Who’s hot and who’s not: Jack Crowley and ‘special talent’ impress as Leinster woes continue and ‘pressure mounts’ on Sharks
Jack Crowley starred for Munster against Leinster.
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!
Jack Crowley and Munster: A statement from both the fly-half and team as Munster rocked holders Leinster in a 31-14 bonus-point win at Croke Park on Saturday. Crowley was at the centre of this famous victory as, with the spotlight on him and Ireland playmaking rival Sam Prendergast (more on him later), he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with a sumptuous performance. He finished with nine points and a try assist while flanker Tadhg Beirne was equally brilliant. A United Rugby Championship marker thrown down, that’s for sure.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour: Some have expressed their displeasure that the Rugby Championship will be shelved in 2026 and 2030, particularly after the best tournament to date this year. However, the excitement over this Test series between South Africa and New Zealand outweighs those concerns as the return to old school tours will be something special. Next year South Africa host New Zealand in August and September, with the All Blacks scheduled to play four provincial games against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions, with a four-Test series against the Springboks. What a spectacle this promises to be and it will certainly benefit both teams, not just on the field but off it financially.
Remember the name, Noah Caluori: Talk about making a name for yourself. The 19-year-old grabbed five tries against a previously in-form Sale Sharks side as Saracens ran out 65-14 winners at StoneX Stadium on Saturday. Caluori looks a special talent and could well be a frequent scorer for Mark McCall’s men in the Prem and Champions Cup this season. He is surely destined for international rugby as well.
Ulster continue to impress: That’s the Bulls and Sharks beaten in the space of a week as Ulster continued their stunning start to the new United Rugby Championship campaign. The 34-26 win never really looked in doubt as they always had the Springbok-laden Sharks at arm’s length, with this result meaning Ulster have three wins from three to start the term. There’s a lot to like about this side from the early rounds.
Bristol Bears find a way: It was a thriller in the West Country on Friday night as an injury-ravaged Bears side got the better of their rivals Gloucester, 49-34. Pat Lam’s charges will be delighted with this away win and the performance of young fly-half Sam Worsley and the Bristol back-row while Gabe Oghre also deserves a mention. The youngster was superb at No.10 as he filled in admirably for AJ MacGinty and Tom Jordan.
Len Ikitau claims prestigious award: What a year it has been for the Wallabies centre and it hit a new, special high last week when he was named John Eales Medal winner after a great run of form. Ikitau has been outstanding for Australia this year while his midfield partner Joseph Suaalii picked up the Rookie of the Year prize after an equally impressive spell. Ikitau is now at his new club Exeter Chiefs along with Wallabies team-mate Tom Hooper and no doubt the Sandy Park faithful are hugely excited to watch the pair tear it up in the coming weeks.
Leicester statement: The Tigers handed Bath a rare loss in the Prem on Saturday as they came out on top, 22-20, in a close-fought clash at Welford Road. This was a shock result due to Bath’s dominance and cohesiveness in recent months so hats off to Leicester, who have started their new era under Geoff Parling with two wins from four. Despite key departures in the off-season, they have started better than expected.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stars again: What a special player. While he has some critics there is no hiding from the vast talents this young fly-half possesses and they were on show against Zebre Parma on Saturday. The Springboks star crossed for two tries and kicked three conversions in Italy as the Stormers continued their excellent start to the new season with their fourth straight victory that keeps them top of the pile in the URC. John Dobson’s men take the trip to Benetton this week as they target five from five, which would be something special.
Paraguay’s 2027 dream alive: The Rugby World Cup dream is still alive and kicking for Paraguay after they got the better of Brazil over two legs to book their ticket to the RWC 2027 Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai from November 8-18. They join Belgium, Namibia and Samoa in the four-team competition as the final chapter of the qualification journey is set. Can the underdogs cause a major surprise?
COLD AS ICE!
Leinster suffer crushing blow: Should alarm bells be ringing at the Irish province? Three losses and just one win to start the season is unheard of for Leinster and that heavy defeat to Munster was a real eye opener for the reigning URC champions. They looked out of sorts against the Stormers in their opener in South Africa and followed that up with a loss at the Bulls, but this one will cut deepest, not least as they were bolstered by several Ireland and Lions stars as well as RG Snyman. Zebre could receive a backlash this week from a wounded outfit.
Benetton surprisingly nilled: Few expected such a cakewalk for Edinburgh on Friday evening but they simply blew Benetton away in a 43-0 victory. The Italians had been in decent form prior to this loss, with a victory over Glasgow Warriors a high point, but they were brought back down to earth with a bump at Hive Stadium and simply must bounce back fast. They have star quality in their team but this was awful.
Sale Sharks implode: Another heavy loss over the weekend saw a previously in-form Sale fall to that aforementioned negative at Saracens. Alex Sanderson’s team simply imploded after the 20-minute red card to Luke Cowan-Dickie and yellow to Tom O’Flaherty, with Saracens running riot on their home patch with seven further tries added. It’s a result that requires some soul searching for the Sharks as they’d previously been marked as genuine title contenders. How they bounce back away to Leicester Tigers will be interesting on Saturday.
Mack Hansen injury blow: There’s concern over the fitness of the Ireland star after he sustained an injury in the act of scoring a bonus-point try for Connacht against the Bulls that also secured a losing bonus-point. Unfortunately for the Irish province they could not convert the important extras as they suffered a narrow home defeat, but compounding that was the sight of Hansen in a moonboot afterwards. Let’s hope for Connacht, Ireland and Hansen that it was just a precaution as the player’s rotten luck with injuries appears to have struck again.
Pressure on Sharks: 13 Springboks were named in the Sharks‘ starting team over the weekend, 10 of which were part of Rassie Erasmus’ squad during their successful Rugby Championship title defence. And yet they were blown away by Ulster in Durban, this after they had lost 31-5 away to Leinster the previous weekend and now sit in 14th place on the table. It’s an all too familiar story for Sharks fans as the pressure mounts on the coaching team led by John Plumtree. How can a Springbok-filled squad be so off the pace and lacking fluidity and structure?
Sam Prendergast comes off second best: In the battle between the two Ireland fly-half rivals there was one clear winner with Crowley producing a masterclass at Croke Park. Conversely, Prendergast, like his team, struggled to fire and it surely has ramifications on the race for the Ireland number 10 shirt. Questions are being asked of the youngster, particularly defensively, and with Harry Byrne also impressing in Leinster’s previous URC match, a potential slide down the pecking order could occur at both levels if he doesn’t tidy up his problem areas.
Seb Atkinson injury: So cruel on the Gloucester inside centre who was excellent for England on their mid-year tour to the Americas. He has suffered an MCL injury to his knee and will subsequently miss the Autumn Nations Series and a fair chunk of games for the Cherry and Whites. As Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington said, it is disappointing for both club and country and one hopes he makes a full and speedy recovery as the 23-year-old is a special talent who Steve Borthwick is surely looking at longer term to fill his number 12 jersey.
