TRU's Rugby Stock Watch - Week 14

Another completely compelling weekend of European rugby is in the books and here is your latest Stock Watch, taking a look at who bolstered their reputation this weekend and who saw their stock plummet. Enjoy.

Stock Rising

Simon Hammersley, Newcastle Falcons and England
This spot is no stranger to a northern English full-back these days, with Mike Haley featuring prominently recently, but this week it was the turn of Hammersley to produce a really eye-catching performance. Newcastle struggled to impose themselves on their game with Stade Francais, but Hammersley lit up the game with his dazzling runs. A bewildering step and surprisingly effective fend helped the full-back rack up 151 metres with ball in hand, 12 defenders beaten and six clean breaks in Paris, as he proved to be the Falcons’ greatest attacking weapon.
There’s no shortage of quality English full-backs around at the moment with Mike Brown, Alex Goode, Ben Foden and Anthony Watson all in or around the England set-up, but Hammersley joins the likes of Haley, Rob Miller and Mathew Tait all jockeying for a spot with the Saxons and the opportunity to show Stuart Lancaster what he can do at the next level.

Tom Stephenson, Northampton Saints and England
Widely regarded as one of, if not the brightest prospect England have emerging at outside centre, Stephenson was shuffled inside this weekend, starting at 12 for Northampton against Treviso. The youngster took to the change superbly, carving up the Treviso defence with aplomb and creating an abundance of space for both George and Ken Pisi to work in outside of him. His footwork and distribution were amongst the highlights of a very accomplished performance from the 20-year old.
Breaking up a midfield partnership of Luther Burrell and G Pisi remains the number one priority on Stephenson’s to-do list, but his ability to play either centre spot could be a welcome addition to an England midfield that continues to struggle for consistency in both performance levels and selection. The youngster’s time will come, but with the Rugby World Cup looming, it might not come until 2016.

Rob Harley, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland
The flanker had a very good game in a losing cause on Saturday, as he went head-to-head with the vaunted flank combination of Yannick Nyanga and Thierry Dusautoir and arguably came out on top. Though Harley was unable to turn his impressive performance into a game-winning one, the work he did at the breakdown gave Glasgow the perfect platform to do so, but an error-prone performance from the Scottish side meant it was not to be.
Following up an impressive autumn for Scotland with performances such as these in the ERCC will ensure that the flanker becomes one of Vern Cotter’s most trusted lieutenants heading into the 2015 Six Nations. Alongside the likes of Adam Ashe and Jonny Gray, Harley is one of the centrepieces of a Glasgow and Scotland pack that can be competitive for years to come.  

Other Risers – Anthony Watson, Tom Prydie, Hallam Amos, Calum Clark, Tom Stephenson, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell, Dan Evans, Eli Walker, Ian Madigan, Joe Marler, Nathan Hughes, Tom Varndell, Rob Evans, Duncan Casey.

Stock Falling

Marland Yarde, Harlequins and England
Yarde’s arrival in south-west London this season was greeted with fanfare, but thanks to a couple of niggling injuries and the team around him struggling for consistency, Yarde has been unable to make the initial impact he would’ve hoped to. Anthony Watson and Jonny May both had good moments during England’s autumn and if Yarde can’t make big plays in big European games, as he failed to do this weekend against Leinster, he will do little to persuade Lancaster to bring him back into the starting XV.

Paul James, Bath and Wales
Montpellier’s visit to The Rec on Saturday proved to be horror show for James, who was consistently marmalised by Pat Cilliers at scrum time. Just a week after the South African was given a lesson in scrummaging by young Nick Auterac, James must have been licking his lips at the match-up, but the Welshman found himself completely out-scrummaged by the former Stormer. With Auterac rising to prominence, James could find himself falling down Bath’s pecking order come Nathan Catt’s return from injury, as could he with Wales when the highly-promising Nicky Smith also returns to fitness.

Mike Ross, Leinster and Ireland
It was a second tough outing for Ross against Joe Marler in as many weeks on Saturday evening. The veteran tighthead was exploited in the scrum by the young loosehead and unlike his confrontation with the Quins captain a week previously, he was unable to make the in-game adjustments required to even out the contest. Martin Moore and Rodney Ah You lurk behind Ross in Ireland’s pecking order and providing they’re both healthy come the Six Nations, could put pressure on Ross for the starting jersey.

Henry Pyrgos, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland
Glasgow enjoyed plenty of territory and possession against Toulouse on Saturday, as well as certainly achieving parity at the breakdown, but those factors didn’t prevent Pyrgos from having a very low key outing at Scotstoun. The scrum-half’s distributed quickly and efficiently, but without testing the fringes of the Toulouse defence with darting runs, the French side were able to consistently drift with the ball and prevent any threat the Glasgow back line hoped to cause. Against a weaker opponent, Pyrgos’ lack of variation may have been more effective, but against a side of Toulouse’s calibre, the nine was found wanting.

Other Fallers – Ryan Grant, Finn Russell, Alex Dunbar, Jack Clifford, Mike Phillips, Peter O’Mahony, Felix Jones.