Who’s hot and who’s not!

Adam Kyriacou
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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

Brumbies and Tevita Kuridrani: The Brumbies produced a performance worthy of snapping the Waratahs’ three-game winning streak and extinguishing their hopes of a home semi-final. Kuridrani was particularly impressive as he completely outshone Wallaby rival and opposite number Curtis Rona in the number 13 department. Kuridrani was at the heart of his side’s effort, beating a game-high eight defenders while it was his grubber kick through that set up Lausii Taliauli’s game-clinching try.

Reece Hodge: Is there anything he can’t do? Having initially made his name at full-back, Hodge found himself playing centre for the Wallabies and is now relishing the fly-half role he has been given at the Rebels of late. Contributing 29 points on Saturday in which he didn’t miss a kick and scored a hat-trick of tries, it was about as flawless a performance as one can get and the 23-year-old was desperately unlucky to be on the losing side.

George Bridge: Another brilliant season for the ‘Saders winger. Remarkable to think he only made his debut last season when he scored hat-tricks on successive weekends. Has gone from strength to strength this year and is tied second on Super Rugby’s try-scoring charts with 14. Must now surely be entering into the thinking of the All Blacks selectors.

Wayne Pivac: The current Scarlets boss will succeed Warren Gatland as Wales head coach when the 54-year-old leaves his role following the 2019 World Cup. While some may be disappointed that another New Zealander has taken charge of a northern hemisphere side, it is an astute appointment by the 2011 semi-finalists. Pivac has done an exceptional job at the Llanelli-based outfit, playing an exciting brand of rugby which has captivated both those in West Wales and around Europe. Under his stewardship, they reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup last season and also secured the PRO12 title in 2017.

Samoa: Congratulations to Samoa who confirmed their place in next year’s World Cup following a comfortable triumph over Germany. After defeating their opponents 42-28 in the second leg in Heidelberg, they completed a 108-43 aggregate victory which confirmed their place in Pool A alongside Ireland, Scotland, Japan and Russia. Realistically, it was always going to be an easy win for the Pacific Islanders with Germany being the beneficiaries of the farce which engulfed the Belgium v Spain game, but they still did an impressive job.

COLD AS ICE

Ed Quirk red card: An incident which has everyone talking, the Sunwolves player was officially sent-off for ‘physical abuse’, which, according to the statement released by SANZAAR ‘includes, but is not limited to, striking with the hand or arm’. The flanker appeared to put a closed fist into an opponent’s face, but it sounds a lot worse than it actually was. Quirk did not use much force and did something which you quite often see at the bottom of a ruck when two players are grappling. By the letter of the law, referee Ben O’Keeffe may have been correct but there was a complete lack of common sense by the officials.

Johnny Faauli: Talking of red cards, this one was absolutely correct as the centre effectively shoulder charged the Hurricanes’ Wes Goosen in the head. It was a pretty shocking ‘attempt’ at a tackle and rightfully the player was sent-off and received a six-week ban for the incident. It is not the first time Faauli has been suspended either and the Canes’ Twitter account let their feelings known. Perhaps not the most professional thing to do but it is an indication that the Chiefs player needs to alter his technique in contact.

Amanaki Mafi: It was a pretty awful weekend for the Rebels all things considered. They lost to the Highlanders which, following the Sharks’ victory over the Jaguares, meant that the Melbourne-based outfit finished outside the play-offs and then Mafi was arrested and charged by the police. The incident happened following the game in Dunedin as the Japan international was involved in an altercation with Lopeti Timani, whereby the number eight allegedly assaulted his team-mate. Not a great way to end the season for the Australian team.

Bulls: After being in contention midway through the campaign, they ended the year poorly and finished with a disappointing 38-12 defeat to the Lions. As a result, John Mitchell’s men finished the season at the bottom of the South African Conference, which is a far cry from the team that won the Super Rugby title in 2007, ‘09 and ‘10. Three consecutive ninth placed finishes have been followed by a 15th and a 12th and that is simply not good enough for the Pretoria-based franchise.

Blues: Another poor result for the Aucklanders after they were thrashed 54-17 in Christchurch. The defending champions were once again impressive but it is a disappointing end to an awful campaign for Tana Umaga’s men, with the Sunwolves the only team to finish below them in the Super Rugby table. The indications are that Umaga will remain, with Tom Coventry being brought into the set-up to help the head coach, but the All Blacks legend is under pressure.

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