Who’s hot and who’s not!

Adam Kyriacou

It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who’s making the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE

Zebre: What a remarkable result for the Italians. Connacht may not be the force they were under Pat Lam but they are still a very good side and the Sportsground is a difficult place to visit. Zebre handled it superbly, however, and secured an outstanding victory over a team that won the title in 2016. With Benetton also producing some excellent wins and performances, it is great news for Italy head coach Conor O’Shea, who needs those provinces to be competitive week in, week out at PRO14 level.

Duncan Weir: Equally incredible was Weir’s intervention for Edinburgh against Ulster on Friday night. Maybe not so much for the drop-goal itself, which was from inside Ulster’s 22, but for the timing of it and the story surrounding the fly-half. Weir has been on the fringes at the Scottish outfit and could have been on loan at Worcester, only to be recalled because of absentees. He will also leave at the end of the season so, if this is the 26-year-old’s last decisive act for Edinburgh, what a way to depart.

Newcastle’s Pacific Island wings: This could be the Falcons as a whole, given their excellent season so far, but Vereniki Goneva and Sinoti Sinoti deserve a mention for their performances against Bath. Both scored tries and were a constant threat as Dean Richards’ men overwhelmed the West Country outfit to win 29-12 and move above Todd Blackadder’s side into fifth. Newcastle are genuine top-four contenders in the Premiership and, in Goneva and Sinoti, they have the star quality which can propel them there.

Chris Ashton: There were a few Toulon supporters that questioned Ashton’s arrival, with his swallow-diving antics once again the bone of contention, but the wing has more than won them over. His hat-trick in the 43-5 triumph over struggling Stade Français took his tally to a remarkable 17 tries in 15 matches. Napolioni Nalaga has the record for most touchdowns in a Top 14 campaign, when he crossed the whitewash 21 times for Clermont Auvergne in 2008/09, and who would bet against the former England wing from overtaking the Fijian?

Sharks’ debutants: The South African team reaped instant reward for their work during the off-season in the transfer market as new signings Robert du Preez, Makazole Mapimpi, Cameron Wright and Akker van der Merwe all impressed against the Lions. Du Preez and Mapimpi scored tries, Cameron Wright created one, while Van der Merwe shone in his cameo role off the bench. Despite eventually going down to last season’s defeated Super Rugby finalists, they have strengthened in key areas and as a result look a more formidable proposition this season.

COLD AS ICE

France: Not necessarily for what happened on the pitch but more so for what went on after their game with Scotland. Following a night out in Edinburgh which, according to reports, may have gone slightly too far, eight players were dropped from the squad. With most of the individuals not exactly performing on the pitch, losing their opening two matches of the Six Nations, it was the last thing head coach Jacques Brunel needed. Les Bleus’ best player Teddy Thomas was one of those to allegedly be involved and was subsequently axed, so it will be interesting to see whether his absence will be felt against Italy.

Stade Français: In many ways, Stade were fortunate this weekend. Agen and Brive could have overtaken the Parisians and left them down in the relegation play-off position but they failed to take advantage of their abysmal form. Following on from their heavy defeat to Pau in Round 16, the 2015 champions were equally poor in going down to Toulon. With Greg Cooper’s departure for personal reasons leaving them without a permanent head coach, all is not well at the Stade Jean-Bouin.

Ulster: It seems there is much more to the Irish province’s problems than Les Kiss after all. The previous director of rugby ultimately took the blame for their poor performances this season, but matters don’t seem to have improved since his departure. Edinburgh are still a developing force under Richard Cockerill and the Belfast outfit would have been expected to overcome the Scottish side, but it was another disappointing display. It appears the victory over the Southern Kings last weekend merely masked their issues.

Super Rugby’s staggered start: There’s so much hype around Super Rugby but it’s baffling why only four teams played during the tournament’s opening round. Usually, there’s plenty of interest by the start of the tournament but it’s fair to say that wasn’t the case this year in Australia and New Zealand as no teams from those countries were in action on the opening weekend. Super Rugby’s organisers will have to look at the decision to play just two games in the first week as it creates the impression that the tournament doesn’t really start properly until next weekend when 14 of the 15 teams will be in action.

Exeter Chiefs: It is very rare to see the Chiefs in this section but their form doesn’t lie and it will be of slight concern to their director of rugby Rob Baxter. Following losses to Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors, Wasps made it a third successive league defeat for the defending champions. After having a 10-point buffer over Saracens going into the New Year, the Londoners have now overtaken the Devonians. Their opponents from Sunday are also not far off so Baxter’s men will need to re-find their verve if they are to stave off the challenge of the Midlanders and keep themselves in contention for a home semi-final.