Who’s hot and who’s not!

Colin Newboult

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!

World Rugby Awards winners, of course

Support for Gareth Thomas: It was brilliant to see the support for Wales great Gareth Thomas after he was the victim of a homophobic attack in Cardiff last Saturday. France were the first team to announce earlier in the week that they would be wearing rainbow laces during their match against Fiji on Saturday in support of Thomas. A number of countries followed suit. The International Gay Rugby (IGR) has applauded all of those unions, its member clubs and World Rugby, for standing together and standing united, against discrimination and hate crime.

Wales: We have waxed lyrical over the positive signs coming out of Warren Gatland’s team and it’s no surprise they make our hot list this Monday. Their hard-fought victory over South Africa made it nine Test wins in a row, wrapping up a first November clean sweep in a month they also beat bogey side Australia. They boast plenty of depth, a fearsome defence and confidence in their attack which adds up to a real chance at launching a genuine push for Rugby World Cup glory next year in Japan. What a fitting end that would be to Gatland’s long tenure.

Fiji: An historic 21-14 victory over France in Paris was the result of the international weekend, of that there is no doubt. Fiji were in sparkling form as they dominated les Bleus in a showing that should concern Rugby World Cup pool rivals Australia and Wales. With players such as Peceli Yato, Semi Radradra, Leone Nakarawa, Vereniki Goneva, Josua Tuisova and Viliame Mata in their side they are a match for any Tier One side as the below graphic proves. As an emotional watching Fijian great Nemani Nadolo tweeted afterwards: “Yes politics and other nonsense affect us but u (sic) put 23 passionate village kids together, we can conquer the world.” What a night for Fijian rugby supporters.

Joe Cokanasiga and Kyle Sinckler: An impressive performance from both who, injury depending, have surely nailed down their places for the Six Nations. There were doubts as to whether Sinckler was merely just a ‘finisher’ but the tighthead has taken over from Dan Cole and was outstanding against Australia. Whether it was scrummaging or his work in the loose, the prop stood out and was deservedly named man of the match. Cokanasiga was not far behind after bullying the Wallabies in the second-half. He showed his power by bouncing off Dane Haylett-Petty to score a try before displaying a range of skills to almost touch down for another.

Jordie Barrett: Was on fine form for the All Blacks as they hammered Italy in Rome, matching his brother from earlier in the year by scoring four tries in a game. He finished all the chances excellently with the standout moment his excellent take of Beauden’s cross-field kick. After a breakthrough year in 2017 and starring in the third Lions Test, many expected Barrett to claim a regular place in the New Zealand XV, but it hasn’t quite worked out like that in 2018. This, however, will have done his chances no harm at all going into 2019.

Harry Thacker: Talking of tries, the Bristol hooker got in on the act against Wasps in the Premiership. Thacker may have ‘only’ scored three in comparison to Barrett’s four, but it was no less impressive having actually come onto the pitch in the 47th minute. His efforts rescued two bonus-points for the West Countrymen after they were 32-7 in arrears when the former Leicester front-rower entered proceedings. It wasn’t just his try-scoring prowess that was impressive either, with Thacker running for 68 metres – the most of any in the Bears’ team and only second to Wasps wing Ross Neal overall.

BROKEN THERMOSTAT

Whinging Wallabies: We discuss the Owen Farrell decision in the section below, so all we’ll say here is that Australia were correct to be aggrieved on Saturday but, on the other hand, no team in world rugby seem to complain about the referee more. It’s as though head coach Michael Cheika feels that everything is against them and it appears to be acting as an excuse to mask their inadequacies. That attitude can galvanise a team but it is having the opposite effect with the Wallabies not addressing their issues. In fairness to Cheika, his comments in the press conference after the England game were considered and eloquent, but you knew it would be a major point of contention for the Aussie players and coaches when the incident occurred.

COLD AS ICE!

Getting a message: There was a moment in the Wales vs South Africa game that Springbok number eight Duane Vermeulen was given a device from a water carrier. World Rugby laws state any communication between player and coach isn’t allowed so one wonders whether this will be raised.

Owen Farrell tackle decision: It’s been an interesting November campaign for England in terms of potentially game-altering decisions and it has ultimately ended 2-1 in their favour. Once again, the Red Rose fly-half was the beneficiary of some lenient refereeing when Jaco Peyper decided not to penalise him for a no-arms tackle on Wallabies lock Izack Rodda. Had the South African done so then it would have more than likely ended in a penalty try and yellow card for Farrell, but he escaped sanction.

Ospreys: On one hand, their defeat at Leinster displayed the Irish province’s remarkable depth and talent, but it was still an incredibly embarrassing result for a side that contained a number of excellent players. They were thrashed 52-7 and outplayed throughout, yet that XV contained James Hook, Hanno Dirksen, Sam Davies, Olly Cracknell and James King, amongst others. The Welsh region have improved this season but this was a rather large step backwards for Allen Clarke’s men.

Italy: A lot of work still needs to be done in the country, from top to bottom. While England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland have moved with the times and developed their academy systems, the Azzurri are still lagging behind in this regard. There were signs of improvement with last season’s U20 crop, but it appears as though it will take a while for Conor O’Shea to have the requisite quality available to him. They have endured a pretty abysmal November series having been thrashed by Ireland and New Zealand, with a narrow victory over Georgia their only success.

France: Another awful result for Les Bleus after they succumbed to Fiji on Saturday. Jacques Brunel’s men did show some progress earlier in the year but there hasn’t been any development since then and the loss to the Pacific Islanders was another step backwards. They also succumbed to South Africa, which means their only victory in November came against Argentina, which is a poor return for the French. The supporters will expect much more in the 2019 Six Nations or else the pressure will increase even more on Brunel.