In terms of its public image, rugby union has had another mixed calendar year. From low financial blows to the high court there remain well-documented off-field issues, thankfully mitigated by a World Cup full of compelling theatre. Rewatch the France v South Africa and Ireland v New Zealand quarter-finals and the best present any fan could wish for this Christmas would be more of the same.
What the game really really wants, though, is for the club game to be seen by more people. Not least all those floating voters who happily watch the Six Nations from the back of a packed pub yet rarely engage with the Champions Cup or the domestic leagues. If they were to watch a clip or two they might just find the modern product bears little resemblance to the old “kick and clap” stereotype some still love to cling to.
So here’s a little test for anyone with a spare second in between wrapping the turkey and cooking the presents. Go and seek out the highlights of the weekend’s Champions Cup games and make up your own mind. Because, from where some of us were sitting, the action was up there among the most watchable club rugby weekends in many years.
As an appetiser, check out Toulouse at Harlequins. The French visitors were so good that even the local commentators were purring at the quality of their offloads, running angles and support play. As the ever-excellent Nick Mullins put it on TNT Sport: “They just find gaps where gaps don’t seem to exist.” Bingo. The secret of how great teams conjure their best rugby in one sentence.
Then take a look at the tape of Cardiff v Bath. True, it was not always a defensive masterclass but the collective attacking intent was wonderful. If your mood was not instantly lifted by the sight of Finn Russell surging into space you either had a Cardiff postcode or were being a proper Grinch. Despite the home side’s 39-32 defeat the Arms Park crowd seemed to love the experience, which has not always been the case of late.
Close finishes? Jeopardy? Exeter fans have witnessed some remarkable comebacks at Sandy Park but, in its way, Sunday’s final quarter was right up there. Recovering from 24-13 down against a Munster side who had collected a try bonus point inside 50 minutes is not something that happens every day, even given the precedent of the Chiefs’ dramatic recovery from 18-5 down in Toulon the week before.
And did you see Léo Barré’s try for Stade Français against Leicester in Paris, which also contained the nearest thing to a head-clutching last-minute missed “open goal” rugby can offer? There were the depleted Tigers, down to 14 and hanging on grimly, when Stade’s fly-half launched an inch-perfect crossfield kick. All the replacement winger Lester Etien had to do was catch it and fall over the line. Instead the ball bounced off the poor man’s chest and that was that.
Next up? Enjoy Glasgow’s tries in Bayonne: a glorious gallop from the man-of-the-match, Ally Miller, and an acrobatic leap into the corner by Josh McKay. Marvel at the final act of the Stormers’ last-gasp victory over La Rochelle, sealed by a superb conversion from the supposedly less-than-reliable Manie Libbok. And admire the brilliance of Damian Penaud, the best player in Europe not called Antoine Dupont, in Bordeaux’s romp against Bristol.
Across Europe, meanwhile, some classy new talent is also announcing itself. Lyon’s teenage back-rower Marvin Okuya, Racing’s 21-year-old scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, Saracens’ fast-emerging Olly Hartley – the 21-year-old former Wasp is a powerful and skilful inside centre option who may well interest England sooner rather than later – and Sale’s teenage prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour all have potentially bright futures.
In England’s Premiership there are a number of other exciting uncapped young talents – Exeter’s Josh Hodge, Harlequins’ Chandler Cunningham-South and Newcastle’s Guy Pepper – worth keeping an eye on.
There are more on-field reasons to be optimistic about rugby’s pulling power, in summary, than for some time. Exeter are expecting a record crowd for Saturday’s visit of Leicester while Quins have their Big Game experience at Twickenham, now a men’s and women’s double-header, on 30 December. Bristol have just confirmed they will be facing the Crusaders, New Zealand’s leading provincial side, at Ashton Gate on 9 February.
Between now and then, the second half of the Champions Cup pool stages in January promises to yield another clutch of cracking games. Bath v Racing 92? Ulster v Toulouse? Toulon v Munster? Bordeaux v Saracens? Because of the tournament’s latest tweaked format, it will be tough for teams to reach the last 16 if they lose more than two of their four group games while a home knockout draw remains priceless. Sides who do not give it everything are, increasingly, going to struggle.
So, yes, rugby still has its imperfections. Yes, clubs sending weakened sides away in the early rounds of what is supposedly a flagship competition is not ideal. Yes it can still be a baffling sport for neutrals in certain respects. Yes, forward grunt still matters hugely. But emerging from rugby’s recent darkness are a few genuine shafts of light.
This is not the best time of year for green shoots or fresh buds but, even so, some are discernible. All it needs is for more sides to keep practising their Toulouse-style offloads and for more young imaginations to be engaged. For anyone seeking a sport that lifts them from their sofas, top-level club rugby is an increasingly good bet.
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