Who’s hot and who’s not: Bath, Nathan Hughes, Siya Kolisi, Covid concerns and Exeter

Bath and Nathan Hughes: What an outstanding and gutsy performance from the Premiership’s basement side on Friday. Yes, Harlequins were missing a few key players such as Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt, but Bath were far from full strength too as they dug in to beat the reigning champions 21-17. It has to be said that they probably would not have won this game if the deal to bring Hughes to the club on loan had not been completed last week as the fired up number eight was superb as he carried and tackled with purpose and looks a shrew signing.

Bath debut

Man of the Match

It's been only four days since Nathan Hughes joined @BathRugby.

It didn't take long for him to make an impression

@Sarraelgan pic.twitter.com/BjfNaFcWOE

— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 28, 2022

Ospreys and Cardiff: It’s been a difficult few years for the Welsh regions but these two sides brought some much-needed joy to the country ahead of the Six Nations. Going into the weekend, Edinburgh and Leinster were the top two sides in the United Rugby Championship, but they went down to the Ospreys and Cardiff respectively on Saturday. Despite their Six Nations absentees, the Irish province still fielded a strong side, but Dai Young’s men were excellent and won the game via Jarrod Evans’ late three-pointer. Their Welsh rivals were equally impressive and overcame the league leaders 23-19 for their sixth URC victory of the campaign.  It meant a lot to both teams and hopefully they can kick on and challenge in the latter stages of the competition.

The match winning kick from @Cardiff_Rugby!#URC | #CDFvLEI pic.twitter.com/15vq7ZJ37I

— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 29, 2022

After nine months out following an anterior