Signing of the season?
Harlequins will go into their London derby with Saracens this weekend on top of the Premiership after beating Leicester 29-25 at Welford Road, and Quins have an early contender for signing of the season in second row Joe Launchbury.
The former Wasps captain had a frustrating spell in Japan earlier this year disrupted by a broken hand, but together with the return to fitness of wings Louis Lynagh and Tyrone Green, and fly-half Marcus Smith back from the World Cup, he is helping Quins rediscover their mojo.
Launchbury didn’t even make it into the wider England World Cup squad in June, and he would probably have to knock one of Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum and George Martin out of the way to add to his 70 caps, but his qualities are well known and Martin is currently injured.
Russell silences Gloucester as Premiership heats up
The Leicester v Northampton derby this weekend will be “full of venom”, according to TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle.
Even if this may be a little hyperbolic, many observers revelled in the bragging-rights bolshiness of Finn Russell pressing a finger to his lips to tell Gloucester’s Shed to shut their noise as the fly-half guided a goal kick from out to in as part of Bath’s 45-27 win on Friday.
Arundell’s debut hat-trick and where he needs to improve
It was a talent rarely used by England in the recent Rugby World Cup, but Henry Arundell announced his finishing power to the French Top 14 in amazing style on Sunday night, with a hat-trick of tries on debut for Racing 92.
The Paris team lost 31-26 to Toulon in the south of France but they had Arundell’s second and third tries to thank for rescuing a losing bonus point, after trailing 23-7 at half-time.
With their recently appointed head coach Stuart Lancaster watching in the Stade Mayol stands, Racing were able to work Arundell into the type of positions he thrives on with his ability to beat a man in narrow or wide channels, using his outstanding pace and leg drive.
Arundell’s flurry of five tries in the soft World Cup pool match with Chile caught global attention briefly, and there remain concerns among some observers over the 21-year-old’s defensive workrate and positioning.
He did not receive a single pass in his most recent England outing, the World Cup bronze-medal win over Argentina in Paris just over two weeks ago.
But if Arundell carries on scoring tries like this the clamour will grow for him to be given more of a chance by England – despite having moved abroad, he remains eligible to play for his country in the Six Nations in February and March by dint of a 12-month exemption following his former club London Irish going into administration.
Falcons heading towards revived relegation play-off
Saracens were unhindered by resting England stars Owen Farrell, Itoje and Jamie George in Sunday’s seven-try, 50-12 win at Newcastle Falcons.
New England star Theo Dan nabbed a couple of tries and made another with a run and out-the-side pass, while there was a try on his Sarries debut for Argentina flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez, and a 21st try in 56 Premiership matches for another recent recruit, No 8 Tom Willis.
That impressive strike rate is a contrast to Falcons lock Sebastian de Chaves, who scored his first try at the 83rd attempt in a decade of Premiership action for Leicester, London Irish and Newcastle – though he did get one for Austin in Major League Rugby in 2021.
If Newcastle don’t pick up, they could finish the season in the revived two-leg play-off for promotion and relegation with the winners of the Championship – though it will only be played if the latter club have met the Premiership’s entry criteria.
Intense schedule leaves fans feeling short-changed
Were the 6,124 spectators at Newcastle’s Kingston Park short-changed by not seeing Farrell, the England captain, and the other missing rested men? The same could be asked of the Sunday lunchtime crowd in Newport, where Leinster beat Dragons 33-10 with a load of Ireland stars absent.
Some would argue this does the sport, the competition and the home support a disservice. But we are nowhere near a schedule that the likes of Farrell could perceivably play every week.
You could still enjoy the Leinster style of play, percolating through the squad, and individual and unit contributions such as the great counter attack for the province’s third try.
The winless Dragons had their new-old hire Paul Turner – the former head coach has returned as a consultant/assistant to Dai Flanagan – at Rodney Parade in a role he tells i does not change his existing job with Ampthill in the English Championship.
Mitchell stars as new-look Saints down Exeter
Another World Cup returnee, Alex Mitchell, made 10 carries and 49 passes in 62 minutes for Northampton in Sunday’s 34-19 home win over Exeter, as compared to the scrum-half’s most recent England numbers of six carries and 19 passes in 53 minutes in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
Different, and yet not wildly dissimilar, it suggests the Saints have modified their game from last season’s attack-minded approach. Exeter’s Niall Armstrong was sent off in the 69th minute – when the replacement scrum-half landed on his left foot from making a catch, his right boot flicked upwards with the studs planted in the face of Northampton fly-half Fin Smith.
A reflex action while off-balance, or reckless and unnatural? Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys decided the latter, but TNT Sports’ summariser Stuart Hogg, the former Exeter and Scotland full-back who knows a thing or two about defensive catches, “completely disagreed”. Meanwhile Sale had moved into second place in the Premiership, winning 27-13 at Bristol.
Wales look to Sheedy as Six Nations fly-half solution
All four of Wales’s regions were beaten at home in the United Rugby Championship, meanwhile the national team are looking over the border for a possible Six Nations fly-half in Bristol’s Callum Sheedy – though typically of rugby, this needs some explaining.
![BRISTOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 11: Callum Sheedy of Bristol Bears kicks a penalty during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks at Ashton Gate on November 11, 2023 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)](https://wp.inews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SEI_179943936.jpg?w=760)
Dan Biggar has retired from Tests, while Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Patchell and Jarrod Evans are out of contention having moved outside Wales. The World Cup back-up Sam Costelow may miss the start of the Six Nations in February injured and Owen Williams is also injured.
Sheedy has only played 16 Tests, and is therefore short of the 25-cap threshold (itself a recent change from the previous 60-cap marker) to be eligible while playing outside Wales.
But he is exempt as all his caps to date came during the life of the contract extension he signed with Bristol in 2020. All clear? The Rugby Paper has reported Wales’s backs coach Alex King will be checking on Sheedy at Bristol’s training ground this week.
Italian domestic sides show they are in finer fettle than national set-up
Some Italian delight after a woeful World Cup – Treviso are now the only unbeaten team in the URC, while Zebre got their first win in the league since April 2022, 12-10 against the bottom-placed Sharks.