Following a dominant 56-17 victory for Leicester Tigers over the Sharks at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday, here are our winners and losers from the Investec Champions Cup clash.
Winners
Handre Pollard
The Springboks hopefuls should probably be thankful as they got a free lesson from a double Rugby World Cup winner on Saturday. While the breakdown and maul were other points of difference in the clash, the ease with which Pollard got Leicester up the field was simply masterful.
He is still a huge part of Rassie Erasmus’ plans, but there is no doubt that the South Africa head coach is searching for other possible options ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Erasmus has already looked at Jordan Hendrikse and Siya Masuku is a player who is close to a call-up, but they were schooled on Saturday and shown what a proper Test fly-half looks like.
Tommy Reffell
A shining light for Wales in 2024, he is one the best breakdown operators in Europe and he once again showed his incredible ability to steal the ball. Reffell was superb technique at the contact but the openside flanker also has a remarkable ability to pick his moment.
Credit must also go to his back-row partners, whose sheer work ethic allows the Welshman the freedom to decide when to contest, but Reffell is an absolute expert in the way he pilfers the ball. He just halted any potential Sharks momentum.
Ollie Hassell-Collins
It really doesn’t take much to run hard when chasing, but it is amazing how some don’t do it due to being seen as a lost cause. However, Hassell-Collins showed the value of chasing everything, particularly when you’re one of the faster players on the field.
When Pollard kicked to touch, Eduan Keyter thought that he could keep it in play and he appeared to do well, but he didn’t see Hassell-Collins bearing down on him. Keyter threw it in-field blind and the Tiger flyer was on hand to score. It was the highlight of an impressive display from the England wing, who is looking to force his way back into Steve Borthwick’s thoughts.
Tigers maul
It was a real weapon in the first half and set the tone for the physical dominance they enjoyed throughout the first hour. Twice in the opening 25 minutes, Julian Montoya touched down after good work from his pack to set Leicester on their way to a dominant win.
Although it became less prevalent later on, to be able to score 14 points from executing relatively simple drills very effectively is incredibly useful. It gave the hosts a platform from which they could build from in a dominant first-half display.
Michael Cheika
The head coach’s decision to rest some of his frontline players against Bordeaux-Begles paid off as the Tigers put themselves in a promising position in the Champions Cup looking ahead to the January encounters.
They left France with a creditable bonus-point and build on that with a fine victory over the Sharks to take them to six points from two games. Not only that but they look a very well-drilled team under the Australian and look a threat in both competitions going into 2025.
Losers
Champions Cup
No one likes to see contests like this but the Sharks had no other option but to field a severely weakened side. Their high attrition rate from the Exeter Chiefs win was a factor while another of their Springboks stars have also picked up knocks.
When you add in the travel factor and the crucial South Africa derbies coming up over Christmas, John Plumtree wisely decided to keep some of his best players at home. However, these results do not do the reputation of the Champions Cup any good, especially with many claiming that it has lost its lustre.
Sharks second stringers
As mentioned, we understood the visitors’ team selection but the players who took to the field on Saturday also did themselves a disservice. Several individuals could have put themselves in a position to play in the bigger games by producing good displays but no Sharks player really helped their cause at Welford Road.
Ethan Hooker had his moments while off the bench there were some reasonable impacts from the replacement backs, but that was about it for the Durban outfit, who folded all too easily. It turned into a bit of an embarrassment for the South Africans.
Siya Masuku and the Hendrikse brothers
Part of the Sharks’ issue was the team’s inability to control field position and that was down to the playmakers, who showed that they still have a lot to learn. We briefly talked about Masuku above and Jordan Hendrikse and to reiterate the point, they were outclassed by the experience Pollard.
Most of the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Masuku and Jaden Hendrikse to dictate proceedings, which they ultimately failed, but Jaden’s brother should also take some responsibility. If the 23-year-old wants to be the Springboks 10 long-term, he needs to step up and help out his playmaking partners. Instead, he spent the majority of the 80 minutes running into brick walls.
Sharks back-row
There was no Siya Kolisi but there was still a wealth of talent in that Sharks loose trio. However, they were outplayed by the Leicester back-row, particularly at the contact area. It was a bad day for most of the team that took to Welford Road but Emmanuel Tshituka, Jeandre Labuschagne and Phepsi Buthelezi very much had a match to forget.
Andrea Piardi
Not for his performance, which was, as usual, of the highest quality for the 40 minutes he was in charge of the game, but for the injury the referee suffered just before the break. Piardi looked in real discomfort following an innocuous-looking collision with Leicester scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet and had to be replaced at the break.
Hopefully it does not keep the fine Italian match official out of the game for too long and he can return to the pitch soon as he will certainly be in the mix for the Six Nations if fit.
