Who’s hot and who’s not: Italy ‘get the pulse racing’, Ireland’s ‘kick in the goolies’ and the latest ‘damaging’ Scott Robertson stories
It was a Six Nations opening round of contrasting fortunes for Nicolò Cannone's Italy and Sam Prendergast's 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!
Italy: What is rare is wonderful, and every rugby neutral was surely thrilled that the Azzurri excitedly picked off Scotland in the opening round of the 2026 Six Nations. Not since a 23-18 win over France in 2013 had the Italians achieved a W first-up in the championship, but their level of improvement under Gonzalo Quesada was brilliantly rewarded on Saturday. It’s usually said that the rain is a great Test-level leveller when an unfancied team takes on one of the established old guard, but the opposite was the case in Rome.
The inventive Italian backs were great value for their early 12-0 lead before the heavens opened above Stadio Olimpico and, if anything, the resulting puddles saved the lethargic Scots from suffering a heavier beating than the flattering three-point margin of defeat. Italy coming to Dublin was never a fixture to get the pulse racing but with Ireland in the doldrums under Andy Farrell, this Saturday’s Round Two fixture now has a juicy level of intrigue with Quesada’s charges, especially their nuisance forwards, a genuine threat.
Hat-trick Henry: A 28-minute first-half hat-trick was the stuff of dreams for the England winger, who was making his first start since Rugby World Cup 2023. That sumptuous contribution moves his tally onto 11 tries in 12 caps and the question is how many scores would he have if he hadn’t decided to up sticks and spend a couple of seasons beyond England’s reach at Racing 92 before this season’s switch to Bath. At the age of 23 and with pace to burn, he certainly has the ability to go on and break Rory Underwood’s long-standing try record.
That’s provided that he keeps up the progress with his tackling and aerial game. A couple of tackles were missed against the woeful Welsh and it’s going to be very interesting to see how the youngster fares in the more challenging atmosphere of Murrayfield on Calcutta Cup day. That’s a worry for this weekend, though. For now, it’s time to doff the cap to his killer instinct and the laser-like rapport he seems to have with George Ford.
Taking the Mickaël: It was February last year when this writer was jolted by the seismic impact Mickaël Guillard was enthusiastically capable of. There is a world of difference between watching a match in person at a stadium than what can be gleaned on TV and looking on from the Stadio Olimpico media box, it was clear that this relatively Test newcomer was about to become a glittering French star. He left a long line of Italians bamboozled by the abrasiveness and agility of his play and you just sensed he was poised to skittle Ireland on his next appearance.
This he duly did in Dublin, and the 25-year-old has since gone on from strength to strength, becoming even more of an annoyance when he caught up again last Thursday with his old Irish pals, this time in Paris. Joe McCarthy gets a lot of hype in Irish media circles, but he and so many of his fellow Irish forwards were miles behind the ferocious Guillard and co. when the Stade de France match was there to be won. He certainly has a high ceiling, and it’s going to be fun watching his ongoing upward rise in the weeks ahead.
By golly, it’s Ollie: England going into Six Nations battle without Maro Itoje in their starting line-up was a rather strange occurrence. Ever since the start of 2020, he had played the full 80 minutes in 30 successive championship matches but was consigned to a bench role last Saturday due to a recent family bereavement delaying his link-up with Steve Borthwick’s squad. His second-half cameo was forgettable, Itoje getting sin-binned in the first play he was introduced for with England on a general warning.
It was just as well then that by that stage, Ollie Chessum had led the way in showing the Welsh who was boss and that the Six Nations opener at Allianz Stadium was done and dusted before the interval whistle sounded. The 25-year-old is certainly no Test-level rookie; after all, Saturday’s appearance was his 31st outing in the jersey. However, he is now at a stage in his career where it becomes time for him to shine as a leader and not be just one of the cavalry. This he did with aplomb. Not since Ireland’s Paul O’Connell was in his pomp has a Six Nations ginger stood out, but that is set to change if Chessum continues his impressive start to 2026.
Matthieu Jalibert: French coach Fabien Galthie is not the type of person to ever point the finger of blame at himself over any mishap that his team suffers. Look at the fallout from Rugby World Cup 2023; Galthie potentially should have fallen on his sword after the hosts were eliminated in the quarter-finals, but he instead allowed his fly-half to become the fall guy for the devastation. It was a tricky situation for Jalibert as he was elevated into the team due to Romain Ntamack’s injury rather than through form.
Two and a half years down the track, Ntamack is again hurt on the sidelines, but the now 27-year-old Jalibert showed in Paris the other night that he fully merits the No.10 jersey. His confident, stylish way of playing inspired Bordeaux to last year’s Investec Champions Cup title, and he had way too many tricks and flicks for Ireland to cope with. More of this and Ntamack will remain on the sidelines when he is back fit. What a delicious position for Galthie to be in after his previous dealings with Jalibert could have killed the player’s international career.
COLD AS ICE!
Gregor Townsend: It’s the rugby equivalent of Hogmanay, the annual event that is the Scots giddily talking themselves up into believing that it’s their year in the Six Nations, only for the hot air to then quickly dissipate. The 2026 edition of this nonsense has unfolded with the added layer of mismanagement. Aside from needling the auld enemy in the Calcutta Cup, there was no concrete evidence of achievement for the Scottish Rugby Union to award the national men’s team head coach a contract extension last September through to their 2027 World Cup.
This terrible decision has now been shown to be the folly that every non-SRU person thought it would be. Scotland were woeful in their Six Nations defeat by Italy, producing a sickly level of rugby that was terrible to watch. It was reflective of a team let down by the level of coaching led by Townsend and the sooner that Franco Smith is promoted from Glasgow Warriors, the better for everyone concerned – including Newcastle, whose flirtation with the Scotland head coach hasn’t helped the optics of this latest irresponsible car crash.
Scotland player ratings: ‘Woeful’ set-piece proves costly as Finn Russell’s ‘poor form’ continues
Andy Farrell: We were going to headline Sam Prendergast in this Cold As Ice! section, but the 22-year-old has certainly had enough of a kicking as it is. So rather than pile on the international rookie, it’s Irish boss Farrell who we are putting in the Monday dock, charged with his curious approach to getting the youngster up to the necessary levels so that he can consistently perform in a Test jersey. It was a bold call in November 2024 to give Prendergast his debut, a decision that dented Jack Crowley’s confidence no end after he delivered a Six Nations title earlier that year with the Irish adjusting to life without Johnny Sexton.
Prendergast received a similar kick in the goolies when Farrell snubbed him for the British and Irish Lions, and the situation that now exists is that Ireland have two fly-halves whose confidence to deliver at No.10 is ropey to say the least. There was no compelling reason for Farrell to be so bold with his selection 15 months ago; Prendergast could have soundly earned his stripes behind Crowley in the pecking order and Ireland would have had two bulletproof 10s in the long run. Instead, neither is now sure of themselves and with so many of Ireland’s other facets of play in decline, last Thursday became a pantomime with Farrell cast as the main villain. The coach really needs to up his game… and fast.
Wales’ card trick: It beggared belief watching Steve Tandy’s charges last Saturday that indiscipline again quickly became such a rotten issue. Having arrived as head coach at the start of the season from coaching Scotland’s defence, you’d imagine unveiling a blueprint for how to soundly defend in high-pressure situations without getting into trouble with the law would have been at the top of his to-do list. If it was, his tactics failed miserably in the Autumn Nations Series.
The upside should have resulted in him even more prioritising the need to stay as squeaky clean as possible, but his Welsh team remained a rabble as the four yellow cards suffered in London has left the ledger reading 65 penalties conceded in the coach’s first five games with 10 yellow cards and one red. One must-have fix is that Taine Plumtree is taken out of the equation. The penalty try he conceded for clattering Henry Pollock too high was his third yellow card in three matches. Unless he is disciplined by getting dropped from the matchday squad, Wales’ efforts under Tandy can’t hope to improve as it will signal that repeat offending is alright on his watch.
Scott Robertson: His abrupt dismissal last month as All Blacks boss isn’t ageing well, with further damaging stories emerging about how he failed to get to grips with the job he was given after Ian Foster’s time in charge ended with Rugby World Cup final defeat in 2023. Whereas the alleged lack of support from Ardie Savea was cited as a prime reason why the NZR tossed the coach onto the scrapheap two years ahead of his contract expiry, it’s now reported that Robertson never settled in the role in the first place as none of the charisma he showed in his title-winning role with the Crusaders transferred with him moving into the Test arena.
Rather than being himself and continuing to coach in the confident manner he did at club level, Robertson was apparently “on edge” and “always tense” from the very start of his All Blacks tenure. Inspirational speeches, rugby IQ, innovation? Forget about it, according to the latest damming allegations reported by the NZ Herald. It’s certainly not the ringing endorsement he needs if the speculation linking him to positions in the northern hemisphere has any substance. Instead, it sounds like the poor guy needs an extended rest after feeling so much pressure.
Sale: With everyone transfixed with the Six Nations this past weekend, it would be easy for events elsewhere to slip through the net, but we can’t allow what unfolded at the CorpAcq Stadium to pass without mention. It was in this Monday column a few weeks ago that we called out the affable Alex Sanderson for allowing his supposedly feared Sharks swim about like goldfish in their Investec Champions Cup humiliation at Toulouse. There are ways to lose, and getting dunked 77-7 certainly wasn’t one of them.
Three matches further on from that calamity, and the gloom has yet to lift on the Manchester club as the reputation-eroding defeats keep on coming. Yes, Sale was understaffed last week with many top players away on international duty, but their understudies for their PREM Rugby Cup fixture at home to Bath spurned the opportunity to show they have what it takes in a period of difficulty to stand up and be counted. 10 tries were conceded in the 60-19 hammering. Following on from the 43-29 league loss at home to Northampton and the 59-14 PREM Cup defeat at Exeter since their devastation in Toulouse, it’s definitely a bleak time for Sanderson and co.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
READ MORE: The Scott Robertson clause which should have Scotland on high alert amid Gregor Townsend doubts