Rugby Union Today: Hot and Not and Pivac’s call

Colin Newboult
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Next Wales head coach Wayne Pivac during the press conference at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

Another busy day in the rugby union game as we look back on all the action in the sport over the past seven days in Who’s hot and who’s not.

What’s on the site

It was a big week in rugby and it was all discussed in ‘Who’s hot and who’s not.’ We delve into the Bledisloe Cup and all the fallout from that encounter, as well as Antoine Dupont’s award and the injuries to the Scotland fly-halves.

Elsewhere, England’s Owen Farrell is hoping that they continue to develop when they begin their Autumn Nations Cup campaign this weekend. The Red Rose won the Six Nations after beating Italy but the captain believes that they can improve significantly.

Finally, Wales head honcho Wayne Pivac insisted that it was his decision to end Byron Hayward’s tenure as defence coach. The surprise announcement was made on Sunday with just five days to go until their game against Ireland in the end-of-year series.

What’s in the news

It has been a good day for Australian rugby after their governing body agreed a AUS$100 million deal with Nine Entertainment Co. to replace Fox Sports as the principal broadcaster.

That follows the Wallabies’ impressive triumph over the All Blacks on Saturday, but head coach Dave Rennie will be without the services of back-row Lachie Swinton, who has been suspended for four matches after the flanker’s red card in Brisbane.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union have appointed a new chairman, with Robert Butcher beating former Wales wing Ieuan Evans to the position. Butcher replaces Gareth Davies, who ended his six-year stint at the WRU’s annual general meeting last week.

What’s on social media

Leinster legend Rob Kearney was not happy that his brother, Dave, overtook him on the try-scoring list at the Irish province.

What’s on TV

The Autumn Nations Cup begins this weekend and most of the matches will be shown on Amazon Prime. Channel 4 also have a few games, with Ireland v Wales the one being broadcast on the free-to-air station on Friday.

Meanwhile, despite the completion of the Bledisloe Cup, there is still plenty of southern hemisphere action as New Zealand take on Argentina on Sky Sports.

Finally, it is the sixth round of the PRO14 on Premier Sports, with Leinster’s clash against Edinburgh the standout fixture.

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