium with his friend by Victoria Police. One witness, Brian Albright, labelled it “an absolute stitch up” and continued: “Jordie presented as calm and at no stage was arrogant or non-compliant. At no point did Jordie appear intoxicated (he was) just enjoying a day in the sun supporting some fellow Kiwis on the big stage.” If, as appears, there was no wrongdoing from All Black Barrett it is a real shame he was ejected.

Bayonne collapse: 15-9 down with 50 minutes on the clock, it was quite a thumping that Bayonne took at the hands of Lyon during the closing stages at Matmut Stadium Gerland. Five tries were leaked in the last half-hour as the visitors eventually succumbed to a 52-9 loss to the league’s second-placed side. They will no doubt be hugely disappointed to have been within touching distance and then be rolled over in such emphatic style.

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