Who’s hot and who’s not!

Editor

It’s time for our wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for the wrong reasons.

They’re on fire!!

Scotland: How about those boys in blue! Huge props to Scotland after a first win over Wales in ten years, and in the end by a comfortable 16-point margin at that. Both wingers – Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser – finished brilliantly as Scotland came from behind to put away a poor Wales performance. Edinburgh on Saturday night must have been some party.

Italy’s tactics: Some might disagree, and there will be questions about whether it was in the spirit of the game, but Italy played a trump card with their approach to the tackle area by not creating a ruck and therefore being able to block England’s passing channels. No wonder Danny Care looked miffed when he came off. It was savvy, technically legal, and turned what looked set to be a pasting into a surprisingly interesting affair. If they are to go down, it won’t be without a fight.

Johnny Sexton: Like he never went away. Sexton’s control, and exquisite drop goal, paved the way to victory for Ireland and kept their Six Nations hopes alive in the process. Doubts about why Joe Schmidt turned to his old fly-half were swiftly dismissed in the process. Injury-free too.

Hamish Watson: A revelation after coming on as a replacement in the 24th minute, with Watson completely disrupting the flow up to that point of the breakdown which had been all Wales. John Hardie’s tournament-ending injury means Watson will be restored to the starting line-up and rightly so. He was outstanding over the ball at the breakdown.

Rieko Ioane: Scarily good. Ioane was on another level for the Blues in their thrashing of the Rebels in the first game of Super Rugby 2017, ghosting through tacklers like they weren’t on the field. The fact he is still just 19 is a huge concern for everybody not supporting either the Blues or New Zealand.

Romain Poite: For delivering the quote of the tournament.

Stormers: Outstanding performance in the North-South derby as they streaked clear from the Bulls early on at Newlands, leading 24-0 at half-time. Very positive signs to come from Robbie Fleck’s team who looked deadly with the ball in hand.

Bristol: There’s life in the Premiership relegation battle yet. 12 points from Gavin Henson – remember him? – saw off Bath in a tight derby, in the process narrowing the gap between Bristol and Worcester at the bottom to two points.

Hurricanes: The champions left Dane Coles and Beauden Barrett on the bench and were still ruthless in Tokyo, racking up over 80 points with a display full of power and pace. This week’s opponents the Rebels have been warned.

Sheltering in the igloo…

Wales’ second half: Dominant at the breakdown and having scored a well-worked try through Liam Williams, Wales then completely fell apart at Murrayfield, with no answer to Watson and Scotland’s work at the breakdown while wasting chances and being opened up in defence. Their attack is shockingly blunt. And Six Nations title hopes? Over.

France: So much intent in Dublin but that killer pass, which has plagued France since Guy Novès took charge, was continually absent. France generally do feel as though they are on a upward curve, and their enterprise on Saturday will have won many over to their cause. But points are necessary, and experience, which was evident when Conor Murray and Sexton took charge of the contest.

Owen Farrell: A bizarrely off day for the England stalwart on his 50th cap, as he finished with three out of seven kicks – having looked at the start of this year and throughout 2016 like he couldn’t miss – while seeming clearly agitated. Rightly praised for a long time now, this was a poor performance.

Highlanders: Butchered countless chances at home to the Chiefs despite the lion’s share of possession and territory. Early-season rust can be partly to blame but for a team who have won over thousands of supporters thanks to their fluidity of their attack, this was persistently stop-start. Ben Smith’s concussion, and expected layoff, is not good news either. Credit to centre Rob Thompson though for a dogged effort.

Waratahs-Force: Eddie Jones suggested those at Twickenham should get their money back but the fans who attended Allianz Stadium had far stronger claims. The first Australian derby of the year was a complete snoozefest, littered with basic errors and far from the ideal advert for the game in the country that needs more supporters than ever.