Who’s hot and who’s not!

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It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who’s making the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE!

Ireland: Ireland are firmly entrenching themselves as the world’s number two side. The true mark of a top class team is winning even when you are not playing at your best. And that’s what Joe Schmidt’s men have managed to do of late. They look a more shrewd and experienced side now, with leaders all over the field as shown by their ability to keep the ship sailing straight even without their captain Peter O’Mahony, who left the field in the 31st minute. They have become more clinical – masters of the territory game – and able to come away with points almost every time they go up the other side of the field. They’re also now masters of the dark arts and brilliant in their game management.

Scott Barrett: While Rieko Ioane scored three and Damian McKenzie grabbed a brace, it was the work of second-row Barrett that stood out in Dunedin on Saturday. An early poor pass soon after kick-off seemed to rile him as several huge tackles then followed. He did not ease off throughout at Forsyth Barr Stadium with France on the receiving end of more big hits as well as strong carries. An outstanding performance.

English dominance at the breakdown and scrum: In direct contrast to the first two Tests in which the South Africans bossed the breakdown and the English were the ones leaking penalties, it was the visitors who forced the Springboks into conceding 19 turnovers as well as a host of penalties. Joe Launchbury, Chris Robshaw, Maro Itoje and the impressive Tom Curry excelled – the dampness under foot making them virtual mops at this area of the game. Furthermore, Eddie Jones will be delighted with the efforts of his front row, notably Joe Marler.

Japan: It was an ideal retort from the Brave Blossoms after that defeat to Italy a fortnight ago as they saw off Georgia 28-0 on Saturday. Conditions didn’t help the game as a spectacle but for Japan to dominate up front against a renowned strong Georgian pack would have made Jamie Joseph a happy coach. Joseph said his side has come a long way in the past year, which is great news ahead of hosting the World Cup.

USA: It’s now eight wins in a row for the Eagles after they comfortably beat Canada in Halifax. Against Scotland the week before they looked a side full of confidence in the path they’re heading and that was backed up against their north American rivals on Saturday, with Gary Gold surely delighted with their efforts this June.

COLD AS ICE!

Elton Jantjies horror show: Credit to Rassie Erasmus, who said he won’t throw the Lions number 10 under the bus after another poor display in the Green and Gold. But that didn’t stop the Bok mentor from mentioning Damian Willemse at his post-match press conference, both times unprompted, saying “a guy like (Willemse) might come into the mix now”. Jantjies was dreadful in the difficult conditions, dropping two sitters and butchering a couple of easy penalties. While Handre Pollard’s grip on the 10 shirt has been considerably strengthened, Erasmus will be desperate to find his back-up prior to the 2019 World Cup – whether it is Robert du Preez, Jantjies or Willemse…watch this space.

Canada: It’s been a dismal month for Kingsley Jones’ men that was finished off by a 42-17 loss to rivals USA. That defeat came on the back of negatives to Scotland (48-10) and Russia (43-20) which means it’s a total of 133 points leaked in their three games. Not a good month.

Argentina: Speaking of nightmare months, the Pumas’ was ended in dismal fashion as they were outplayed by Scotland throughout on Saturday. Gregor Townsend’s outfit ran in six tries in their 44-15 victory with Los Pumas embarrassing in the opening period, with Daniel Hourcade’s tenure as coach ending on a sour note. Incredibly that is Argentina’s 20th defeat in their last 22 international matches. Horror reading.

That New Zealand try: Unfortunately another refereeing decision was the main talking point of a game over the weekend. It came in the New Zealand v France match as referee John Lacey allowed Damian McKenzie’s try to stand, despite him being clearly in the way of France scrum-half Baptiste Serin, who was attempting to get to the 10. The game was level at 14-14 before that try, which made it all the more frustrating.

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