Winners & losers... Faletau flying, why Webb was best man and aVale of tears
The Guinness Pro12 and Aviva Premiership play-off pictures became clearer on the weekend... and there wasn’t a lack of Welsh involvement on both sides of the border.
Here, the Scarlets are assured and the Ospreys all but assured their involvement in the end-of-season Pro12 semi-finals with victories over Connacht and Ulster respectively.
It would need more than a minor miracle for the Ulstermen to make the top-four in the final game of the campaign against high-flying Leinster while next weekend’s Welsh derbies can now be played out with a little less riding on them. The only thing still to be decided is the semifinal draw with the Ospreys and Scarlets set to face Leinster and Munster, but who plays who is still to be finalised.
Over the border, Leicester Tigers strengthened their grip on the playoffs at the expense of Bath, despite the latter producing possibly the performance of the weekend as we look at all the Welsh winners and losers...
WINNERS
TAULUPE FALETAU If the West Country derby between Bath and Gloucester, played out in front of 14,500 at The Rec, isn’t big enough for you there was the weighty matter of a fascinating back-row battle between Welsh internationals Faletau and Ross Moriarty.
The latter was the man who kept the former Newport Gwent Dragon on the Welsh bench for the best part of the Six Nations Championship.
But like Bath, there was only one winner as Faletau became the first home forward since Eric Peters in 1998 to score a Premiership hat-trick of tries.
In fact, it was a good day for Bath’s Welsh internationals as fellow ex-Dragon Aled Brew also touched down, outside-half Rhys Priestland weighed in with 14 points from the boot and lock Luke Charteris delivered a delicious offload to Faletau for his second try in the 44-20 victory.
In earning back-to-back man-of-thematch awards, Faletau has sent out a firm Lions challenge to his cousin and England No.8 Billy Vunipola, for the three-Test series with New Zealand this summer. “Toby was unbelievable today,” said Bath’s director of rugby Todd Blackadder, himself a 12-times capped All Black. “That was a worldclass player right there.
“He’s had a bit of a frustrating season. He’s picked up a few injuries, but he’s showed what a class player he is and, my God, if he takes that form to New Zealand with the Lions it would be all go.” JACK ROBERTS AND OWEN WILLIAMS The two Welshmen lined up in the Leicester midfield for the final time at Welford Road before heading to Cardiff Blues and Gloucester respectively in the summer.
And they didn’t disappoint the home fans with crucial tries as the Midlanders hooked Sale Sharks 41-18 to make themselves moulten hot favourites for the Premiership play-offs at the expense of age-old rivals Bath.
And Williams, who is making a big money move to Kingsholm, believes the Tigers are in fine fettle to be crowned English champions for the 11th time despite a real topsy-turvy season. Williams told the
“We are not afraid to go anywhere in the play-offs because we have a very good group of boys here and can turn any team over on our day. Those occasions are about what happens on the day and who performs best.
“We have had our ups and down this season but we’ve shown our resilience and managed to stay near the top. But this win over Sale shows we are playing well, and now it’s about getting some momentum going and hopefully heading into the semi-finals with our tails up.
“There are high expectations at this club and we have to match them. At the start of each season the target is to make the semis at least. Next it is to try and win the trophy.” RHYS WEBB If being a best man at a wedding isn’t enough of a pressure-cooker occasion for you, what about helping your misfiring team into the Guinness Pro12 play-offs on the same day?
That’s what the Ospreys and Wales scrum-half achieved on the weekend as the Liberty Stadium region all but booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the Pro12 with a 24-10 victory over Ulster that leaves the Irishmen in with a slim mathematical chance only of pipping them in the final round of games.
Webb, who could well be Warren Gatland’s first choice scrum-half for the Lions with serious injury concerns around Conor Murray, had pictures taken suited-and-booted with groom Chris Harries before journeying to the Liberty to skipper the Welsh region.
He did a television interview straight after the game, got changed and immediately left for the nuptials.
He said: “I’ve got to head off to my mate’s wedding.
“I’m the Best Man and so have to get there fairly quickly.” LEIGH HALFPENNY It’s fair to say Halfpenny’s kicking like Toulon’s season hasn’t reached the peaks of previous campaigns.
But the Lions full-back, who is among Gatland’s 41-strong squad heading to New Zealand this summer, showed on the weekend how deadly a marksman he can be in the land of the long white cloud helping his paymasters cement fourth spot and a likely place in the Top 14 play-offs with a crucial 16-point haul in their 26-13 victory at Bordeaux-Bègles.
Toulon may not be setting the world alight in France, despite their starstudded squad being the envy of the global game, but Bordeaux simply had no answer to the physicality of the visiting pack.
And Halfpenny made the hosts pay for every ounce of ill-discipline with three slide-rule penalties in the first period and a conversion to Guilhem Guirado’s try.
He added a further penalty and conversion in the second period as Toulon made it three wins on the bounce in the Top 14. JASON TOVEY Dragons’ record points-scorer Jason Tovey celebrated his 28th birthday in style by condemning his former team to an astonishing defeat at Myreside.
The men of Gwent had led 20-3 with just seven minutes remaining before Tovey, who had been injured during the build-up to a Dragons first-half try and replaced by Scottish International Duncan Weir but was given the all-clear by Edinburgh’s medical staff to return for the second half, took centre stage.
The outside-half created tries for wings Blair Kinghorn and Damien