Who's hot...and who's not!

Aaron Smith is really hot while Piri Weepu is definitely not

It is time for Planet Rugby's weekly wrap of who has their name in lights right now...and who is making the headlines for the wrong reasons...

They're smokin'!

Bryan Habana and Aaron Smith: The Test between the All Blacks and Springboks in Dunedin produced two solo five-pointers of great calibre. Bryan Habana's effort for the Boks deserves a special mention as he created something out of nothing and scored one of the best tries of the tournament. The speedster's touchdown was extra special as under the current Bok game-plan, he hardly gets the ball from a well executed back-line move. Smith's effort, although not as spectacular as Habana's, came shortly after he joined the action from the All Blacks' bench. His try and subsequent display also redeemed himself after he was dropped from New Zealand's starting XV for disciplinary reasons.

Pumas: Despite being the only team in the Rugby Championship that haven't won a game yet, Argentina's performances have been of a high standard throughout and they are certainly making their presence felt against the three southern hemisphere heavyweights. Last weekend they gave the Wallabies a scare by racing into a lead before losing narrowly on the Gold Coast. After their draw against the Springboks and holding the All Blacks for 60 minutes, their most recent result proves even more that they deserve their place in the Rugby Championship.

London Welsh: Taking their cue from los Pumas, the Premiership debutants showed they can hold their own against the big boys by seeing off Exeter's challenge to claim their first league win since being promoted. Credit to coach Lyn Jones who had little time to prepare his troops after they only found out at the end of June that they've won promotion thanks to an RFU appeals process after they were originally deemed not to meet the required off-field standards for the Premiership.

Scarlets: Under the guidance of new coach Simon Easterby the Scarlets have made a flying start in the PRO12 and are unbeaten after three matches. After starting their campaign with a convincing win at home against Leinster, they claimed a deserved - albeit narrow - away win over Glasgow Warriors before notching another impressive away victory over Connacht last weekend. Ulster, also unbeaten, are in hot pursuit on the table but the Scarlets have a two-point lead thanks to some crucial four-try bonus points.

Griquas: The men from Kimberley are the form team in the Currie Cup after beating the Golden Lions, Sharks and the Blue Bulls in successive matches. Those three teams are traditionally amongst the more fancied teams in the competition but Pote Human's charges have shown little respect for reputations and are now genuine contenders for a spot in the semi-finals. What makes their achievement even more remarkable is that they lost their opening four matches of the tournament!

Taranaki: Although they are in second spot on the ITM Cup table, Taranaki are the only unbeaten side in the competition and they have played one match less than Wellington who are above them. Taranaki are also the current Ranfurly Shield holders and have seen off three challengers for New Zealand's famous Log o' Wood from Tasman, Hawke's Bay and Canterbury in recent weeks.

Toulon:After another victory over Montpellier, Toulon are the only unbeaten side in the Top 14 after five rounds of matches. Four of those wins have come away from home which shows that Bernard Laporte's side are serious about going one better after finishing as runners-up to Toulouse last season.

Get these guys a cup of warm soup!

Springbok goal-kickers: It was a night to forget for South Africa's goal-kickers whose poor kicking game cost them a rare victory on Kiwi soil. The normally accurate pivot Morne Steyn slotted over one penalty but missed three others in the first half alone while his namesake Francois also missed two long-range penalty attempts, which would have seen the tourists go into half-time 18-5 up instead of 5-3 down. it didn't get any better in after the break - the two Steyns' and replacement fly-half Johan Goosen combined to add to South Africa's kicking woes.

Piri Weepu: With Smith dropped to the bench it meant that Weepu had a golden opportunity to cement his place in the All Blacks starting XV. The 62-Test veteran, however, failed to take his chance and delivered a below-par performance. It's a far cry from 2011 when the 29-year-old was New Zealand's hero during their triumphant World Cup campaign.

Dean Greyling: It's going to take a long while before the Bok prop is allowed out of the doghouse following his "cheap shot" on Richie McCaw. Not only did the replacement front-rower spend 10 of his 30 minutes off the bench on the naughty chair, but gave away a string of penalties and dropped the ball with New Zealand's try-line under his nose. It must have been a very long flight back home...

Blue Bulls: It's been a difficult season for coach Pine Pienaar and his players who are currently the bottom-placed team on the Currie Cup table. Unfamiliar territory for the Pretoria outfit and their supporters who are used to challenging for honours. Last weekend's loss to Griquas is their third on the trot after going down to the Golden Lions and arch rivals Western Province. In the clash against Griquas they didn't know what hit them and were trailing 0-26 at the half hour mark.

By Dave Morris and David Skippers

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