TRU's Rugby Stock Watch - Week 13

The home nations enjoyed a good weekend on their return to European rugby, generally impressing against the star-studded squads of the Top 14 and this week’s Stock Watch reflects that with a number of prominent risers.

Stock Rising

Nick Auterac and Henry Thomas, Bath and England
The two young English props have been in a rich vein of form over the last few weeks and showed their ability in abundance on a sodden Friday night against Montpellier. The pair were preferred to Paul James and David Wilson, who had to make do with places on the bench, and repaid coach Mike Ford’s faith with interest.
Thomas capped his display with a well-earned try, whilst South African international Pat Cilliers will be having nightmares of Auterac for days, such was the job the young loosehead did on the veteran tighthead. Thomas’ display will do his battles with Kieran Brookes and Kyle Sinckler for England’s third tighthead spot no harm at all and although Auterac still has some work to do to break into England’s congested loosehead pecking order, his scrummaging ability could see him become a surprise addition to the Saxons squad.

Rhys Webb, Ospreys and Wales
Coming off the back of an impressive autumn with Wales, Webb did not miss a step in his return to action for the Ospreys. The scrum-half turned in a beautifully balanced performance against Racing Metro and alongside his half-back partner, Dan Biggar, helped orchestrate a second half comeback that saw the Ospreys record a 19-19 draw with the French side.
Given that Webb is currently in possession of the Welsh nine jersey, his stock was fairly high to begin with, but against Racing he went head-to-head with his biggest rival, Mike Phillips. Phillips actually played well, but it wasn’t a performance of the same calibre as Webb’s, who demonstrated a more varied – and more effective – skill set than Warren Gatland’s former favourite.

Darren Cave, Ulster and Ireland
The outside centre put in a very polished performance for Ulster on Saturday night, causing the Scarlets’ defence all sorts of problems with his powerful and intelligent running lines. His attacking influence on the game was clear, as he scored a try and set up a further score, but his defensive contribution was also telling, as his line speed often shut down the outside passing of Scott Williams, instead forcing him inside.
The Irish 13 jersey remains in flux, but Cave remains perhaps the most naturally suited player to take it on in the near future. He might not have the skill set of Jared Payne or the considerable potential of Robbie Henshaw, but with both players still adapting to midfield roles after years of playing at full-back, Cave could get another chance to stake his claim in the Six Nations.

Other Risers – George Ford, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Stephenson, Luther Burrell, Mako Vunipola, Mike Haley, Geoff Cross, Cory Allen, Josh Turnbull, Josh Navidi, Craig Gilroy, Dan Tuohy, Nathan Hughes, Jamie George.

Stock Falling

Gethin Jenkins, Cardiff Blues and Wales
Jenkins will not be happy with how his season has started, but a limp display against London Irish in the Challenge Cup will have done nothing to improve his mood. Scottish tighthead Geoff Cross went well against Jenkins, negating any positive impact the Welshman was hoping to have on the scrum, though fortunately for Cardiff, Adam Jones had a much better day at tighthead and helped keep the Cardiff scrum afloat.   

Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony, Munster and Ireland
To clarify, neither player is any danger of losing their starting spots with Ireland, but both were noticeably anonymous against a resilient Clermont side on Saturday. With the Munster pack on the back foot in the first half, Murray was unable to bring his usual sniping runs to the game early on, but as the Munster pack clawed themselves back into contention in the second half, the lack of threat with ball in hand was still clearly missing from Murray’s repertoire. O’Mahony was also unusually quiet, failing to impose himself defensively, particularly at the breakdown, in the fashion we’ve come to expect from Munster’s captain.

Moray Low, Exeter Chiefs and Scotland
Exeter were in control of almost all facets of the game against La Rochelle on Thursday night, but came a little unstuck at scrum time, in large part due to the excellent job young loosehead Jordan Seneca did on Low. Seneca is clearly a player to watch over the coming years, but Low will be disappointed with his scrummaging performance. It didn’t cost Exeter the game, but as a consummate professional, Low’s pride will have been hurt.

Other Fallers – Alex Cuthbert, James Cronin, CJ Stander, Liam Williams, James Davies.