By Charlie Elliott
As always, rugby delivered some great moments this weekend, with the Six Nations taking so many twists and turns.
Results aside, there were so many moments that fans will have been talking about all through work today, and for the weeks ahead.
From Will Stuart’s neat footwork to Louis Bielle-Biarrey continuing to remind us that he is not human, here are some of the most talked about events from this weekend.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey backwards crossfield kick
Bielle-Biarrey is one of the biggest talents in the world at the moment, with the French winger continuing to defy the already high expectations bestowed upon him.
Fans can look at his electric running and uncanny knack to score tries, especially now that he is level with the record for the most tries in a single Six Nations campaign.
But something that isn’t normally listed amongst his best attributes is his kicking.
He completely blew the misconception that his kicking is weak out of the water against Ireland, with an audacious backwards crossfield kick that ended up being caught by his own try line.
Some players just have that entertaining ability, and LBB has cemented himself as one of those players.
The pure audacity to not only attempt it, but pull it off is spectacular. It summed up France’s chaotic but brilliant style of rugby perfectly.
Antoine Dupont’s Injury
A huge shame over the weekend was the ACL injury suffered by France’s maverick scrum-half Antoine Dupont.
The kind of injury sustained often has a recovery time of six to nine months, which isn’t good news at all.
Although no player goes onto a pitch with the intention of causing harm, Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter have been criticised for causing it after Beirne fell on him at the ruck, with fans labelling it as ‘cynical’ at best and ‘dirty’ at worst.
Beirne and Andrew Porter were cited to the commissioner after the incident, but it was deemed as not requiring any further action.
Fans were incensed by this decision, believing that such a bad injury being caused must warrant some kind of punishment.
The most important thing now though is Dupont’s recovery, as no one wants to see anyone getting hurt on the pitch.
Will Stuart Step
Who’d have thought that Will Stuart had that in his locker?
The England prop sidestepped Italy hooker Giacomo Nicotera and sent him to the floor with some footwork that his backs would have been proud of.
Even sweeter for Stuart is the fact that his beautiful move ended up creating an opening from which Marcus Smith scored a great try, which was arguably the turning point in the game.
From that point onwards, England didn’t look like relinquishing their lead.
Talk is now about how the Bath man is a certainty for the upcoming Lions tour, which is a pretty strong argument at the moment.
Wales disallowed try
One of the most frustrating moments of the weekend, Wales scored a beautiful try against Scotland, but it was unfortunately disallowed after Blair Murray hurdled over a Scotland defender.
While it was a correct decision by the letter of the law, it was such a good try that no one wanted to see it not count.
Talupe Faletau finished it off and is one of the most liked players in Wales, which added to the disappointment.
On social media, fans have questioned the consistency and have drawn upon examples of other players getting away with hurdles, but that still doesn’t mean that this one should have stood.
A shame, but the right decision.
Ben Stevenson’s Try in the Prem Rugby Cup Semi-Final
Newcastle Falcons may have fallen to Bath in the semifinal of the Prem Rugby Cup, which set up a clash between Exeter Chiefs and the winners of this game in the final, but Ben Stevenson had a moment to remember.
He bagged a brace of tries early on in the second half to give Falcons a lead, with both being great moves.
The first was a great team move, but his second came from a moment of huge individual quality, chipping the ball high into the air to chase down and collect perfectly to run past the Bath defence.
All the defenders could do was watch as Stevenson worked his magic.
It wasn’t to be for his team, but he will always have the memories of two great tries on a very big stage.
