Biggest Winners and Losers in World Rugby for Weekend of January 9-11

The build-up to this year's Six Nations is well underway, but England head coach Stuart Lancaster has already suffered a significant blow in his chances of making a run at the 2015 title.

That's after a particularly important member of his squad suffered an injury this past weekend. But said absentee won't be the only elite figure missing in the coming months after it was announced Super Rugby won't be seeing some of its biggest names too soon.

Meanwhile, Top 14 sides have responded tremendously to recent tragedies unfolding in Paris, while a certain Bath centre finally got his union career of the mark.

Read on for more details as we discuss the biggest winners and losers in rugby this weekend.

Winners: Clermont Auvergne Move Top in Traumatic Week for France

David Rogers/Getty Images

Sport can be a great divider between people, communities, regions and entire nations, but it can also be a uniting factor, too, as the teams of France's Top 14 displayed this weekend.

In response to the massacre that unfolded at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo last Wednesday, the squads of Stade Francais and Castres each wore t-shirts which read "Je suis Charlie" as a tribute to those victims, per ESPN Scrum.

Clermont would later thrash Brive 44-20 on Saturday to take top spot from the Parisian outfit, but Stade showed what a power sport can have, even in matters so far from the pitch.

Considering the extent of the incident which unfolded at the Charlie Hebdo offices, in which 12 people were tragically killed, per CNN's Michael Martinez, it would be understandable for French rugby to undergo a stage of mourning.

However, as the players so often do on the field, a display of unity was the result.

Loser: Ben Morgan's Six Nations Hopes Shattered

Stu Forster/Getty Images

It's a crushing blow for England to suffer so close to the Six Nations, but a broken leg will see Gloucester's Ben Morgan miss the tournament and potentially put his Rugby World Cup in doubt.

As ESPN Scrum reported, Morgan, who recently rose to become Lancaster's first-choice No. 8, suffered the dreaded injury during Friday evening's 24-23 win over Saracens.

A statement released by the Cherry and Whites read: "Morgan has suffered a fracture to his lower left leg and had surgery performed on Saturday morning. He will commence an appropriate rehabilitation programme for this type of injury over the coming weeks."

With their tournament opener against Wales on February 6, Morgan is a serious doubt to play any part in the competition and we'll likely see Billy Vunipola take his place.

Morgan was phenomenal during the autumn internationals, scoring three tries in Tests against Australia and South Africa. He may well recover in time for the World Cup, but the fight to reclaim his spot at that stage will be a tough one.

Winner: Oyonnax Home Streak Continues to Save Their Season

Without their fortress at Stade Charles-Mathon, Oyonnax would have been back playing in France's Pro D2 this season. They are steadily building a reputation as a particularly stingy host.

Only Clermont and Toulon have managed to take wins from the ground so far this season, and a 20-13 victory over Montpellier on Saturday saw the club extend its current home winning streak to four on the trot.

As a result, Christophe Urios' men now sit ninth, five points off the bottom two and hoping to improve upon last season's finish of 11th.

It won't be sufficient to make the club a giant; eventually, they must start performing away from home. But for now, Oyonnax's fearsome home record is giving them the foundation for survival and, in their wildest dreams, perhaps even a place in European competition.

Loser: All Blacks Absent from Super Rugby Openers

Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Super Rugby fans around the world will be displeased to hear New Zealand aren't allowing all of their star talents to feature in the early-season action this year.

Per ESPN Scrum, the likes of 2014 IRB Player of the Year Brodie Retallick, Kieran Read, Luke Whitelock, Patrick Tuipulotu, Keven Mealamu and Aaron Cruden will be among those rested in order to keep them fresh for the World Cup.

Of course, one would love to see the largest array of international stars possible at England's World Cup and in the best-case scenario, every nation would head into the contest at full strength.

However, this is a somewhat disappointing case of country taking precedence over club representation, where one must feel for the supporters of the Blues, Chiefs and Crusaders, poised to miss out on some of their finest assets until Round 6.

Winner: Sam Burgess Supporters Buoyed by First Union Try

The rugby union community has tracked Sam Burgess' progress with a most scrutinising eye since his switch from league and this week, his supporters were overjoyed to see "Slammin' Sam" bag his first try.

George Ford fed the centre a pass as he hit Wasps' line with an impressive angle to show some of the tactics which transition more seamlessly from his days in the southern hemisphere.

It may not be the prettiest he'll ever score at the Rec, but Burgess nonetheless dealt any critics he might have a blow by getting the try monkey off his back en route to a 39-26 win on Saturday.