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!

Wales: Make that 14 victories on the spin from the Welsh and a third Grand Slam to boot under head coach Warren Gatland. They really have forgotten how to lose rugby matches with any pre-game nerves quickly put to bed with that early Hadleigh Parkes try before they went on to build a 25-0 buffer that looked like remaining intact until the 83rd minute Jordan Larmour try. Not keeping Ireland out couldn’t even wipe the smile off Shaun Edwards’ face though as this clean sweep was something special from Wales. It started with an away win over France and since then they have got stronger and stronger, growing in confidence with and without the ball, to thrust themselves into prime World Cup challenger territory.

England Women: What an impressive way to wrap up a Grand Slam as England thumped their Scottish counterparts 80-0 on Saturday. The campaign began with an eight-try 51-7 victory over Ireland in Dublin before bonus-point wins followed against France, Wales and Italy. They were not done there as their biggest result came over the weekend in a 12-try drubbing of the Scots to seal a remarkable 14th Grand Slam title for England.

Toulouse: The Top 14 pace-setters were in scintillating form on Sunday as they brushed aside Lyon for their 15th win of the domestic season. They scored seven tries in all as the tempo and enterprise in their game proved too much for Lyon, who to their credit gave as good as they got. Sofiane Guitoune starred with a hat-trick but to a man Toulouse impressed, with their handling and belief in their game clear to see. Ugo Mola has developed quite a side who should not be written off for a possible double.

Scotland‘s comeback: One might question where they were in the opening half-hour at Twickenham but how can you not be impressed by how the Scots picked themselves off the canvas to land body blow after body blow to a dazed England. Led by an inspired Finn Russell and a crazy try from Stuart McInally that saw the hooker outpace and outwit chasing backs, Scotland’s fightback saw them retain the Calcutta Cup in front of a stunned English crowd.

Ireland U20s: While their senior side suffered two losses in their Six Nations campaign, Ireland’s U20 side can hold their head high after securing a Grand Slam on Friday, beating Wales 26-17 at the final hurdle. They kicked off their streak with a home win over England before beating Scotland and Italy (both away), with a narrow 31-29 win over France setting them up for that final win. All smiles in the U20 camp over the St Patrick’s Day weekend.

COLD AS ICE!

England’s collapse: Following on from Scotland’s revival it’s harder to look at the positives for England, despite that white hot start to the game at Twickenham. They played scintillating rugby early on, running in five tries, but from minute 46 onwards it was a disaster. The wheels came off the chariot, so to speak, and Scotland pounced to shoot 38-31 in front before George Ford’s score in the closing stages at least salvaged a 38-38 draw. To blow that 31-point cushion will be alarming to head coach Eddie Jones while there is a worrying trend that they fall off in the second-half of games, which must be rectified before the Rugby World Cup rolls around later this year. Work to be done.

Ireland: There’s also work for Ireland as they looked a shadow of their 2018 selves against Wales in Cardiff. The Six Nations champions tag is now with the Welsh as Ireland look on wondering how they’ve fallen so far behind Saturday’s opponent. The gulf in quality and confidence was alarming for Irish supporters with Wales looking incredibly comfortable and untroubled by the little Ireland threw at them. Frustration was clear to see on the faces of the likes of Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton, with head coach Joe Schmidt maybe needing a rethink before Japan.

Italy: It’s now 22 Six Nations games without a win for the Azzurri but they only had themselves to blame over the past weekend as they had opportunities aplenty against France. How they did not come out on top at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome will infuriate head coach Conor O’Shea as they missed chance after chance in Les Bleus’ red zone. There were signs of progress in terms of flashes of quality from Italy in the 2019 Championship while Benetton are flying the flag in the club game, but it’s unfortunately another Six Nations that sees their woes continue.

Jaguares: Although the Stormers deserve credit for a brilliant all-round performance in their victory at Newlands, questions will be asked of the men from Buenos Aires for the way they capitulated, particularly in the second half. They were still in the match at half-time – with the Stormers leading 16-8 – but offered little resistance after the interval and lost the second half 19-0 with the Stormers crossing for three further tries which also secured them a bonus point. The defeat leaves the Jaguares at firmly rooted to the bottom of the South African Conference standings.