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

New Zealand’s late comeback: An outstanding final 20 minutes from the world champions, who appeared out of contention at 30-13 down. They had been outplayed by South Africa, with Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe all going over for the Springboks, before the All Blacks responded. A loss may have cast doubts over Steve Hansen’s men going into the Australia game in three weeks time, as well as the November series, but they are still better than any team in the latter stages of matches.

Australia’s second half: At the interval in their game with Argentina, Michael Cheika’s position appeared untenable but they produced an outstanding display in the second period to slightly relieve the pressure on the head coach. Cheika made headlines for his rant at half-time, after gesticulating and shouting at his players. Was it borne out of desperation? Annoyance? Either way, it did the trick and the Wallabies were a changed team, producing their best display this year.

Gloucester and Danny Cipriani: After criticising the Cherry and Whites last weekend, it only seems right to praise their display at Wasps. They defeated the Midlanders 35-21 with Danny Cipriani once again in fine form after the pivot created one of the tries of the weekend for Ben Vellacott. It makes it even more bemusing that he was not in the England training squad and hopefully Eddie Jones has realised that the fly-half has played rather well this season.

Billy Vunipola: Is slowly but surely getting back to his best and was excellent as Saracens overcame a stern Harlequins challenge to maintain their winning start to the season. Made a game-high 28 carries and ran for 64 metres in the process, while the number eight scored the decisive try late on. Vunipola also showed commendable honesty to admit to referee Luke Pearce that he knocked the ball on when attempting to score in the first half, thus forgoing the need for the TMO.

Connacht: Not necessarily for the overall performance against Ulster, with Dan McFarland’s men struggling at the moment, or the team’s overall form, having only won three of their six games, but for the fact that it was the province’s first victory in Belfast since 1960. It is a remarkable statistic and credit must go to the current set of players who ended that barren spell against their Irish rivals. They were impressive in the opening period and went into the interval 14-5 in front before Matty Rea’s red card boosted their chances further. The hosts did battle well and came back into the contest, but Andy Friend’s outfit deservedly defeated Ulster 22-15.

Lyon: Pierre Mignoni’s side have lacked a bit of consistency but they were superb in overcoming Racing 92 on Saturday. They achieved the same feat last season by beating the 2016 champions in the capital, so they evidently enjoy their trips to Paris. The first half laid the platform for the victory as they went 16-6 up via Liam Gill’s try and three Lionel Beauxis penalties. The pivot added another off the tee in the second period and, although Simon Zebo’s score set up a nervous finale, Lyon held on for an important triumph.

COLD AS ICE

Argentina’s capitulation: Los Pumas were on the cusp of making it three victories in the Rugby Championship for the first time ever, yet they somehow contrived to throw it away. Australia were certainly much improved but Mario Ledesma’s men were poor after the break and particularly struggled defensively. They conceded 38 points in 40 minutes and, as a result, ended the competition bottom of the table once again.

Bordeaux-Begles: They just cannot win away. It all looked positive for Rory Teague’s men following successive home victories but they are struggling on their travels. The results would be understandable if Bordeaux were succumbing to the top teams in the division but two of their losses have come against Agen and now Grenoble. UBB have invested heavily once more but, should they not qualify for the top-six yet again, it would be a huge failure for this ambitious outfit.

Newcastle’s ill-discipline: It has been an issue for the Falcons at times this season and they conceded 16 penalties against Sale Sharks, which included two yellow cards. That statistic is particularly stark when you consider the Greater Manchester outfit only infringed twice, according to referee Tom Foley. Boss Dean Richards was not happy with the officials in their encounter versus Exeter Chiefs and also had qualms following the match on Saturday, but it is up to the players to adapt to the man in the middle.

Top 14: The weather played its part in some of the games but it’s hardly been a classic weekend for France’s top-tier. It is a more attritional league than either the Premiership or PRO14 but it has opened up significantly over the past two years. However, Round Seven had little excitement, despite there being some close matches, and it was back to the old days where the forward-orientated game dominated proceedings.

Stuart Olding: Signed a new contract in the week after impressing for Brive in the Pro D2 this season but can expect a ban after a shocking challenge during their game with Soyaux Angoulême. It did not matter in the end result with the hosts securing a comfortable 31-18 victory, but it is another negative for Olding, who is trying to rebuild his career. After being acquitted of rape back in March, both he and Paddy Jackson had their contracts revoked two weeks later following a review by the IRFU and Ulster.