Who’s hot and who’s not: Welsh ‘hat-trick’, All Blacks positives and England 17 while injuries hit Springboks and ‘concerning times’ for Premiership trio
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!
All Blacks get job done: 10 tries and on the whole a positive hit-out for Scott Robertson’s men in Yokohama as New Zealand eased to a 64-19 win over Japan on Saturday. The likes of Wallace Sititi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Billy Proctor and Sevu Reece stood out in our player ratings as the All Blacks rotated their team in preparation for this weekend’s clash with England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. Their big hitters are set to return to the side on Saturday but a few have given Robertson some food for thought after their showings against the Brave Blossoms.
Welsh hat-trick: The regions enjoyed their best weekend since March 2021 as the Scarlets, Ospreys and Cardiff all posted victories on the board. The former outfit kicked things off on Friday night with an impressive 30-8 win over Zebre Parma before Saturday saw the Ospreys overcome Edinburgh 22-13 and then Cardiff fought back from 19-0 down to stun Ulster 21-19. Only the Dragons let the Welsh regions down for a rare clean sweep but it is still a positive return from the weekend and will be pleasant viewing for Warren Gatland ahead of November.
England‘s 17: Positive news from the Red Rose camp heading into the Autumn Nations Series as it was announced that 17 players had been handed enhanced Elite Player Squad contracts. These new deals allow Steve Borthwick to have the final say on all sports science and medical matters, allowing the best possible preparation for the squad heading towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The lucky 17 are: Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Ben Earl, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Ollie Lawrence, George Martin, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, who will all benefit hugely from this move.
Bath, Leicester and Bristol: These three lead the way in the Premiership heading into the international break after picking up wins over Sale, Saracens and Northampton respectively. Bath sit on 25 points with Tigers and the Bears on 24 but Saracens remain very much in touch with 23 to their name. Three rugby hot-beds at the summit feels like a return to yesteryear and they will be thrilled with their season starts.
Sharks do big double: It’s been almost a perfect couple of weeks for the Sharks as they picked up nine points out of ten from their United Rugby Championship (URC) matches against former champions Glasgow Warriors and Munster. The latest result against the Irish province saw them claim a bonus-point success as their fast start out the blocks set them on their way to a win that moves them up to ninth position.
Joy for Wellington and Julian Savea: What a moment for the 34-year-old former All Blacks star as he crossed twice in Wellington’s 23-20 victory in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) final on Saturday. Both of Savea‘s crossings arrived in the first half and they were befitting of his nickname, ‘The Bus’, as there was no stopping the hulking wing en route to the line. With the scores level at 20 apiece at full-time the final went to extra-time and a scrum penalty early on allowed replacement Cullum Harkin a chance off the tee from distance which he took before Wellington saw out of the half to secure to coveted trophy. There were jubilant scenes as Wellington celebrated on home soil.
COLD AS ICE!
Newcastle, Exeter and Sale: For the Falcons it was back down to earth with a thud on Saturday as the celebrations of Round Five were a distant memory as they were well beaten by Gloucester. Steve Diamond was frustrated with the performance at Kingsholm, while elsewhere Exeter and Sale lost again. For the Chiefs this is their sixth defeat from six games in the Premiership so far this season as Quins conquered Sandy Park, but for Sale a 40-13 hammering at Bath came on the back of a 47-17 loss at Northampton. Concerning times for the three clubs.
Ollie Chessum setback: England are set to be without one of their key forwards throughout November as a knee injury appears to have ruled Chessum out for a significant period. There is still yet to be confirmation on the duration of his absence from the rugby field, as both Leicester Tigers and England await the results of a scan, but not having the lock/flanker in a white shirt next month is a blow for Borthwick.
Springboks injuries: It has not been ideal preparation for South Africa leading up to the Autumn Nations Series as a handful of injuries have hit the camp. The versatile Jan Hendrik Wessels and Damian Willemse have been replaced in the travelling party and now reportedly tighthead prop Frans Malherbe has not travelled north after sustaining an ankle injury on URC duty for the Stormers against Glasgow on Saturday. While the Springboks possess incredible depth in most positions, losing the quality and experience of the latter duo is a setback.
Wales star sin-binned by angry referee after ‘profanity-laden outburst’ towards match official
Gareth Anscombe outburst: The Gloucester pivot found himself on the receiving end of the wrath of a match official on Saturday as he was sin-binned for what was described as a ‘profanity-laden’ tirade towards referee Ian Tempest. The Wales international appeared to lose his temper early in the second half and Tempest was having none of it as he gave the fly-half a dressing down before showing a yellow card.
Kyle Sinckler mistake: The Toulon prop cut a bemused figure after being sin-binned late on during their Top 14 game against Toulouse and rightly so. Sinckler, a replacement in the clash, was at the side of a ruck when Antoine Dupont appeared to lose the ball on the ground. The referee thought otherwise and adjudged that Toulon had infringed to force the spillage and that Sinckler was the guilty party. From the replay it appears Lewis Ludlam was the player on top of Dupont so it seems they got the wrong man. Poor communication from the officials.
Dragons and Zebre Parma: The URC table doesn’t make for pretty reading for these two sides as they occupy the bottom two places on seven points apiece. Their latest defeats came at the hands of Connacht and Scarlets respectively and they were emphatic if truth be told. It leaves the duo looking up at the rest before the URC returns in late November when the Dragons travel to Cardiff and Zebre host Ospreys.