Who’s hot and who’s not: Ciaran Frawley’s heroics and new coaches delight while France have week from hell

Colin Newboult
Ciaran Frawley had a day to remember for Ireland.

Ciaran Frawley had a day to remember for Ireland.

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!

Series wins for new coaches: It was not perfect and to be honest there was little improvement from the first to the second Tests, but Scott Robertson and Joe Schmidt have both started with 100 per cent records. Robertson presided over the All Blacks’ 24-17 victory over England as they sealed a 2-0 series win while Schmidt watched on as his charges defeated Wales 36-28. Both will be relatively content as they prepare to face Fiji and Georgia respectively this weekend before looking ahead to the Rugby Championship.

Magnificent playmakers: It felt like a coming of age display for Marcus Smith, who produced his best performance in an England shirt despite their loss to the All Blacks. Although the hosts got off to a fast start, Smith’s brilliant crossfield kick set up the opportunity for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to level matters before the fly-half, alongside Maro Itoje, dominated the next 40 minutes. The reason the Red Rose playmaker did not end on the winning side was down to Beauden Barrett, who came on to inspire New Zealand once again. Barrett was utterly brilliant off the bench for the second week running as he rescued the hosts.

Ciaran Frawley heroics: Much like Barrett’s influence from the bench, the Irishman came on in the second period, kicking two drop-goals and had several key inventions to help his side to a memorable 25-24 win over the Springboks. The victory levelled an epic series that was loaded with quality rugby throughout. Credit must go to Ireland for their response to the defeat at Loftus Versfeld.

Duhan van der Merwe’s record: It is only a matter of time until the gargantuan wing has the all-time try-scoring record for Scotland after a 27th at the weekend drew him level with Stuart Hogg. Van der Merwe is still only 29 and will be adding a lot more tries to his tally. It will be interesting to see how many crossings the brutal runner will get in his career. What a moment and what a player.

Response from Italy and Canada: Their first Tests saw Italy narrowly lose to Samoa and Canada take 70 points from Scotland, but the second time around there was much improvement. The Azzurri bounced back brilliantly with a 36-14 win in Tonga which will do the side a world of good. Meanwhile, Canada bagged a 35-22 win over Romania which will be a massive for their confidence going forward.

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COLD AS ICE!

England fail to get job done: Steve Borthwick’s men have made big strides over recent months but this young team will regret not winning at least one of the past two Test matches. Credit must go to the All Blacks, who showed their experience in the latter stages of both encounters, but the Red Rose have been in control for a number of those last 160 minutes. Especially in the third quarter of Saturday’s clash, England were completely on top, but they only scored three points during that period and that ultimately cost them.

Springboks fall short: It certainly was not for a lack of effort but an injury to Willie le Roux early on and a cleverly orchestrated Ireland response to the week prior ultimately had the world champions on the losing side. Rassie Erasmus will be disappointed to have not closed out a series he openly wanted to win. Still, there are positives to build on with one being the performance of rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

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France’s dreadful off-field behaviour: One player in Melvyn Jaminet was sent home after a racist remark on social media and two players, Hugo Auradou (lock) and Oscar Jegou (flanker), were arrested in connection with a sexual assault claim all in one week. Let’s be clear that there is no space for any of this in rugby and society.

Japan shocked: Eddie Jones is finding himself on the wrong end of the scoreline far too often and that happened again as the Brave Blossoms fell short of Georgia, going down 25-23 at home. It will be a brutal loss for the veteran coach to take, especially since he has been talking up Japan’s chances of becoming a top four side. The team will have to brush up quick because Italy are coming at them this weekend.

Rhys Webb: It is essentially the end of the Welshman’s career after a positive test for a growth hormone has seen him banned from the game for four years. Webb had just signed for Biarritz but will only return to play when he is 38, making his comeback chances slim. Rugby strives to be a clean sport and players should be held accountable as he was in this case.

U20 controversy: The heavens well and truly opened in Cape Town last week, leading to the cancellation of Ireland v Australia at Athlone Stadium due to the surface being unplayable. Both teams were awarded two points but, as a result, the Junior Wallabies missed out on the semi-finals and Ireland advanced, which led to accusations from the Australian camp that Ireland influenced World Rugby over the decision. The Junior Wallabies felt they played in worse conditions during the U20 Rugby Championship and that the game should have gone ahead.

READ MORE: International Team of the Week: ‘Exquisite’ Beauden Barrett rewarded as Ireland and All Blacks dominate backline