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 is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE

USA: Their victory over Scotland goes down as a shock but, for those who have seen their results and performances recently, it is not a surprise for a team that is making significant strides. In Gary Gold, they have an excellent coach while AJ MacGinty, Blaine Scully and Samu Manoa are all proven performers in the leagues in Europe. Gregor Townsend’s men had gone into a 21-6 advantage but the Eagles showed impressive resilience and skill to score three tries and claim a landmark triumph over a tier one team.

South Africa’s bench impact: Eddie Jones has placed a lot of emphasis on having players among the replacements who can either alter the course of a game or build on what the first XV have done. However, it is the Springboks that have seen the bench do a much better job than their English counterparts. While the visitors have floundered the longer the game has gone on, the hosts have thrived with props Steven Kitshoff and Thomas du Toit particularly impressing. With the overseas players also making significant contributions, Rassie Erasmus is building an excellent squad.

Wales’ front-five: Much of the focus has been on the flankers and the efforts of the half-backs during their excellent June run, but the front-five have been absolutely outstanding. When you consider their absentees – arguably only Rob Evans is first choice – the replacements have been superb, especially against Argentina. Dillon Lewis was hugely impressive in the first Test while hookers Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee will have given Warren Gatland plenty to ponder heading into the end-of-year Tests.

Ireland: An excellent response from Joe Schmidt’s men who, unlike the first Test, managed to truly impose their game on Australia. They dominated possession and territory, with Peter O’Mahony exceptional at the breakdown, while there was slightly more creativity with Johnny Sexton and Garry Ringrose in the side. Schmidt will be frustrated that they weren’t clinical enough to win by a larger scoreline, but the New Zealander should be delighted with the progress from the previous week’s effort.

Fiji: Usually, it’s the Sevens team that takes its place here but this time the XVs deserve a mention after claiming the Pacific Nations Cup following a comfortable 37-15 victory over Georgia in Suva. The Islanders had been 15-10 in arrears at the interval but the hosts were excellent in the second half as the European outfit failed to score a point. Semi Radradra made his debut and impressed, scoring a try, as they secured their fourth title in a row.

France U20: Congratulations to France, who deservedly took the age-grade world title following a 33-25 victory over England in Beziers. Les Bleus’ pack were outstanding in the showpiece event, with Jordan Joseph, Cameron Woki and Demba Bamba all continuing their fine form from earlier in the tournament. The Red Rose were gallant and in wings Gabriel Ibitoye they Jordan Olowofela they had significant threats out wide, but the hosts were simply too powerful throughout the competition.

BROKEN THERMOSTAT:

Ben Youngs: It was very much out of character, but hugely disappointing nonetheless, that the England scrum-half walked off during a post-match interview with Sky Sports. If anything, it showed the consternation within the England camp and hinted at deep-lying problems within the set-up, but at least Youngs realised his mistake, apologised and returned to offer his thoughts following the South Africa match.

COLD AS ICE:

Eddie Jones and England: What has gone wrong? From being the dominant force in Europe and clearly the second best side in the world, their form has completely dissipated. The talent is not lacking but they are struggling in areas you expect them to be strong. Irrespective of their ill-discipline, which everyone knows is a problem, they are failing to control games in the playmaking positions. George Ford and Owen Farrell are renowned for their game-management skills, but South Africa have outplayed them in the kicking department. Has Jones got his selection right? And moreover, what about the late substitutions behind the scrum; his lack of faith in Danny Cipriani is baffling to say the least.

Inconsistent officiating: We mentioned it last week but again it reared its head in the New Zealand v France encounter. While the overall standard was much better across the matches, there was a key incident in the game in Wellington which changed the course of the contest. Benjamin Fall was red carded as he looked to challenge Beauden Barrett in the air, only for him to be knocked off balance by Anton Lienert-Brown and clatter into the fly-half. While we can understand the red card by the letter of the law, there was a mitigating factor in that Fall was clipped and, therefore, it could have been downgraded to a yellow. Common sense has prevailed with a World Rugby judicial committee removing Fall’s red card but that’s a case of too little too late for les Bleus and it’s high time that we get some clarity and consistency from the game’s governing body on such issues.

Scotland: Although the USA were rightly lauded, the Scottish will not be happy by this embarrassing defeat to the tier two side. While Gregor Townsend was looking at a few different players as he builds towards the World Cup, it was still a strong squad and realistically they should not be losing to the Eagles. They do have this habit of enjoying a period of reasonable success, like their November and Six Nations campaigns, only to undo their good work, but time will tell as to whether this was just a setback.

Daniel Hourcade: Argentina’s head coach has finally fallen on his sword. Just over a year out from the World Cup, the Pumas are searching for another boss with Hourcade set to resign after the Scotland match. They were abysmal in the two-Test series against Wales, lacking in intensity, power or creativity as they succumbed twice to Warren Gatland’s men. Much was expected of the Argentines heading into June following the Jaguares’ improvement in Super Rugby, but these last two weeks have been as disappointing as anything in the past three years. Mario Ledesma to take over?

Billy Vunipola and Will Genia: So unfortunate for both to have suffered broken arms following the weekend’s action. In the Englishman’s case, it continues a long line of injuries and is a recurrence of an old problem he picked up against the Ospreys in January. For Genia, his came in a clash with Cian Healy which angered the Australians, who thought it was a cheap shot. Hopefully both can get back fit and playing at their best as they are world class players when available.