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 is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week.

THEY’RE ON FIRE

Rieko Ioane: We could not ignore the 21-year-old’s hat-trick in the traditional ‘Game of Three Halves’ annual pre-season warm-up match. Although it wasn’t a competitive fixture, Ioane has still scored consecutive hat-tricks in his last two All Blacks outings. What made the feat even more special was the fact that Ioane did it at centre, prompting fresh calls for the speedster to be deployed there in competitive fixtures. But Steve Hansen has played down these rumours, saying Ioane would remain on the wing, where he has been so devastating already, having started there in 14 of his 16 international fixtures.

Michael Hooper: The Wallabies and Waratahs skipper is the hottest property in Australian rugby at the moment after signing a mammoth five-year contract with Rugby Australia which will take him through the next two Rugby World Cups and to the end of 2023. Reports in the Australian media suggest the deal is worth close to AUS$6 million. This is the first time a player signs a five-year contract in Australian rugby since Lote Tuqiri did so in 2007 and shows how valuable Hooper is to the Wallabies, with the 26-year-old able to command far more than AUS$1 million a season in overseas markets.

Hall of famers: Congratulations to all five – Liza Burgess, Stephen Larkham, Ronan O’Gara, Pierre Villepreux and Bryan Williams – who will be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. They have made outstanding contributions to the game, with Burgess at the forefront of the sport in Wales for two decades having made her debut in 1987 and won the last of her 93 caps in 2007. O’Gara and Larkham are legendary fly-halves and have since made the successful transition into coaching, while Villepreux (France) and Williams (New Zealand) represented their countries with distinction.

Gonzalo Quesada: Following Mario Ledesma’s appointment as Argentina head coach, the former Stade Français boss has taken over at the Jaguares. It is an  astute addition with the former los Pumas’ fly-half enjoying plenty of success and experience while coaching in Europe. Quesada was part of the France set-up between 2008 and ‘11 before he headed to Racing Metro. However, it was at Stade where the 44-year-old truly found his feet by guiding them to the Top 14 title in 2015 and the Challenge Cup in 2017. In tandem with Ledesma, those two should be able to move Argentinian rugby forward.

Tom Banks and Jack Maddocks: Following Michael Cheika’s decision to release eight players, those two are the only uncapped individuals in the 28-man squad for the encounter against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship. It is thoroughly deserved for both, who have enjoyed fine seasons for the Brumbies and Rebels respectively. While they are highly unlikely to make the XV, one of them should be on the bench as they look to put their hands up for a starting place in the future.

COLD AS ICE

Amanaki Mafi: The burly loose forward has found himself in hot water once again, with fresh allegations that he was involved in a physical exchange with a member of the Japan national rugby team’s staff while on Test duty in June. The Japan Rugby Football Union released a statement insisting the argument was not physical and that the matter had been resolved. Mafi is currently in Japan awaiting the outcome of criminal proceedings in New Zealand, where he allegedly assaulted Rebels team-mate Lopeti Timani.

SANZAAR Super Rugby team of the Year: The Southern Hemisphere rugby body were criticised for naming a XV that surprisingly featured just the one Crusader in George Bridge. A particularly baffling selection was that of Damian McKenzie over Richie Mo’unga at number 10. Indeed, the Chiefs had four players in the team and are the only side to have more than one representative, with the Blues, Hurricanes, Waratahs, Reds, Sunwolves and Jaguares also having one each.

Louis Fajfrowski’s death: It’s fair to say that rugby enthusiasts around the world are in mourning after learning of the young Aurillac midfield back’s passing during a match over the weekend. The tragic news of the 21-year-old’s death after a tackle has come as a real shock and we send our heartfelt condolences to Fajfrowski’s family and everyone at Aurillac.

Steve Hansen’s mind games: 2018’s version of the Rugby Championship is set to kick off and with that comes the usual verbals dished out by New Zealand’s head coach. Hansen often gets it right when playing mind games with opposing coaches but to suggest that the All Blacks would start as underdogs for their Bledisloe opener against Australia in Sydney on Saturday is way off the mark. Hansen made his claim based on the previous Test between the trans-Tasman rivals which the Wallabies won 23-18 in a dead rubber Bledisloe encounter in Brisbane last year. That broke a six-game winless run stretching back to 2015 against the world champions but it must not be forgotten that the All Blacks have won 15 of the previous 19 encounters between the sides.

England’s coaching options: The RFU have consistently missed out on Shaun Edwards and have done so yet again with Wales’ defence coach deciding to move back to rugby league at the end of the 2019 World Cup. Edwards is a proud Englishman and has regularly been linked with a move to Twickenham but, for whatever reason, it has not materialised. You certainly get the feeling that they will regret it with the 51-year-old regarded as one of the best coaches in the game and the Red Rose’s defence struggling recently.

Who's hot and who's not