Who’s hot and who’s not: Springbok ‘superstar’ commits future and Ellie Kildunne ‘raises standards’
Who’s hot and who’s not: Springbok 'superstar' commits future and Ellie Kildunne 'raises standards'
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!
Exeter Chiefs: Henry Slade hammered the final nail in the coffin on Saturday, as he slid over the try line to secure victory for Exeter Chiefs over their fierce rivals Saracens. Stunning the North London crowd, the former Prem champions came from behind to win 24-30 and regain their spot at the top of the league table. The two sides have a turbulent history, dating back to Saracens’ salary cap debacle, which incensed many in the Chiefs’ ranks after finishing behind them for many seasons. So, this victory will have tasted sweet for many of the travelling fans.
Ellis Genge: It’s not very often you see a prop beat three players and run in for a score from 50 metres out, so when it happens, it HAS to be respected. Receiving the ball from a quick lineout in Bristol’s win over Harlequins, Genge looked up and saw broken field ahead of him. He charged forward, avoiding two would-be Quins tacklers, before bulldozing over the unwilling last-ditch effort of full-back Nick David to score.
Ellie Kildunne: The public have spoken, and they have decided that Kildunne was a deserved runner-up for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Taking second place at the prestigious awards ceremony, Kildunne was rewarded for her incredible year both on and off the field, where she helped sky-rocket the standards, expectations and viewing figures of the women’s game through brand partnerships, media appearances and, of course, immense performances in helping England win the Rugby World Cup. Although many were disappointed not to see her win the prestigious gong, the fact that she has once again put women’s rugby on the map is a pure testament to her. Well done, Ellie.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: The young superstar reinforced his commitment to the Stormers this week by signing a contract that will keep him in the Cape until at least 2029. Despite being arguably the most sought-after player in the world right now, the Stormers ultimately won out, with the 23-year-old admitting: “Cape Town is home. I grew up supporting this team, and I know what it means to the people here.”
Solomone Kata: The Leicester Tigers centre was in fine form against Gloucester on Friday. He was a major force in James Thompson’s opening try, before getting on the scoresheet with one of his own. Kata took the ball from a set scrum 40 metres out, broke against the grain with an arcing run which completely wrong-footed the Gloucester defence and hared over for one of the tries of the season. According to the TNT Sports pundit, Chris Ashton, he had done enough to be given the Player of the Match award by half-time as Leicester again impressed.
Ellis Genge praised for wonder try as Bristol Bears boss gives verdict on Louis Rees-Zammit
COLD AS ICE!
Harlequins: In front of a packed-out Allianz Stadium, the importance of the ‘big game’ appeared to be lost on the hosts. Bristol dominated from minute one to 80, with club legend Danny Care claiming that “they were second-best in every single aspect of the game.” He continued: “In attack, they looked a little bit helpless, they didn’t seem to hit the weak shoulders, they were running straight into people; we didn’t see the Quins style, the Quins flair, and in defence, they were so soft, they just looked soft tonight, which is a worrying thing.” The damning loss leaves Harlequins floundering near the bottom of the Prem standings with 10 points, above just struggling Gloucester, who sit on eight, and Newcastle Red Bulls, who remain rooted to the bottom, winless and pointless after their Sunday afternoon defeat to an under-strength Bath.
Ospreys: With the Welsh Rugby Union set to reduce their professional regions to just three, it’s not looking promising for the Ospreys after losing both Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake to Gloucester. The Welsh internationals will join the English Prem outfit for the start of the 2026/27 campaign. Ospreys boss Mark Jones was disappointed to lose his hooker, saying: “Similarly to Jac, the club put in a lot of hard work to try and keep Dewi, but this became increasingly difficult with the current landscape and uncertainty in Welsh rugby.” Such a blow for the side.
Gloucester: With just one win from seven matches, the Cherry and Whites’ season has gotten off to an awful start, not helped by their poor showing at Leicester on Friday. A couple of consolation tries were all Gloucester could manage as the Midlands outfit played their patterns against a poor, disjointed defence. Gloucester’s next match is against Saracens this weekend, which will once again be a challenging task.
Bulls: After holding the lead for most of the match against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday, the men from Pretoria imploded during the closing stages as the home side crossed for two converted tries to clinch a 21-12 victory. After finishing as runners-up to Leinster during the 2024/25 season, the Bulls made a solid start to their 2025/26 campaign as they won three of their first four matches. However, they’ve now lost three successive URC games – after previous defeats to Glasgow Warriors and the Lions – and are currently on a five-match losing streak in all competitions after Bordeaux-Begles and Northampton Saints beat them in their opening fixtures in the Investec Champions Cup.
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