Fantasy Super Rugby Round 2 Review

Super Rugby is back for 14 of 15 teams, with just the Canterbury Crusaders to play their first game.

And wow is it back. The first match of Round 2 set the tone for some quality rugby over the weekend. The Highlanders and the Chiefs played out a classic with some end to end rugby that was a joy to watch.

Tim Nanai-Williams stole the show with two tries, first a great line and step to torch Ben Smith on the outside, the second coming after 3 minutes of non stop end to end rugby which knackered the players. However, he showed how much of a 13 he is NOT in defense by letting in Kade Poki in for an "easy" try.

The try of the game for me was Ben Smith's outstanding pickup an inch from the ground and somehow grounding it with the attentions of several Chief's defenders.

The Chief's surprised me and will be worth a watch as the competition progresses, with Gareth Anscombe looking a key signing.

The Brumbies could be underlining their title credentials with a great display, and Jesse Mogg is fast becoming a bolter for the Lions tour. He seems quality, with serious pace and took his try well, his 2nd in 2 weeks. Having said that, it's clear that the Rebels have improved.

I noticed a lot more use of the TMO this weekend, with a lot of refes using the TMO for seemingly obvious tries, and it also showcased the new rulings of being able to go back 2 phases to spot any reasons for disallowing tries. Chiliboy Ralepelle's try was a perfect example of this, and an example of how technology still won't provide clearcut results. Sidenote: How Joe Pieterson isn't starting for the Stormers is beyond me.

Julian Savea shows that he is still scoring tries in the Hurricanes loss to the Blues, which introduced a lot of potentially future household names in the Blues ranks. Halai, and Saili and Luakua are all worth keeping an eye on this season.

Israel Folau made his debut for the Tahs, and showed he has a lot to work on in defense, with some half-hearted attempted tackling. Quade Cooper's defense looks a lot better than what it was (nothing), maybe the boxing is helping him.

And the Kings. What a game. Sergeal Peterson looks a star in the making. But the Kings play was very entertaining, and won over lots of fans. And proved me wrong. Go Kings.

As far as fantasy goes, with the highest score of 505 points and an average of 302, plenty of points were on show. 9 Players on the dream team had over 40 points with the entire back three of Piatau (Blues), Ben Smith and Nanai-Williams getting over 50 points each.

In the fantasy leagues, Cillian Hogan maintained his leads, but Garbhan Hogan scored the highest in round 2 to cut the gap. Connacht Man slips down to third following Garbhan's haul, with Simon Farrell and Peter Corley showing impressively. Garbhan only had one dream team member on his side this week, but had several high scorers. It's interesting to note that had Frank Halai or Johann Sadie found his way into Garbhan's XV it could have been even higher.

On to next week, and with the Brumbies, the Kings and the Highlanders on a bye, transfers will be important. The competition begins now

Super Rugby Teams: Round 3

BYES: BRUMBIES, HIGHLANDERS, KINGS

Friday 1st March

Auckland Blues vs Canterbury Crusaders 6:30 am

Blues: 15. Charles Piutau, 14. Frank Halai, 13. Rene Ranger, 12. Francis Saili, 11. George Moala, 10. Chris Noakes, 9 Piri Weepu, 8. Peter Saili, 7. Luke Braid, 6. Steven Luatua, 5. Ali Williams, 4. Sulum Retallick, 3. Charlie Faumuina, 2. James Parsons, 1. Tom McCartney
Replacements: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Angus Ta'avao, 18. Liaki Moli, 19. Brendon O'Connor, 20. Bryn Hall, 21. Baden Kerr, 22. Jackson Willison

Crusaders: 15. Tom Taylor, 14. Adam Whitelock, 13. Robbie Fruean, 12. Ryan Crotty, 11. Israel Dagg, 10. Dan Carter, 9. Andy Ellis; 8. Kieran Read (c), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Luke Romano, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Corey Flynn, 1. Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16. Ben Funnell, 17. Joe Moody, 18. Dominic Bird, 19. Luke Whitelock, 20.Willi Heinz, 21. Tyler Bleyendaal, 22. Tom Marshall

NSW Waratahs vs Melbourne Rebels 8:20 am

Waratahs: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Toim Kingston, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Tom Carter, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Bernard Foley, 9. Brendan McKibbin, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Dave Dennis, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Mitchell Chapman, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Benn Robinson; Replacements: 16. John Ulugia, 17. Jeremy Tilse, 18. Paddy Ryan, 19. Sitaleki Timani, 20. Lopeti Timani, 21. Matt Lucas, 22. Ben Volavola

Rebels: 15 James O'Connor (c), 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 Richard Kingi, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordy Reid, 19 Jarrod Saffy, 20 Nic Stirzaker, 21 Angus Roberts, 22 Tom English.

Queensland Reds vs Wellington Hurricanes 10:20 am

Reds: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 Ed O'Donoghue, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper (c), 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Nick Frisby, 21 Mike Harris, 22 Luke Morahan.

Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Conrad Smith (c), 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Brad Shields, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Reggie Goodes, 18 James Broadhurst, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 James Marshall, 22 Reynold Lee-Lo.

Saturday 2nd March

Waikato Chiefs vs Free State Cheetahs 6: 35 am

Chiefs: 15. Gareth Anscombe, 14. Lelia Masaga, 13. Tim Nanai-Williams, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10. Aaron Cruden, 9. Augustine Pulu, 8. Fritz Lee, 7. Sam Cane, 6. Liam Messam (c), 5. Brodie Retallick, 4. MichaelFitzgerald, 3. Ben Afeaki, 2. Hika Elliot, 1. Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16. Rhys Marshall, 17. Ben Tameifuna, 18. Craig Clarke, 19. Tanerau Latimer, 20. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21. Charlie Ngatai, 22. Patrick Osborne

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Frans Viljoen, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (capt), 1 Trevor Nyakane.Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Landman Ligtoring, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Ryno Benjamin.

Blue Bulls vs Western Force 3: 05 pm

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14. Sampie Mastriet, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies (c), 7. Arno Botha, 6. Jacques Potgieter, 5. Juande Kruger, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Morne Mellett.
Replacements: 16. Willie Wepener, 17. Frik Kirsten, 18. Grant Hattingh, 19. Jean Cook, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Louis Fouche, 22. Jan Serfontein

Force: 15. Will Tupou, 14. Nick Cummins, 13. Winston Stanley, 12. Kyle Goodwin, 11. Alfie Mafi, 10. Sam Christie, 9. Alby Mathewson, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. Matt Hodgson (c), 6. Angus Cottrell, 5. Hugh McMeniman, 4. Sam Wykes, 3. Tetera Faulkner, 2. Nathan Charles, 1. Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16. Heath Tessman, 17. Kieran Longbottom, 18. Toby Lynn, 19. Richard Brown, 20. Chris Alcock, 21. Mick Snowden, 22. Junior Rasolea

Natal Sharks vs DHL Stormers 5:10 pm

Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Francois Steyn (c), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Odwa Ndungane.

Stormers: 15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jean de Villiers (captain), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen (vice-captain), 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. De Kock Steenkamp, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff Replacements: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Don Armand, 19. Nizaam Carr, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Peter Grant, 22. Gerhard van den Heever

Introducing... Luke Marshall

I've been waxing lyrical about Luke Marshall for a while now, and this is why.

When you see a young player for the first few times, it's a relatively safe assumption to say that their preferred playing style won't change too much for the rest of their career. And it doesn't take too long to see the main attributes of this player that has brought him this far.

As an example, Ronan O'Gara knew how to control a game with his kicking, was a very good placekicker, but had some other areas of his game that were very poor. It just happened that the good parts of his game were so good that he ended up being one of the best out-halves in the world at his peak. While ROG was world class at controlling games, you wouldn't put money on him chasing a game and producing attacking magic to break lines from himself or others.

Having said that, while players like Madigan often producing some magic, he are doubts that in big games he couldn't control the match the way that O'Gara so wonderfully did for so long.

Which brings me to Luke Marshall.

In the games I've seen of him; Marshall has shown that he plays a physical game.In defence, he tackles ferociously and effectively, frequently stopping attackers dead in their tracks, and in attack, showing that he is willing to run straight and hard to provide go forward ball for his team.

But Marshall grew up as an out-half and is more than just a physical specimen.

He has the play making ability with ball in hand to either find a gap himself or put others into space. He provides an extra boot outside of the fly half, and has a long and accurate kick, if needed to kick to the corners.

He has a wonderful low fast pass that releases the faster players outside him. He runs good lines, both direct and into space and possesses a good step. He possesses a very good offload too.

And he has shown fantastic ability in the breakdown area much like D'Arcy and O'Driscoll in either turning ball over, or winning penalties. Not many centres in world rugby are as good at the breakdown as D'Arcy or O'Driscoll. Marshall is on his way.

He may not be amazing at every attribute I've mentioned, but he has shown the ability and willingness to try all of them, and it all seems to come to him naturally. He can improve all of these qualities to be world class in anything he wants, whereas others where it doesn't come as naturally will have to work harder. He still has a long way to go, but experience will improve what seems to be one of the more natural talents in the youth system in Ireland.

In short, Luke has it all, and the potential to go very very far. A bit of work on any of these areas and he can be world class. He will be the incumbent inside centre in Irish rugby for years to come. One to hang our hopes on?

Not a Rugby post

This will be my one and only non-Rugby post.

I'm raising money for Charity a la James O'Connor.

I will be shaving my hair, and dying it all for raising money for Cancer research.

My charity page is: http://www.mycharity.ie/fundPageTemplateX.php?urlRef=conor_olearys_event

Please donate, or share with as many people as people,

And all photos will be uploaded their, and on my twitter and facebook.

Cheers.

Super Rugby teams: Round 2

Friday 22th February

6:35 am Irish Time Highlanders vs Chiefs

Otago Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Phil Burleigh, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear (captain), 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 John Hardie, 6 Joe Wheeler, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Ma'afu Fia, 2 Brayden Mitchell, 1 Tony Woodcock.Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Elliot Dixon, 19 Tim Boys, 20 Fumiaki Tanaka, 21 Hayden Parker, 22 Buxton Popoali'i.

Waikato Chiefs: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Patrick Osborne, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Pauliasi Manu.Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Ben Tameifuna, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Charlie Ngatai, 22 Lelia Masaga.

8:40 am Rebels vs Brumbies

Melbourne Rebels: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Rory Sidey, 11 Richard Kingi, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Luke Jones, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Paul Alo Emile, 18 Cadeyrn Neville, 19 Jarrod Saffy, 20 Nick Stirzaker, 21 Alex Rokobaro, 22 Tom English.

ACT Brumbies: 15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Joseph Tomane, 13. Andrew Smith, 12. Christian Lealiliano, 11. Clyde Rathbone, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8, Ben Mowen (c), 7. David Pocock, 6. Peter Kimlin, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Scott Fardy, 3. Dan Palmer, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Ben Alexander. Replacements: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Fotu Auelua, 19. Colby Fainga'a, 20. Ian Prior, 21. Robbie Coleman, 22. Tevita Kuridrani

17:10  Bulls vs Stormers

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Mornè Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandrè Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Mornè Mellett.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouchè, 22 Francois Venter.

DHL Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Steven Kitshoff.Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Don Armand, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Gerhard van den Heever, 22 Joe Pietersen.

Saturday 23rd February

6:35 am Hurricanes  vs Blues

Wellington Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Conrad Smith (c), 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Brad Shields, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben May, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ben Franks.Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Reggie Goodes, 18 Mark Reddish, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 James Marshall, 22 Reynold Lee-Lo.

Auckland Blues: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Francis Saili, 11 George Moala, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Ali Williams (c), 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons, 1 Tom McCartney. Replacements: 16 Jackson Willison, 17 Baden Kerr, 18 Bryn Hall, 19 Brendon O'Connor, 20 Liaki Moli, 21 Angus Ta'avao, 22 Quentin MacDonald.

8:40 am  Reds vs Waratahs

Queensland Reds: 15. Mike Harris, 14. Dom Shipperley, 13. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12. Ben Tapuai, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Ben Lucas,  8. Jake Schatz, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Ed Quirk, 5. Rob Simmons, 4. Ed O'Donoghue, 3. James Slipper (c), 2. Saia Fainga'a, 1. Greg Holmes. Replacements: 16. James Hanson, 17. Albert Anae, 18. Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19. Jarrad Butler, 20. Nick Frisby, 21. Jono Lance, 22. Luke Morahan

NSW Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Tom Kingston, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Brendan McKibbon, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Dave Dennis (c), 6 Michael Hooper, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Jeremy Tilse.Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Lopeti Timani, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 Ben Volavola.

15:05 Cheetahs vs Sharks

Free State Cheetahs: 15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Willie le Roux, 13. Johann Sadie, 12. Robert Ebersohn, 11. Raymond Rhule, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Piet van Zyl, 8, Philip van der Walt, 7. Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Frans Viljoen, 5. Francois Uys, 4. Lodewyk de Jager, 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Adriaan Strauss (c), 1. Trevor Nyakane, Replacements: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Coenie Oosthuizen, 18, Waltie Vermeulen, 19. Boom Prinsloo, 20. Sarel Pretorius, 21. Elgar Watts, 22. Ryno Benjamin

Natal Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Frans Steyn (c), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Beast Mtawarira. Subs: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Odwa Ndungane.

17:10 Kings vs Force:

Southern Kings: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 David Bulbring, 6 Cornell du Preez, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Daniel Adongo, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht , 20 Johan Herbst, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Hadleigh Parkes.

Western Force: tba

Fantasy Super Rugby Round 1

After an interesting weekend of Super Rugby where only 4 Australian teams played, FOX Sports in Australia have finalised their points for Round 1.

The highest points in the round was a whopping 514 points, with the average being 227 points . Ged Robinson, the Melbourne Rebels hooker,  was the highest points scorer with 62 points, largely down to a try, a large 13 tackles and 7 runs.

Kyle Goodwin (44) and Alfie Mafi (50) showed up well for the Force, showing that you don't have to be on the winning side to score a lot of fantasy points.The rest of the dream team can be found here

On to the Ball-Handling Hooker leagues, with @Cillian_Hogan  and  Poseidon's Belvedere taking charge of all three leagues. An experienced campaigner, Poseidon's Belvedere is the early favourite to take all three leagues took in an impressive 372 points, with captain Stephen Moore earning 74 points, and dream team members James O'Connor, Richard Kingi, Mike Harris and James Slipper contributing handsomely. One negative point was Scott Higginbotham's -7, which came from conceding penalties, missing tackles and being sent to the bin, not a debut to remember.

The Super Irish League had 5 of 9 beat the average score, with others more focused on being prepared for next week and having a strong team for the season.

Northern Pretenders had 4 of 7, and Twittersphere also having 4 of 7 with different teams. It's interesting to note that the top 4 in each league is the same, will it remain the same the whole way through.

An intriguing sub-plot is the battle of Garbhan and Cillian Hogan, locked in the top 4 of each. It's advantage Cillian, but can the Garbh catch his brother? Find out next week...

Updated: New Winners and Losers

Winners:

Iain Henderson

What a performance. It has taken me a long time to realise why he was hyped up so much, but everything Henderson did was awe-inspiring. In a great performance from Ulster as a collective, Henderson shone with some huge carries where it frequently took several defenders to take him down. He'll be my shout to partner Donnacha Ryan in the second row given the locks that Kidney has named.

Darren Cave

Darren Cave put in his usual solid defensive performance with an added dangerous looking performance too. Two great unselfish offloads for Diacks tries underline a good performance from the man everyone in Ireland, except Deccie thinks should be next in line at outside centre.

Connacht:

Some great performances in there to beat a strong Ospreys side that included Fotauli'i, that beat Ulster on their own patch last week. Great stuff from the Westerners.

James Coughlan

A Munster player who came through this weekend with his reputation enhanced. He didn't play in that horrendous game, and gets called up to the national squad. That has got to count as a good weekend.

Ronan O'Gara & Donnacha O'Callaghan

Apparently having shocking performances at the end of your career doesn't matter when it comes to representing your national side as both have had their chances increase with the naming of the squad. Only two out-halves? And no Dan Tuohy? We all know that Kidney doesn't seem to rate Toner.

Losers

Dan Tuohy

An injury to one of the locks should mean that Tuohy is next in line. An argument would be made that he should be ahead of Donnacha O'Callaghan, but behind Toner and Stevenson, and Toner who is barely Heineken Cup level. Tuohy should feel hard done by, with some strange decisions.

Andrew Trimble.

Showed a great piece of hands and generally a tidy performance for Ulster. Seems to have been permanently cast away to the scrap heap. There is more in the old dog yet. A bad Wolfhounds performance seems to have gone against him in a major way.