Sale, Exeter, Saracens, Northampton and Newcastle all succumbed to losses, some in dramatic situations.
The cumulative for and against sends a playing performance message to the English Rugby Union. Points scored for the losing five teams combined 79. Points against 206.
Sale made the long journey to Cape Town and failed to cross both the line and the crossbar in 40-0 defeat at the hands of the Stormers. Exeter scored first then conceded 69 points to a Bordeau side transforming the way the game is played. Saracens competed well in Munster but history and Thormond Park proved too big a hurdle as the hosts ran out 17-12 winners, while Northampton have had an inconsistent season and despite leading for much of the game, fell apart to lose 45-35 to Stade Francaise.
Elsewhere, the Newcastle Falcons, fortunate in only having to travel a much shorter distance to Swansea, Wales than most other teams, succumbed to a buoyant Ospreys side 35-15 in the Challenge Cup.
Monday morning player review meetings were no doubt long, fiery, outspoken and careers may be on the line.
The final game on Saturday evening required a blast from Leicester Tigers’ coach Michael Cheika to get the ship sailing in the right direction. The Tigers responded, winning 38-10 against a young Ulster team.
On Sunday, Harlequins, Bristol and Bath attempted to redress the debacle and managed, to an extent. Despite Harlequins being easily brushed aside by Toulon 33-21, Bristol hung on against a committed Benetton Rugby side to win 35-29 and Bath, arguably England’s strongest domestic side, beat Clermont 40-21.
For those unfamiliar with the new playing format of the Champions Cup, here’s the deal: A total of 24 domestic teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, South Africa and Italy are taking part. These teams will contest the Investec Champions Cup and be in four pools of six, while 18 clubs in the EPCR Challenge Cup will fight it out in three pools of six.
Both competitions will be played over the course of eight weekends, with four pool stage rounds and four knockout stage rounds culminating in the 2025 finals which will be staged at the Principality Stadium in Wales in May. Friday May 24 will see the Challenge Cup final take place, while the Championship Cup final will be contested the following day.
Round four, taking place this comming weekend (Jan 17-19) will confirm the group winners.
The Global Rugby Coach, Mike Penistone, is a globally renowned professional rugby coach based in Phuket who is also an ambassador for the Asia Center Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. For more information visit: www.rugbycoachingconsultancy.com.