Biggest Winners and Losers in World Rugby for Weekend of April 4-5

The final four of the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup were decided during the weekend of April 4-5, as Toulon, Clermont, Saracens and Leinster blazed a trail in the semi-finals of the competition.

The European quartet accounted for a bulk of the northern hemisphere hype in recent days, while it was the in-form Hurricanes who continued to impress on the other side of the equator.

Chris Boyd's side continued their unbeaten start to the season by clinching a seventh win of the campaign, but there were other Super Rugby spectacles to behold this past weekend.

Read on as we take a look through the biggest winners and losers in world rugby this weekend, with both individual performances and team displays garnering widespread attention.

Winner: French Rugby

It's no new theory that the titans of the Top 14 are very much among Europe's most powerful outfits at present, but France's grip on the continental club scene received another boost in recent days.

The reigning champions of Europe, Toulon, excelled past Wasps to claim a semi-final berth after Clermont embarrassed Northampton Saints 37-5 in Auvergne.

However, Racing Metro were unlucky not to beat Saracens in Paris, succumbing to their English foes 12-11 on Sunday, testifying as to just how strong the resources remain among France's big guns at present.

Saints coach Jim Mallinder called the loss to Clermont "one of the most distressing nights" of his life, per ESPN Scrum, where the Aviva Premiership title holders were severely outclassed in all regards:

"

It's one of the worst defeats I've experienced. We've had a few shockers and that's definitely one of them. We're disappointed because clearly we wanted to progress and have the chance of a home semi-final. We have to take this on the chin.

We were well beaten. We came up against a very, very good side. Clermont played very well and we didn't. When you're losing 27-0 at half-time, that's basically game over. You come into these games knowing you have a chance, but that you'll have to play to your very best.

[...]

The top French teams are very, very good. And at times we are very good, but not in this match. On this performance it would be hard to argue against it (there being a gulf in class), but we have competed against their top sides in the past.

"

In general, the Premiership and Top 14 sides are seen as being among the best in Europe right now, but as we scrutinise further, this weekend points out just how far ahead the French really are.

Pro12 bastions Leinster deserve their credit for making it this far as something of an Irish anomaly, but it's difficult to see past a Top 14 club taking this year's title once again.

Loser: Durban Discipline

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There came a period during the Sharks' 52-10 defeat to the Crusaders this weekend at which there were only 26 players present on the pitch, with four either sin-binned or given early marching orders.

It made for an entertaining spectacle, assuredly, as no less than three Crusaders were shown yellow cards in the dying minutes of the first half before Sharks flanker Jean Deysel was sent off on the 40th minute.

It's the second time in as many meetings with the Christchurch side in which Deysel has been sent off, kneeing Matt Todd in the head on Saturday and having kicked out at Richie McCaw in last year's clash.

Deysel's absence went on to have its impact, as the Crusaders scored four of their eight tries in the second period, recovering their full strength as Nepo Laulala, Kieron Fonotia and Nemani Nadolo returned from the bench.

While entertaining, though, seeing two sides go at it in a fair and proper manner is the preferred method, with Deysel this time learning his lesson in a major way, having been fortunate to see his side win despite their disadvantage in 2014.

Winner: England Sevens

England claimed their first-ever Cup triumph at the Tokyo Sevens on Sunday, climbing to fourth in the World Series rankings as a result and doing a service to their Rio 2016 qualification bid.

All efforts to claim the top prize in Japan up until this weekend had come up short, but a victory over series leaders South Africa showed the world there's certainly a challenge to come from Simon Amor's men.

Charlie Hayter, Tom Mitchell and Phil Burgess scored past the Blitzbokke to seal a crucial win in the tournament's crescendo and push Amor's men through the standings.

A fourth-place finish would be enough to secure automatic qualification for next year's Olympics, with Australia now sitting nine points below in fifth.

Loser: More Blues for the Blues

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It's a difficult time to be a Blues fan right now, and a 23-16 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday only helped in further outlining just what a miserable time the club is having of late.

As if it's not enough to have learned that Frank Halai and Charles Piutau will be leaving for Wasps and Ulster, respectively, later this year, performances continue to suffer despite having those stars present and accounted for.

Saturday's losing bonus point was the fifth the Blues have secured this term, and Sir John Kirwan's side are the only team yet to bag a Super Rugby win in 2015.

The Auckland outfit have now lost their last nine Super Rugby outings in succession and are bottom of the overall standings with no glimmer of hope in sight.

Winner: Sefanaia Naivalu

Fijian maestros appear to be popping up in all corners of the globe, and Melbourne Rebels speedster Sefanaia Naivalu may be the latest one to keep an extra eye on following a barnstorming display against the Reds.

It's not often a single player's performance will court such attention, but after clocking up a ridiculous total of 192 carrying metres in Friday's 23-15 win, per ESPN Scrum, the 23-year-old is deserving of his applause.

Naivalu topped the attacking charts with five clean breaks against the Reds, beating five defenders and making two turnovers to boot, setting up scrum-half Nic Stirzaker for a sublime try in the process.

Granted, a poor Reds team may not offer the sternest defence in Super Rugby, but Naivalu is emerging as another Pacific Island pace merchant who may be held in high regard for some years to come.