Rugby union: talking points from the weekend’s Champions Cup action
by Guardian sportIt was a difficult weekend for English clubs, with Irish provinces picking up a triple crown of victories over Premiership sides
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1) Larmour suits for Leinster and Ireland
Ireland look like going into the Six Nations Larmour-plated. Joe Schmidt, who stood down as the national side’s head coach after the World Cup, never seemed to trust Jordan Larmour fully, certainly at full-back, but the 22-year old showed in Leinster’s emphatic victory over Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens that he is ready to take over from Rob Kearney, who was among the province’s replacements on Saturday. Larmour was the architect of Leinster’s first two tries, showing how deadly he can be in broken play if given just a trace of time and space, and he was part of a defensive unit that prevented the Saints from turning considerable second-half pressure into points. The victory puts Leinster in charge of Pool One with Northampton’s likeliest route to the quarter-finals being one of the best runners-up. Rivalling them for second place will be Lyon, who broke their Champions Cup duck with a 28-0 victory over Treviso. Paul Rees
• Pool One: Northampton 16-43 Leinster
2) Quins’ hopes hang by thread
The Harlequins head coach, Paul Gustard, insisted his side have not given up hope of qualifying out of Pool Three after their late 25-24 defeat in Belfast on Saturday even if realistically they need to win their three remaining matches. They will at least face the two pacesetting clubs, Ulster and Clermont Auvergne, at home with the former, who lead Clermont by a point in the standings, travelling to the Stoop on Friday night . Bath were dismantled by a quickfire treble of tries in the final 20 minutes at the Rec by Franck Azéma’s side in a 34-17 defeat after a promising first half was wiped out. There is a daunting return leg on Sunday with Bath having lost all three of their pool games so far, while Clermont have lost at home only once in Europe since 2008, in a quarter-final two seasons ago. Claire Tolley
3) Hogg makes difference in Chiefs cameo
Exeter’s full-back Stuart Hogg was on the field in Salford for only 17 minutes but the Scottish international, who scored one try and created another in his brief outing, is already making a difference to the table-topping Chiefs. Sale’s Steve Diamond would love to have Hogg’s former Glasgow colleague Leone Nakarawa to bolster the Sharks’ resources but says the Fijian lock has declined a move to England from Racing 92 “because the weather’s too cold … it’s not the money”. He is promising, however, to put out his strongest possible side for the return game at Sandy Park, taking sardonic aim at sides who put out weakened teams in the Champions Cup. “I might just send the kids down. Other teams are doing that, aren’t they? I could send my under-19s down. We work hard to get into the competition and you have to respect it.” Many would have expected La Rochelle to be posing a more serious threat in Pool Two but they have so far lost all three matches, including two at home. The latest disappointment came courtesy of a 27-24 loss to Glasgow who were hastened to victory by another fine finish from the flying Kyle Steyn, South African-born but Scottish qualified, who has just signed a new contract to stay at Scotstoun until 2022. Robert Kitson
4) Ntamack takes centre stage for Toulouse
Toulouse took control of Pool Five after a Romain Ntamack inspired 23-9 victory over Montpellier on Sunday. The France fly-half, playing at centre for the host club, scored two tries, one each side of the interval, on a wet day in the south of France. The four-time European champions are now six points clear of second-placed Gloucester, after Johan Ackermann’s side ended a run of five straight defeats to earn a bonus-point win over Connacht. The 26-17 win at Kingsholm featured two tries from Tom Marshall and a first Champions Cup try for 18-year-old Louis Rees-Zammit after a Danny Cipriani interception. The try was the first of three scored by Gloucester in 17 second-half minutes, after going into the break three points adrift at 10-7. Afterwards Ackermann said: “We can hope it kickstarts our season. Every season’s got a [turning] point but we are not blind to know that it is far from perfect.” Claire Tolley
5) Saracens preoccupied with home discomforts
Saracens remain just about in the mix in Europe, albeit tenuously. It is clear they are not prioritising their defence of the Champions Cup title; they have bigger matters on their minds at home. Nevertheless, the integrity of the competition is compromised as a result and there are rules against fielding under-strength teams. Very difficult to prove, though, against the perfectly legitimate concern of squad management. Besides, Saracens probably feel tribunals can hurt them only so much after their recent experiences. Either way, the English challenge in Europe is looking as anaemic as ever, bar Exeter. This time not even Saracens can be relied on. Their team sheet this weekend for the return against Munster in Barnet will be interesting. A win with a bonus point might draw them level with Munster but Racing will almost certainly register the same at home to the Ospreys, putting them in comfortable control of Pool Four. Michael Aylwin