Who’s hot and who’s not: Springboks run riot and joy for Keith Earls while England’s bad week got worse

Planet Rugby
Who's hot and who's not image 21 August 2023.jpg

Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi and England captain Owen Farrell.

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!

Springboks’ record win: The South Africans ran out 52-16 winners over Wales in Cardiff which is a record for the Springboks on Welsh soil. They scored eight tries against a weakened Welsh outfit, showing their class with a more dynamic attack from the world champions this time round. Goal-kicking remains a concern for the Springboks as Manie Libbok struggled off the tee but he made up for it in other areas.

Siya Kolisi return: It did not take the inspirational skipper long to shine on his return to action as only three minutes into the fixture in Cardiff he put Malcolm Marx in for a try. Kolisi managed just over 40 minutes in his return game which was only 119 days since he injured his knee making the effort that much more remarkable. He showed no signs of rust with attacking quality and defensive tenacity on show.

Keith Earls milestone: It was a great day for the Irishman who came off the bench in his side’s 29-10 win over England to earn his 100th Test cap. In typical Earls fashion, he marked the occasion with a brilliant try and an acrobatic finish to match. What a moment for him and his family. A legend of the game who could well be going to another World Cup, his comeback from injury this season has been remarkable.

Italy cut loose against Romania: It was a confidence-boosting win for an Italian outfit that has grown tremendously in recent seasons, despite still being on the wrong end of the scoresheet. The Azzurri played most of Saturday’s game against 14 players and showed their class in a nine-try 57-7 triumph. It was particularly good to see Ange Capuozzo mark his injury return with a brace of tries as he showed his class.

France and Fiji impress: For Les Bleus, it was another drastically changed side, offering their deep squad players an audition to claim a spot in the 33-man World Cup squad. The team held it together against a brave Fijian side who would can been proud of their efforts. There are positives for both as Fabien Galthie has a lot of players he could trust in the French ranks whilst Fiji proved they are a match for anyone.

COLD AS ICE!

The Owen Farrell saga: The rugby world was in absolute chaos over the course of the last week after Six Nations Rugby rescinded the England captain’s red card from the Wales clash at Twickenham. This resulted in public outcry over the inconsistency between Farrell’s verdict and Tonga centre George Moala’s ban a week earlier. World Rugby has since stepped in to appeal the verdict meaning Farrell may still be banned, but the whole thing has been a mess. It hasn’t been a good week for the sport off the field as we await Tuesday’s hearing.

Another red card for England: In what was the last thing head coach Steve Borthwick would have wanted, England number eight Billy Vunipola was rightly red-carded against Ireland, meaning he could also be suspended for a portion of the Rugby World Cup. It is less than ideal for Borthwick as Vunipola is the only specialist number eight in the England World Cup 33. Could he now look to bring in another?

Late Wales withdrawals: Warren Gatland’s outfit were rocked with several late withdrawals as initially Dan Biggar and Liam Williams withdrew through injury after being named to start before the next day Alex Cuthbert was forced to pull out as well. Sam Costelow came in for Biggar, Cai Williams made his Test debut at 15 as Tom Rogers started on the right wing. This meant the entire backline collectively had 39 caps at Test level. Unfortunately for Wales, this showed against a ruthless Springbok attack in a loss that was a rude awakening for the side.

Adrian Motoc sees red: Although the Azzurri deserve plenty of credit for delivering a clinical performance in that triumph over Romania in San Benedetto del Tronto, their task was made much easier after Motoc was red carded for crashing his head into the head of Italy skipper Michele Lamaro while cleaning out a ruck. It was a needless act as the contest was still evenly balanced, with Italy holding a 5-0 lead at the time and with a one-man disadvantage, the Oaks were always going to struggle. Second-row Motoc is set to pay a heavy price for his moment of madness as he now faces a suspension which could ultimately rule him out of his country’s Rugby World Cup pool campaign in France.

READ MORE: Springboks feature heavily in our Rugby World Cup warm-ups Team of the Week

England Billy Vunipola Keith Earls Owen Farrell Siya Kolisi

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