The first weekend of the rugby season started with a bang, and the new Guinness Pro12 signings are already paying off for their respective teams. While established stars like Stuart Hogg and Ruan Pienaar put in man of the match performances, so did rookie Joey Carbery and journeyman Nick Williams.
Leinster have found their new Ian Madigan
With Ian Madigan plying his trade in Bordeaux, and Jonathan Sexton still under the IRFU player welfare scheme, Leinster needed an Out-half to see them through the early rounds of the Pro12. New Zealand born Joey Carbery stepped up to fill that void. The 20 year old looked the best player on the pitch in Leinster’s 20-8 win over Treviso. Carberry scored two tries, the first a neat inside step against the grain to go over from 15 yards out, the second cleaning up an awful pass just outside his 22 before charging all the way down the field. He put in a performance reminiscent of 2012 Madigan. He didn’t kick at goal but beat six defenders and carried for 106 metres. (All stats from ESPN)
The other debutant for Leinster was Jamieson Gibson-Park, who came off the bench after 65 minutes. Gibson-Park changed the tempo of the game with his sniping runs, and will certainly give stand-in captain Luke McGrath a hard time for the starting berth.
Charles Piutau is worth the money
While Ruan Pienaar stole the headlines both on and off the field (he’s leaving at the end of the year, LWOR), £500,000* a year man Charles Piutau made a great debut for Ulster against the Dragons (*Belfast Telegraph). The 16 cap All Black added an extra dimension to Ulster’s play, combining three offloads while carrying 119 bruising metres. How Ulster fit him in with Jared Payne, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble to come back will keep Les Kiss up at night.
To make Kiss’s backline selection harder, academy graduate Jacob Stockdale backed up a great Junior World Championships with a storming display. The winger looked like he belonged among established internationals, even offering a decent kicking option from the back. His performance was topped by a charge from the middle of the park, grubbering through rugby league style and dotting down for a try. On the opposite wing, first half substitute Rob Lyttle, still in the academy himself, continued his pre-season form with another two tries.
When Rodney Ah You picked up a concussion in the friendly against Northampton, Ulster were left with all three senior tighthead props out. Medical joker Anton Peikrishvili has yet to have his visa finalised so Ulster resorted to another Academy player. Ross Kane was said academy player, and his debut was an instant success. He worked hard around the field, but more importantly Ulster won 100% of their scrums.
The Dragons didn’t really see enough of the ball for any individual players to make an impact. During their short period on top early on, Nick Macleod kicked out of hand well and gave their attack decent shape. Former Munster winger Pat Howard also looked sharp, taking an early try well.
Nick Williams remains a cult hero
Nick Williams earned man of the match as the Cardiff Blues thumped Edinburgh at the Arms Park. Kiwi Williams, at his fourth Pro12 team, produced a classic display of bruteish backrow play. The former Ulster fan favourite wasted no time winning over the Cardiff faithful, with a clean break, four defenders beaten and a try. This league rewards great ball carriers, so the Blues will hope Williams rockets them up the table.
Outside-half Steve Shingler also impressed on his Pro12 debut for the Blues. The former Scarlets 10 arrived in Cardiff to make up Rhys Patchell going the other way. Shingler nailed four of his five kicks, which is a perceived weakness of his, as well and finishing off a tidy try for a haul of fifteen points. The pressure is now in Gareth Anscombe to keep him out of the side.
Munster’s new coaches already having an effect
Munster‘s win away to the Scarlets was a lesson in quality defending. Scarlets had 60% territory and 61% possession, made 60 fewer tackles and ran for 135 more metres. Somehow this translated into a 10 point loss. The reason for this, Munster’s defence was excellent.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in one game, but Rassie Erasmus has already instilled a confidence in Munster players missing last season. Jacques Nienaber must get a lot of the plaudits because their defensive system was rock solid. The hallmark of a great defence is one that can afford missed tackles, and while Munster missed 24, they never looked stretched. Tommy O’Donnell led the defensive line well, and others followed. This meant that Scarlet’s only try came from a quick tap penalty from Gareth Davies. They were impotent in regular phase play.
For the Scarlets, it wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Nineteen year old Josh Macleod had his moments at number eight, while tighthead Werner Kruger gave no ground at scrum time.
More Pro12 debuts to come
While a large number of players made their Pro12 debuts this weekend, there are still some exciting players to come. Leinster are waiting on Ireland star Robbie Henshaw to return from an injury he sustained on the tour of South Africa. Ulster are still waiting on the aforementioned Ah You and Peikrishvili. Springbok star Marcell Coetzee should recover by January. Welsh fans will be waiting until the end of the Mitre 10 Cup for some of their new stars to arrive. The Scarlets can look forward to prolific winger Johnny McNicholl. The Blues will welcome Super Rugby winning 12 Willis Halaholo. The Ospreys are also waiting of Keiron Fonotia. Lastly, Connacht will have to wait until the end of the Currie Cup before points machine Marnitz Boshoff arrives.
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