Monday 7 January 2019 22:21, UK
The weekend's rugby saw plenty of thrills, spills and talking points as sides rounded up domestic duties before another pause for European rugby.
As ever, competition for places in our Team of the Week was hot. Find out who gets the nod and have your say when it comes to the most influential player of the weekend with our vote below...
15. Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Of all the achievements over the course of the weekend, Mike Brown breaking the all-time Harlequins appearance record and overtaking Grahame Murray's 46-year record is right up there.
The full-back's form is sharp right now. He is hungry to prove himself, enjoying working under Paul Gustard and has not lost one iota of his competitiveness as the years have ticked by.
Quins' victory over Newcastle Falcons was a fitting reward for his service to the club and his own output was strong and influential.
14. Bryce Heem (Worcester Warriors)
Sixways was the venue for one of the most talked about finishes of the weekend. It went like this...
Worcester were trailing 14-19 late on. Then, there was 18 minutes of time in the red and Bath went down to 11 men, after a red and then two yellow cards. Eventually, the Warriors made their numerical advantage count as they launched off the final scrum and Heem crossed.
It was the winger's second of the contest and the 29-year-old set their tempo by covering 112 metres from 15 carries. His final finish was not a difficult one but with the close proximity of the clubs at the bottom of the Premiership table, it was a very welcome one for his side.
13. Conor O'Brien (Leinster)
Leinster, not for the fist time and certainly not for the last, showed the considerable depth they have in their squad with their 40-7 bonus-point victory over Ulster.
Leo Cullen's men have now pushed out to a 19-point lead at the top of Conference B and academy centre Conor O'Brien looked like he had a ball at the RDS Arena.
His solo-try oozed class as he backed himself in considerable traffic.
O'Brien fended off players at will and then cut back to cross the line. Indeed, it was his dynamic working around the park that earned him the man-of-the-match award.
12. Juan de Jongh (Wasps)
Wasps' points, and victories, have not been the easiest of things to come by of late. But at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday they found a way over the line.
Alongside man-of-the-match Thomas Young (more about him later), centre Juan de Jongh found the right notes.
Blink and you would have missed his steal of the ball from Ahsee Tuala, but it was brilliant, and the end result was a key score. Overall his hunger for work saw him make 73 metres off 12 carries.
11. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)
Here is a name that many who have watched age-grade rugby in recent years will know well and at Kingston Park he reminded everyone of his skills.
Let's look at his stats shall we? 92 metres made, 13 carries (bettered only by Brown), eight defenders beaten, a try assist and a try... not bad for 73 minutes work!
Ibitoye's pace is outstanding and physically he looks more powerful than ever.
Harlequins are moving along nicely, that was their first win in the league at Kingston Park since December 2013, and their winger is on the right track too.
10. George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
At Welford Road Leicester Tigers secured a second successive bonus-point win on home soil and fly-half George Ford ran the show.
The captain kicked his first penalty with less than two minutes on the clock and marched on from there.
He scored the Tigers' fourth try on 63 minutes with a lovely show-and-go and finished his afternoon with that try, two penalties and four conversions after a great day with the boot.
The 25-year-old's game management and excellent rugby instinct helped the home side to flourish. It seems they are starting to put their difficult times behind them and Ford is pressing his case for England's No 10 jersey against Ireland on February 2.
9. Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks)
Faf de Klerk retains his spot in our Team of the Week after another excellent outing on the domestic stage.
The recent announcement of his contract extension was a second Christmas for all Sale fans and yet again he showed his impact and tenacity.
The scrum-half did it all - his distribution combined with his vision and his appetite for work never ceased. He, like all of Sale's players, got in Saracens' faces and disrupted them for the full 80 minutes.
A notable mention must be made here too for Greig Laidlaw's work for ASM Clermont Auvergne over the channel.
1. Loni Uhila (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Staying at the Stade Marcel-Michelin, the 18,036-strong crowd roared as they watched their side absolutely crucify La Rochelle at scrum-time.
The 29-year-old, and the rest of Les Jaundards' front-row, had a field day at the set-piece and gained penalty after penalty. It was a wholly-dominant performance and set the tone for their side's confident outing.
2. Sean Cronin (Leinster)
When your hooker beats six defenders and scores two tries then you know that things are ticking along nicely.
Sean Cronin's abilities are second to none and his double brings his ratio up to 8 tries in 11 Leinster appearances so far this season, three of those appearances were off the bench.
He crashed over after just six minutes at the RDS, finishing off Leinster's 26 phases with the points desired, and his second came on 12 minutes.
3. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh Rugby)
A much-changed Edinburgh side to the one that beat Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun last weekend, shut the Southern Kings out at Murrayfield.
The side's third of six tries was a landmark moment for prop Berghan. He joined Edinburgh from Canterbury in 2014 and the score was his first try for them.
Berghan hit a strong line in the second half to finally break his duck, and it was his break up the middle that had set-up Darcy Graham for another score early in the first half. They say good things come to those who wait!
4. Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92)
Now the observant of you will know that Nakarawa was wearing five on his back when Racing 92 beat Toulon at the weekend. However, he takes our four jersey because quite frankly with his skills the number is largely irrelevant!
At the Paris La Defense Arena his contributions made a handsome impact on the scoreline and his offloads out of contact remained jaw-dropping.
A 33rd-minute try saw him bust through the attentions of three defenders and stretch out to precisely ground the ball and his hard-carrying was evident again in the build-up to their third score.
5. Dean Budd (Benetton Rugby)
It is four wins on the bounce now for Benetton Rugby and their latest over Glasgow Warriors was inspired by a first-half double from their lock.
The captain made 16 carries, a number bettered only by his No 8 Braam Steyn, and he finished both tries strongly from close range.
6. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
This young man is making a real name for himself as he takes Premiership rugby in his stride.
A few weeks ago, Harlequins' head of rugby Paul Gustard joked about the flanker's "university rig" but followed that up with "the kid can play rugby" and he is right.
At Kingston Park it was the flanker's powerful running and excellent offloading out of contact that caught the eye. He is hungry, eager for work and, with such little experience under his belt, should only get better and better.
7. Thomas Young (Wasps)
This was a very tough call, perhaps the toughest of the lot, and if we could split the jersey in half and give it to two players then we probably would this week!
The two in question are Tom Curry and Thomas Young, both had huge impacts on their respective sides and both deservedly finished as part of winning teams.
At the AJ Bell Stadium, Curry was a constant thorn in Saracens' side and Young, likewise, in Saints' side at the Ricoh Arena.
Both were tenacious and committed and both showed their breakdown prowess during their performances.
In the end, Young just gets the nod due to the importance of their turnover ball in securing their win over Saints - 10 turnovers to four.
8. Peceli Yato (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Les Jaunards looked comfortable from the word go against La Rochelle and Yato was a bulldozer at No 8.... just ask Pierre Aguillon about that because he felt the full force of the Fijian's strength after he bounced off him in the first half.
His gain-line bursts came thick and fast and his try just before the interval was a sight to behold, absolutely no-one on the park was going to stop him.
His athleticism is phenomenal and he more than deserves the final place in our Team of the Week.
