The Off Load: The best and worst from the world of rugby

Trouble is brewing in Toulouse as Clermont Auvergne inflict another loss on the giants of French rugby.

Rupert Cox shares his highlights in his weekly rugby round-up blog...

FRENCH GIANTS FALL AT HOME

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Bernard Laporte's former club Stade Français knocked over Toulon at the Felix Mayol on Saturday night. The Stade scrum smashed the Top 14 and European Champions all night long, and the Parisian backs created a couple of cracking first half tries for Alexandre Flanquart and Julien Arias. Fly-half Jules Plisson kicked 15 points including a late drop goal to condemn Toulon their first home defeat since January. Racing Metro get most of the hype in Paris these days – but Stade Français are four from five and up to second spot. The truth is, Toulon were dire, missing 20 points off the kicking tee.

Toulouse had not lost three straight games in the French league since 1978 – until now. Clermont Auvergne scored the only try, to embarrass the Rouge et Noir on their home patch at the Stade Ernest Wallon and storm to the summit of the Top Quatorze. After failing to make the semi-finals last season, it's beginning to look like the end of an era for the biggest budget team in France.

CHAMPIONS BOUNCE BACK

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Boosted by the return of Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney, Leinster responded to their opening day slump in Glasgow with an emphatic home win. The poor ol’ Scarlets were on the receiving end of an old-fashioned hiding at the RDS as the Dubliners ran in six tries.

Leinster were good, but Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac will be concerned – a very 'French' away performance for the west Welshmen.

AB’S SURVIVE BOK ONSLAUGHT

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A brutal Test match played out in Wellington between the All Blacks and Springboks. The Kieran Read v Duane Vermeulen battle at No.8 was worth the price of admission alone. Young Bok Handre Pollard showed he's got what it takes to direct a team at this level, with a fine all-round game at fly-half – his drift and inside pass for the Cornal Hendricks try was first class. But those All Blacks just refuse to be beaten, and skipper Richie McCaw finished off an extraordinary try created by Aaron Cruden and Read, which proved the difference. That's 36 consecutive home wins for the All Blacks and they're six points clear at the top of the Rugby Championship.

AMOR BLOODS NEW FACES IN SALFORD

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England 7s knocked over France in the Manchester 7s Cup Final, as they prepare for the IRB World Series in Australia next month. It's a huge season ahead for England, as they carry the significant burden of qualifying Team GB for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Simon Amor's charges need to finish in the top four next season for GB to secure a place in Rio, and he's brought in some fresh talent to help the cause. Plymouth Albion's Tom Bowen looked dangerous all weekend at the European Grand Prix event, as did Loughborough University's Alex Davies. The Road to Rio starts here!

#SOHK

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The first episode of the new School of Hard Knocks series screened on Friday night and, once again, it's a must-see. Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood are working their magic in Birmingham this time – as Will said on the Rugby Club last week: "you'd seriously cross the street to avoid some of the blokes on this course."

But we all deserve a second chance and the School of Hard Knocks is giving exactly that. Rugby Union quite literally changing lives.

BRICKBAT

Toulouse boss Guy Noves insisting his side settle for a losing bonus point at home, instead of going for the win against Clermont. Toby Flood kicked the penalty to get within five but the raspberries that rung around the Ernest Wallon suggest there's increasing unrest in Toulouse country.

BOUQUET

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Ma'a Nonu broke his arm during the first half against the Springboks on Saturday, and incredibly played on for nine minutes until the half-time break. Brave? More like superhuman. But the bouquet is for what happened next... Before the dreadlocked All Black left the stadium to have surgery in a Wellington hospital, he made time to drop by the South Africa dressing room and hang his jersey on the peg belonging to Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers – De Villiers was playing his 100th test that day. The fact that Nonu broke the arm while tackling de Villiers makes this story even better. Ma'a – you’re All Class.