Who’s hot and who’s not: Amazing Antoine Dupont, All Blacks newbies and cruel setbacks for Hoskins Sotutu and Kurtley Beale
Antoine Dupont was on fire for Toulouse while Kurtley Beale has suffered an injury blow.
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 after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
All Blacks newbies: It will no doubt have been a special moment for George Bell, Pasilio Tosi, Cortez Ratima, Billy Proctor and Wallace Sititi, as well as their family and friends, when their names were read out in the All Blacks squad. The quintet are the only uncapped players named by New Zealand ahead of their series against England and game against Fiji and will now be desperate to pull on the black jersey in any of those Tests. Congratulations must also go to the other 27 players in the squad and new captain Scott Barrett in a new era for the side.
Springboks squad: Five new faces for New Zealand but just two for South Africa as hooker Johan Grobbelaar and front-row Jan-Hendrik Wessels made the cut of 39 players named by head coach Rassie Erasmus – adding to the other two uncapped players in Phespi Buthlezi and Morne van den Berg. Unsurprisingly, the likes of rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been named as the intriguing two-Test series with Ireland comes into clear focus. After some debate, Siya Kolisi has retained his captaincy after his first season at Racing 92, while Bath prop Thomas du Toit is rewarded for an outstanding season at club level with an international recall and should feature against the Irish.
Amazing Antoine: Led Toulouse to a famous Top 14 triumph on Friday night and while several players stood out such as Jack Willis and Thibaut Flament, we simply had to give Dupont his own section here. Two first-half tries set Les Rouge et Noir on their way to completing the European and domestic double, with Dupont’s second a thing of beauty. He seems to playing at a different level to those around him at the moment and will now switch his attention back to Sevens with France in the Olympics. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he helps them to gold.
Toulouse complete the double: A special, special team as they ran out 59-3 winners over Bordeaux-Begles in the aforementioned final. Had they had their kicking boots on the scoreline could have been even bigger as they left 10 points on the field off the tee. Toulouse ran in nine tries in all as UBB couldn’t live with the tempo, power and execution of their exquisite skill set. Head coach Ugo Mola appeared full of pride as he watched his side dominate throughout, with Ange Capuozzo’s incredible late try the icing on the cake. What a great team this is.
Michael Cheika hire: Following the shock sacking of Dan McKellar – the shock being largely over the timing – many Leicester fans were concerned. However, worry has most likely turned into excitement as former Wallabies, Argentina, Leinster, Waratahs and Stade Francais head coach Cheika was unveiled as their new head coach. It is quite a coup for the Tigers and Premiership and with the talent in the squad at his disposal, surely Cheika will drive Leicester back up the table this coming season after their disappointing eighth-place finish in 2023/24.
Winning starts in Cape Town: The World Rugby U20 Championships got underway in South Africa on Saturday with some standout victories for the likes of the Junior Boks, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and England. There were several one-sided results with Ireland notably racking up an impressive win over Italy while Wales put up a strong fight against New Zealand but ultimately lost 41-34.
COLD AS ICE!
Bordeaux-Begles embarrassed: While Toulouse were exceptional, Bordeaux were equally awful on Friday night. Captain Maxime Lucu cut a disconsolate figure on more than one occasion late in the game as he could not believe how the game had played out. UBB were second-best in every facet of play and while they can be proud of a runners-up spot in the Top 14, this final showing will sting over the coming weeks.
🔴⚫ TOULOUSE THUMP BORDEAUX-BEGLES 59-3 TO WIN THE TOP 14!#STUBB #FinaleTOP14 pic.twitter.com/osE2njMFin
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) June 28, 2024
Hoskins Sotutu shock: It’s been international squad season of late and that means delight for some players and anguish for others. Sotutu certainly falls into the latter camp, as a superb Super Rugby Pacific campaign for the Blues was seemingly not enough to force his name into the All Blacks’ 32-man squad. Wallace Sititi was preferred instead after an impressive season of his own, but that has not limited the fallout from Sotutu’s snub. Head coach Scott Robertson wants high work-rate with and without the ball and seemingly Sotutu didn’t tick both boxes.
Kurtley Beale blow: What a shame the veteran has suffered a suspected Achilles injury that is set to sideline him for a significant period of time. Beale has enjoyed a fantastic season since inking a short-term deal at the Force and that was capped off by a Wallabies squad recall just over a week ago. The 35-year-old suffered the injury while playing a club game for Randwick and one hopes this setback isn’t the end for him.
Cameron Hanekom misses out: What a shame for the in-form Bulls number eight that he will miss the upcoming series against Ireland and a one-off Test with Portugal due to injury. Surely, he was a shoo-in for the squad after impressing in the United Rugby Championship, but a hamstring injury costs him this time around. No doubt the 22-year-old will be a Springbok down the road though as his future’s bright.
Bulls can feel unlucky: Springboks head coach Erasmus named a large squad ahead of the July internationals but Bulls stars Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw didn’t even crack the standby list despite stellar seasons with Jake White’s side. It’s a real mark of South Africa’s depth that Erasmus can overlook the pair as well as star back David Kriel, who also enjoyed a stellar campaign in the midfield for the Pretoria outfit..
