Who’s hot and who’s not: ‘Full value’ England and ‘remarkable’ Springboks a sharp contrast to ‘lost in translation’ match officials and two ‘naughty step’ coaches
Maro Itoje leads the England celebrations (left) on a London Saturday that left New Zealand's Scott Robertson feeling miserable.
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!
England: Despite a slow start, which saw them trailing the All Blacks 12-0 after 20 minutes at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, the Red Rose did not panic and fought back to score 25 unanswered points before clinching a 33-19 triumph. Steve Borthwick’s troops were full value for their victory as they dominated most facets of play and eventually outscored the men in black by four tries to three. The result means England have now won 10 successive Tests, which is the longest winning streak since Borthwick took over the coaching reins in 2022. They also regained the Hillary Shield for the first time since 2013.
Springboks: Rassie Erasmus‘ troops showed, once again, why they are the current world champions and the number one ranked team in World Rugby’s rankings as they sealed a hard-fought 32-14 victory over Italy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday. For the second successive week, South Africa were forced to play with 14 men for most of the match after they lost the services of veteran second-row Franco Mostert, who received a controversial red card in the 12th minute. Despite that setback, and just like their previous encounter against France, the world champions still proved too strong for their opponents. What made their victory more remarkable is the fact that Erasmus made numerous changes to his starting line-up after their win over Les Bleus.
Mack Hansen and Ireland: It was a memorable match for Ireland’s Australian-born speedster Hansen as he walked off with the official Player of the Match award after leading the way as the Irish claimed a deserved 46-19 victory over the Wallabies at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. Back in action after recovering from a foot injury, the 27-year-old celebrated his return by scoring a hat-trick of tries during the first half. Hansen played at full-back – the first time he started in that position at Test level – and his efforts were part of a superb attacking effort from Andy Farrell’s troops. It came at just the right time as it will boost their confidence ahead of their eagerly anticipated clash against the Springboks in Dublin on Saturday.
Argentina’s comeback: Los Pumas made a poor start in their Autumn Nations Series encounter against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday as everything they attempted seemed to go wrong and the home side raced into a comfortable 21-0 lead at half-time. Argentina’s head coach Felipe Contepomi must have read his players the riot act as they came out firing in the second half, emerging 33-24 victors after a stunning fightback. Leading the way for the South American outfit were replacements Santiago Carreras and Pablo Matera, who delivered outstanding individual performances.
Jarrod Evans: There were 82 and a half minutes on the clock when the sub became the Welsh hero with his last-gasp penalty kick, sparking scenes of unbridled jubilation in the Principality Stadium. New head coach Steve Tandy was set for his second straight defeat in charge with Japan 23-21 ahead and time almost up. However, daft foul play from Harry Hockings, who was yellow-carded with the clock stopped on 79:56, gifted the beleaguered Welsh a lifeline on halfway that they didn’t waste. They kicked down the sideline, won another penalty off the resulting lineout maul and the rest is now history as Evans, whose Test career to this point had amounted to little or nothing but a series of fleeting appearances, nailed the kick for the 24-23 win that ended Wales’ horrible run of 10 successive home losses.
COLD AS ICE!
All Blacks: The chat coming into last Saturday in London was how the aura of the All Blacks is no longer the feared reputation that it used to be. This was no idle gossip, as proven by the ugly capitulation of Scott Robertson’s side, who spewed an early 12-point lead to lose by 14. Their card discipline was again called into question, Scott Barrett’s team hurting badly after Codie Taylor’s early second-half sin-binning, and their lacklustre bench had no answer to the English ‘Pom Squad’ introduced by Borthwick. New Zealand’s loss, their third in nine matches, emphasised how deeply worrying a time this is for the All Blacks as they are only playing in fits and starts under Robertson, who is nearing the end of his second year in charge. Could the unthinkable now happen – getting ambushed by woeful Wales in Cardiff?
Match officials in Turin: Not a week goes by without a refereeing controversy, and the decision by World Rugby to appoint a five-man team of officials consisting of two New Zealanders and three from France backfired in the Italy versus South Africa match. Aside from the robust debate surrounding the straight red card brandished to Springbok lock Mostert, an incident that left the world champions enraged as it couldn’t be referred to the foul play bunker for review, the flow of ‘lost in translation’ communication between the Kiwi and French caused frustrations. Such a nuisance did it become that South African boss Erasmus, who alleged that “the balance of calling the head shots was not equal”, knocked off their speaker as it became too difficult to follow the match due to “all the noise that was coming from there”.
Joe Marler confirms future as he steps into ‘completely unqualified’ field
Scotland’s implosion: A fork in the road has been reached in the relationship between the Scots and their home support at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. An electric second-half atmosphere was generated last weekend when they threatened a first-ever win over the All Blacks but, as things have generally panned out for Scotland in the modern era, it was again all huff and puff in the end and there was no celebrating to be done. Another dose of false hope was then endured on Sunday when a comfortable-looking 21-0 lead was frittered away and became an embarrassing nine-point loss. There is no shame in losing to Argentina – they are a super side on their day – but it’s how Scotland lost that was the problem and the boos from fans that accompanied the final whistle were telling. They were supposed to be building ‘Fortress Murrayfield’. Instead, it’s just a windy old bowl where away teams love playing.
Scott Robertson and Gregor Townsend: It’s a good job that Joe Schmidt has already signalled he is finishing up with the wobbling Wallabies, or he would be sitting here on the Planet Rugby naughty step right now facing questions about his ability to run the team. Instead, the step is only catering for two head coaches, and you have to wonder if either has the nous to see off the doubters and still be in charge for Rugby World Cup 2027. When Robertson arrived at the helm in New Zealand, it came with the ambition that the washing machine-like trauma endured during 2022 with Ian Foster in charge was a thing of the past. Instead, that spin cycle is back. The All Blacks have lost three of their last nine – and seven overall in 26 matches with Robertson as boss. For Kiwi fans, that’s an unhealthy 73 per cent win ratio. Switching to Townsend, the SRU’s decision to award him a contract extension to 2027 – and allow him at the same time to consult with Newcastle – looks flawed. His Scots persist in failing to live up to expectations. His overall win record since the last World Cup is 56.5 per cent (13 wins in 23 outings), and it drops to 37.5 per cent (six wins in 16) when only matches against Nations Championship teams are counted. That’s terrible for a coach in the role since 2017.
Wallabies: Schmidt’s time in charge of Australia hasn’t been a complete disaster. He managed to make a belated fist of the British and Irish Lions series to ensure it wasn’t a complete one-sided dud, while winning in Johannesburg against the Springboks was an achievement that can never be lightly dismissed. However, there is a sense now that Australian rugby is again a sand-banked ship with the tide having gone out following that high-watermark moment in South Africa. It’s crazy to look back now and remember that the Aussies were still a tip for the Rugby Championship title after three rounds. That optimism was soon reclassified as junk, and the Wallabies are now heading into Schmidt’s final match in charge with just one win in seven, a brutal run that includes drubbings this month by Ireland and England and a reputation-shredding surrender in Italy. They are in bits heading to France.