The great problem with a solo audition for a starring role on the London stage is when you are merely a part of a losing ensemble.
Since Owen Farrell has withdrawn from international rugby, Marcus Smith expects to take back the No. 10 jersey for England. However, on Sunday, Toulouse humiliated the Harlequins fly-half 47-19 in the Champions Cup.
Quins was destroyed by an incredible all-court showing from the French squad, despite a couple of obvious kicking blunders from Smith (mishitting a penalty kick to send it dead and overcooking another punt for territory). Toulouse has won two bonus points to start the Champions Cup, outscoring their opponents 99 to 26.
Following France’s heartbreaking exit from the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, and even though Dupont will take an unusual break in February and March to play sevens in preparation for his participation in the Paris Olympics next summer, Les Bleus should be a force again in the Six Nations.
Ramos and Smith gave each other a running commentary during a second half in which Harlequins had brief hope when they trailed 28-19 but were ultimately pasted by seven tries to three. Quins can still make it into the last 16 of the Champions Cup, having won at Racing 92 in their first match. Toulouse, though, belong among the favourites for the competition, albeit after just two rounds.
“It is hard but I have to make choices,” Dupont said about juggling sevens and 15s this season. And on Toulouse’s bid for a record-extending sixth Champions Cup, he added: “We saw in the last two weeks that we are very motivated for this competition.”
The starting lineup for Sale Sharks’ away game against Leinster on Saturday revived the yearly controversy around clubs fielding supposedly inferior sides in the Champions Cup. The Irish province prevailed 37–27 to maintain their pool lead, and on the surface, Sale’s 10-point loss was respectable given their late tries from Tommy Taylor and Tom Curtis, and they still have a chance to advance to the round of 16.
But what about any dissatisfaction that the paying spectators could feel in the Dublin RDS, or at any other arena, when the away jerseys are filled with a bunch of unfamiliar names? Does it completely undermine the competition’s integrity?
You will be unlikely to hear the clubs complaining about each other, as most if not all will rest players at some stage – including those like Sale who are obliged to give England players an occasional rest per the elite squad agreement. Plus, their fringe men gained great experience.
Since the season was rescheduled to reduce the crossover between club and country fixtures, Alex Sanderson, the director of rugby at Sale, has made the popular argument that you can’t expect players like Manu Tuilagi to show up every week between the end of the World Cup in late October and the final weekend of January, when the Premiership bloc’s final match is played before breaking for the Six Nations.
Additional challenges include recuperation periods between teams’ frequent flights from South Africa. It is believed that Stormers head coach John Dobson requested that his team play two straight home games in the Champions Cup, but this request is more intricate than most people realize.
