Who’s hot and who’s not!

David Skippers

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

Sam Cane: Congratulations to the Chiefs flanker who was named as Kieran Read’s successor for the All Blacks captaincy. Following on from Richie McCaw and Read, Cane is the latest back-rower to take on the leadership role. With Ian Foster – New Zealand’s new head coach – a former boss of the Waikato-based outfit, it is not surprising that the openside has been handed the responsibility. It is a sensible choice given that Cane is of a good age and has plenty of experience of captaincy having taken the armband for the Chiefs in Super Rugby.

Super Rugby Aotearoa: There is plenty of excitement in New Zealand following news that competitive rugby action is set to return to the country next month, when level two restrictions are in place there. A domestic tournament involving that country’s five Super Rugby franchises – the Crusaders, Blues, Chiefs, Highlanders and Hurricanes – should be a good watch, as all New Zealand outfits are renowned for their attacking style of play and their should be lots of end-to-end action when the competition gets underway on June 13. In fact it’s not just locals who will be interested observers, the whole world will be watching keenly.

Exeter Chiefs: The Exeter Chiefs Foundation handed over a cheque in the sum of £13,000 to representatives of the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital Charity last Thursday. The money was raised from a week-long Online Auction, run by the club’s official charity, which saw numerous signed memorabilia collected by the Chiefs over the years put up for sale. Signed shirts, training tops, together with international kit and shirts from rival clubs, were among the many items on offer. Not surprisingly, all 60 items were bid on, helping to raise the £13,000 for the #HelpUsHelpYou appeal. That is great news so well done to all involved.

Mike Biggar: Inspired by the man of the moment, Colonel Tom Moore, former Scotland captain Biggar has raised an incredible £68,000 and counting for the NHS by walking in his garden. Biggar, who suffered severe brain damage in 1992 when he was involved in a car accident, managed to learn how to walk again, but has been wheelchair bound for the last 10 years due to numerous health problems. That hasn’t stopped him wanting to walk 500 steps in a month. Incredible work.

COLD AS ICE

Saracens quintet: It has not been a good few months for the Londoners and they suffered another PR faux pas during the week as Billy Vunipola, Alex Goode, Nick Isiekwe, Sean Maitland and Josh Ibuanokpe broke the United Kingdom’s lockdown restrictions. They were reportedly spotted meeting for coffee, ignoring government guidelines designed to halt the spread of Covid-19 and save lives. It was an utterly stupid act, particularly with the UK the second-worst hit nation in the world, and adds to a long list of indiscretions recently.

New Zealand Rugby job cuts: Media reports in New Zealand last week suggested that nearly 50 per cent of the 180 full-time jobs at the union are expected to be lost. This comes amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, which has put serious financial strain on the game in the country. According to the New Zealand Herald, the redundancies will claim members of the executive team including chief rugby officer Nigel Cass, who has been employed by NZR since 2001. Unsurprisingly the troubling news is compounded by funding concerns at several provincial unions in the country, with the very real prospect of teams going bust a worry right now.

Rugby Australia board member’s resignation: It looks like there is more uncertainty at the embattled governing body after newly appointed board member, Peter Wiggs, resigned from his position following a fallout with Rugby Australia (RA) interim chairman Paul McLean. According to reports, Wiggs, who joined the RA board at the end of March, wanted to bring in Australian Olympic Committee boss Matt Carroll as his organisation’s new CEO without him having to undergo a recruitment or interview process. Wiggs reportedly also had plans to appoint former RA CEO John O’Neill as a director on the board and those plans were opposed by McLean and other RA directors. This episode is another unfortunate one for rugby in the country, with bad news seemingly coming after bad news in Australia.

South Africa lose key man: It is a coup for Leicester Tigers, who have strengthened their coaching staff impressively over the past few months, but a blow for Springbok rugby after their fitness guru Aled Walters left the national team to join the Premiership outfit. Walters was appointed by South Africa in 2018, following Rassie Erasmus from Munster into the set-up, and played a key part as they lifted the World Cup for the third time. Walters did an outstanding job in getting the players into peak physical shape in his role as head of athletic performance and Leicester will no doubt benefit from his expertise.

Australia