Rugby union: talking points from the weekend’s action

Taulupe Faletau will form a menacing raft of Lions back-rowers against the All Blacks, London Irish near promotion and Northampton must either stick or twist The chances are that Bath will miss out on the top four unless Leicester make a complete mess of their final game at Worcester. The manner of their 44-20 thrashing of Gloucester merely underlined the up-and-down nature of their season but the good news for the British and Irish Lions is that Taulupe Faletau looks right back in form. The Wales No8 scored a hat-trick of tries and his director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, reckons New Zealand w…