Hits & misses - Sizzling Junior Boks and TMO drama

OPINION: While the northern hemisphere played host to the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semifinals, the Under-20 Rugby Championship continued in Gqeberha down in the south.

From down-to-wire thrillers to polarising acts, we look at the good and the bad from the weekend’s rugby.

Hits:

Junior Boks’ demolition job

The South Africans surged to the summit of the U20 Rugby Championship table with a game to spare and the fact that they did it in such style made the result even sweeter.

Kevin Foote’s team were flawless as they scored eight tries to Australia’s three to erase the disappointment of last year’s event at the same venue.

*Also read: No complacency for Junior Boks following Rugby Championship win

Trokkie’s titanic performance

It’s that time of the season when any reporting on standout performances by South African players – locally or abroad – is naturally linked to Springbok selection or at least catching Rassie’s eye. And in the spirit of highlighting Bok-worthy contenders, how can one not mention Trokkie after his blinder in Belfast?

The former Stormers star dished up a mammoth effort in Ulster’s 29-12 demolition of Exeter Chiefs in the first Challenge Cup semifinal of the weekend.

He simply had no shortcomings.

The burly No.8 perfectly combined skill with brute strength for the opening try at Affidea Stadium as he scooped up the ball with his right hand before bursting over the try line and getting rid of Exeter Chiefs’ defence.

He almost grabbed a brace, but with his second visit to the opposition’s in-goal area, the ball was ruled held up.

Apart from his try-scoring exploit, he was also a mammoth with the ball in hand, with powerful carries that drove Ulster forward and saw him beat a number of defenders.

Leinster’s Super Scrummaging

Looking at Andrew Porter’s performance, you wouldn’t think that there were fitness concerns around him heading into the Champions Cup thriller against Toulon at the Aviva Stadium, which ended 29-25 after Leinster held off a fightback of note from Toulon.

There were no traces of the shoulder injury he picked up less than a month ago as he was rampaging in the loose with massive carries and strong defence, while he caused all sorts of problems for Kyle Sinckler in the scrums, with the only taint on his game the high tackle on Mikheil Shioshvili that led to him making his way to the sinbin.

Toulon had the toughest of outings at the set-piece, conceding three scrum penalties in the first half and two in the second.

The dog in the Dragons

Montpellier secured victory by 18 points to 12 to clip their ticket to the Challenge Cup Final in Bilbao, but the way the Dragons stayed in the fight until the very end is a sideshow that deserves a special mention.

From a chase that stopped what looked like a certain try to the late line-out that allowed Aneurin Owen to go over to make it a six-point game, the Welsh outfit just never went away.

Their spirited performance leaves the feeling that just one more moment of grit could have swung the result.

Continues below…

Misses:

Stockdale’s disgusting tackle

Jacob Stockdale’s tackle attempt on Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, if you can even call it that, was filthy.

The Ulster winger went in on his opposite number only to be bumped off, but as he headed for the ground, he grabbed onto Feyi-Waboso’s head and pulled him down with him, slamming his head to the ground with force.

Feyi-Waboso had to leave the field for a head injury assessment and did not return.

Nobody but Stockdale would know what went through his head, but that looked anything but unintentional.

Replay repercussions

Bordeaux Begles’ fantastic performance against Bath in their Champions Cup semifinal, which the title holders won 38-26, was blighted by criticism directed at the officiating after the match.

The biggest issue vocal fans on social media had was with the TMO not picking up on incidents where Bordeaux players made head contact with the opposition, stating that the French club’s indiscretions were overlooked, while Bath’s were zoomed in on.

While the TMO copped most of the flak, French broadcasters seem to be the ones at fault for not providing key replays throughout the match.

It’s a pity that, after a performance like that, the most talked-about factor had to be something that was out of the two teams’ hands instead of the stunning rugby that was played.

Incidents like that are unacceptable in such a crucial game.