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 is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.

THEY’RE ON FIRE!

Jack Carty: What a birthday it was for Carty in Cardiff as he inspired Ireland to a 22-17 victory over Wales. He has surely nailed down a place in their Rugby World Cup squad after a man-of-the-match performance at the Principality Stadium. Carty oozed class but also showed maturity and game management throughout in a much-needed triumph for Joe Schmidt’s team. He mixed his game superbly and kept the hosts guessing as they could not shut down his threat, with this showing giving Ireland a huge boost following that Twickenham nightmare.

Rory Hutchinson: After coming off the bench in Scotland’s opening two World Cup warm-up matches against France, the Northampton Saints playmaker was handed an opportunity to start as they faced Georgia in Tbilisi. Unsurprisingly, having thrived in the 2018/19 English Premiership, Hutchinson took his opportunity brilliantly and touched down twice in the 44-10 triumph. It won’t be a shock if the centre plays a key role in the national team’s World Cup campaign following a fine start to his international career.

Bordeaux-Begles: An impressive start to the season for Christophe Urios’ men, who have won two matches in succession. They defeated the defending champions Toulouse on the opening weekend before UBB thrashed Toulon on Saturday. Bordeaux’s investment in their squad has not really matched their performances on the field over the past few years but Urios, who was so successful at Castres, appears to have added some steel. He is regarded as one of the better coaches in the Top 14 and that is currently showing at the beginning of this campaign.

Currie Cup finalists: The Free State Cheetahs and Golden Lions will contest the South African provincial showpiece event following dominant victories over the Sharks and Griquas respectively. It has been a particularly good response from the Bloemfontein-based outfit after their struggles in 2018. They finished bottom having failed to pick up a win and only saved themselves from relegation by beating the SWD Eagles in a play-off. This time the Cheetahs will contest for the title against the Lions and will have home advantage due to finishing top of the regular season table.

Canterbury: It hasn’t been an easy start to the campaign for New Zealand’s most successful side but they racked up the points against Southland, securing an 80-0 victory in Christchurch. They were at their free-flowing best, scoring 12 tries in a much-improved display, and ended a run of three straight defeats. Joe Maddock’s men will now look to build on this result as they attempt to go one better than last season, where the team were defeated in the final by Auckland.

COLD AS ICE!

Aphiwe Dyantyi: It has been a nightmare few weeks for the Springbok wing and he now looks set to receive a suspension after his B-sample tested for banned substances came back positive. Following the initial positive test, Dyantyi denied any wrongdoing but with this latest development it doesn’t look good for him. The test confirmed the results of the A-sample of the presence of the banned substances: metandienone, methyltestosterone and LGD-4033 and the news is a fall from grace for the 2018 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Rob Evans and Scott Williams: Warren Gatland often gets the big calls right but the omission of these two are surprising. Leaving out Evans is particularly risky given that the loosehead is their best scrummaging prop and enjoyed an outstanding Six Nations campaign. The Welsh have struggled in the set-piece over the three warm-up matches without Evans and, although fitness has apparently been an issue for the Scarlets man recently, Gatland may well regret leaving the 27-year-old at home. Meanwhile, Williams’ non-selection is slightly less eyebrow-raising, given his injury issues over the past year or so, but his quality and experience would still be crucial in Japan.

Owen Franks and Ngani Lauampe: There was shock not just in New Zealand but around the world when the All Blacks announced a squad missing experienced tighthead prop Franks. The absence of centre Laumape was slightly less surprising – Steve Hansen has long been a huge admirer of Sonny Bill Williams – but opting against Franks stunned many. Nepo Laulala and Angus Ta’avao are the tightheads included after impressive campaigns while Ofa Tu’ungafasi can cover both sides of the scrum so they are not short on quality. However, it is a bold decision from Hansen and his selectors as they opt to leave a player with 108 caps at home. No doubt Franks and Laumape are on the standby list.

World Rankings: It is only since New Zealand were usurped at the top the standings last week that serious noise has been made about how this table operates. World Rugby vice president Agustín Pichot argued the process needed addressing and at one point on Saturday Ireland were on the brink of becoming the top side in the world, this just one week after they were hammered by England. Wales’ recovery to a more respectable loss means that it’s New Zealand who return to the summit with the Welsh now plummeting to fourth. Pichot is correct, it needs looking at.

Italy: The positivity which emanated after the Azzurri’s 85-15 triumph over Russia has dissipated following another disappointing display. They were outgunned by a French outfit who are not exactly in a great state themselves, conceding seven tries in Paris. The visitors may well have touched down three times to show a semblance of attacking endeavour, but they were never really in the game. Conor O’Shea has much work to do and a group stage exit is almost guaranteed with New Zealand and South Africa in their pool.

Southland: Suffered their 25th consecutive defeat in the Mitre 10 Cup, which has raised questions over their credibility in the competition, as well as the tournament itself. They are rooted to the foot of the Championship Division and are fighting for their future in New Zealand’s provincial competition. The Invercargill-based outfit were no match for Canterbury at the weekend, suffering an embarrassing 80-0 thrashing, and some have suggested that the team don’t deserve to be in the Mitre 10 Cup going forward.

Currie Cup