TRU's Rugby Stock Watch - Week 17

Whilst we all sat down to our turkey dinners and third helpings of mince pies, rugby players up and down the country were preparing for their vital festive schedules, with derbies galore across the British Isles.

Putting aside the festive goodwill for a second, we rounded up the most impressive – and most disappointing - performances from the Boxing Day weekend. As 2015 begins to wind down, we bring you the last Stock Watch of the year.

Stock Rising

George Lowe, Harlequins and England

The versatile centre missed most of last season with a serious neck injury, but has bounced back well this season and turned in his best performance of the year against Northampton on Saturday. Lowe ran some exquisite lines against the defensively solid pairing of Luther Burrell and George Pisi and repeatedly found space and/or a weak inside shoulder.

Multiple injuries have stalled a highly promising career for Lowe, but if he can stay fit and continue to play well once Nick Evans returns from injury, then he could be set for a quick rise up the England pecking order. A healthy Evans inside of him will help him shine, whilst Marland Yarde and Mike Brown have started to look threatening once again on the outside, giving Lowe the opportunity to impress as both a running threat and a distributor.

Elliot Dee, Newport Gwent Dragons and Wales

Young Welsh props have been excelling this season, showing the future is bright in the Welsh front row, but the cupboard has looked a little barer at hooker – until now. Scott Baldwin and Ken Owens provide serviceable alternatives to Richard Hibbard, but young Dee put in a very eye-catching performance during Newport’s 23-17 victory over Cardiff Blues.

The 20-year old hooker had Newport’s lineout functioning very well, as well as proving to be tough to handle in the loose, putting in a solid shift defensively and grabbing an early try that helped set the tone for the Dragons. If Dee can continue to develop, he should soon put himself in the conversation with the likes of Nicky Smith and Samson Lee as a centrepiece of the Welsh front row in the years to come.

Duncan Casey, Munster and Ireland

A blistering start to the season for Casey had slowed somewhat over the last couple of months, but he really rose to the occasion on Boxing Day, helping Munster to a 28-13 victory over rivals Leinster. Just as Dee did for Newport, Casey was in fine form for Munster at the set-piece, allowing them to dominate both possession and territory against a beleaguered-looking Leinster side.

Casey continues to show his ability to grind out the hard yards with ball in hand, something which could see him make up ground on Rory Best, Richardt Strauss and Sean Cronin. Casey’s consistency at the set-piece already arguably matches (or even exceeds) that of his rivals and demonstrating his ability in the loose could help him make a case for international recognition.  

Josh Strauss, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland

Strauss is not yet eligible for Scotland, but continues to show what a considerable asset he could be when he does finally qualify on residency in September next year. The South African number eight considerably outplayed his opposite number, Dave Denton, in the 1872 Cup, breaking the defensive line with an abandon that Denton just couldn’t match.

Once Strauss does qualify, he’ll face competition from not only Denton, but also teammate Adam Ashe for Scotland’s eight jersey. The latter will be hard to displace, given his performances at international level and Vern Cotter’s admiration of the young back rower, but it’s difficult to see Scotland being able to ignore a player of Strauss’ talents, especially when he frequently keeps Ashe out of the Glasgow side.

Other Risers – Andrew Coombs, Gareth Anscombe, Jack Conan, Rob Herring, Stuart Olding, Pat MacArthur, Alasdair Dickinson, Roddy Grant, Dan Evans, Mike Haley, Jamie Gibson, Kyle Eastmond, George Lowe, Marland Yarde, Sam Dickinson, Nathan Hughes.

Stock Falling

Sam Hill and Henry Slade, Exeter Chiefs and England

There’s no limit to the potential of these two players, but against Bath on Saturday we saw their inexperience exploited by the more polished midfield of Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph. Tackling was an issue for the Chiefs at The Rec, recording a hideously low tackle success rate of 78%, with Hill and Slade both contributing significantly as they completed just 50% of their tackles.

Offensively things didn’t click for the pair either, with Hill looking slightly one-dimensional and Slade unable to unlock the Bath defence with his usual finesse passing.

Both players are all but certain to win multiple England caps in the future, but games like this serve to keep expectations in check, in what has been an excellent season thus far for Hill, Slade and Exeter.

There is no shame in being outplayed by arguably the Premiership’s most effective midfield in Eastmond and Joseph and seeing how the duo of Hill and Slade bounce back next week will give great insight into what sort of players the pair are.

Aled Davies, Scarlets and Wales

Any hopes Davies has of usurping the duo of Rhys Webb and Mike Phillips in Wales’ pecking order took a hit on Saturday, as the Scarlets’ scrum-half had a game to forget against the Ospreys. Davies was bulldozed by physical carriers on more than one occasion, whilst his proclivity for running down blind alleys saw him turnover possession multiple times.

His kicking game also let him down, whilst Webb, Wales’ current incumbent, kept the Ospreys in the right areas of the field, thanks to an exhibition in tactical kicking from the scrum-half position. Filling an assumed post-RWC Mike Phillips-shaped void in the Welsh squad will be on Davies’ radar, but performances such as this one are unlikely to convince Warren Gatland that he’s the man to do it.

Gordon D’Arcy and Luke Fitzgerald, Leinster and Ireland

As a midfield combination, D’Arcy and Fitzgerald did not work against Munster, combining for just four passes in their 160 combined minutes on the pitch. Admittedly, neither player was helped out by the rest of the Leinster team, who underperformed across the board, but teams have been able to exploit Munster’s midfield this season and that was simply not the case for D’Arcy and Fitzgerald.

D’Arcy will have his work cut out now to make his way back into Ireland’s first XV, especially at 34 years of age, whilst Fitzgerald’s international prospects could be better served by a return to the wing.

The Irish back line performed well in the autumn, making it an uphill challenge for either player to work their way back into it for the Six Nations, but with Leinster looking extremely flat, particularly in the bigger matches, the task looks all the more difficult.

Other Fallers – Michael Bent, Richardt Strauss, Dennis Buckley, Euan Murray, John Barclay, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Collier, James Hook, Matt Kvesic, Matt Mullan.