It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
Romain Ntamack: Big players step up at the crucial moments and that is what the France international did in the Top 14 final. Down 26-22 to La Rochelle with three minutes remaining, Ntamack received the ball 60 metres out. There was an opportunity on thanks to the brilliance of Antoine Dupont, who manipulated the defence to leave an overlap on the outside. However, the fly-half spotted the chance to go himself and showed all his qualities to break the first-up defence and speed away for a wonderful individual try. To be perfectly honest, he didn’t have his greatest game but no one will remember that thanks to his moment of genius which won Toulouse the title.
Chiefs and Damian McKenzie: The men from Hamilton finished the league season at the top of the table and deserved their standing as the top seeds in the playoffs. They came into Saturday’s semi-final against the Brumbies in Hamilton as overwhelming favourites, after they were made to work hard in their quarter-final win over the Reds. It was a similar story against the Brumbies though but they deserve plenty of credit for maintaining their composure, despite being under great pressure for long periods, and eventually ground out a 19-6 win. Leading the way was McKenzie, who continued his superb form as he laid the groundwork in the build-up to the game’s only try – scored by Brodie Retallick – and impressed with a fine goal-kicking performance as he finished with a 15-point haul courtesy of four penalties and a conversion.
