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!

Good week for Harlequins: There were two bits of positive news from the Quins camp last week as first former Munster and Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery was confirmed as a new arrival to their coaching team and then veteran flank Chris Robshaw signed a short-term extension to see out the campaign. Flannery is highly thought of in the game and comes in as a lineout coach for the Premiership side. He should compliment Paul Gustard very nicely indeed, with Gustard an admirer of the Irishman’s intensity. Meanwhile, Robshaw will be desperate to sign off with a strong finish to the season when it resumes in the coming months.

Blues: After winning five out of seven matches in this year’s truncated Super Rugby competition, the question was whether Leon MacDonald’s troops could continue with that impressive form in the Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament. They did just that and made a statement of intent against the Hurricanes courtesy of a 30-20 triumph in front of a packed Eden Park on Sunday. Although both sides scored three tries apiece, the Blues were worthy winners as they held the upper-hand for most of the game, especially in the second half when forwards and backs combined superbly. Debutant Beauden Barrett had a solid outing at full-back while Rieko Ioane, Hoskins Sotutu, Caleb Clarke, Tom Robinson, Mark Telea and Otere Black – who kicked 15 points – all came to the fore with fine individual performances.

Bryn Gatland: From not being in the initial squad to winning the game at the death for the Highlanders, it was a special Saturday for Gatland junior in Dunedin. With Josh Ioane ruled out due to injury, Gatland was named on the bench for the hosts and boy did he make an impact when he came on against a Chiefs side coached by his father, Warren. After Damian McKenzie had nudged his side in front with a drop-goal on 78 minutes, the Highlanders managed to set up camp downfield and up stepped Gatland to do the rest from 35 metres out. The script writers would not have believed this one, what a story this was in the opener.

Fans vote with their feet: How wonderful it was to see so many rugby supporters in New Zealand turn up to witness the return of Super Rugby at Forsyth Barr Stadium and Eden Park over the weekend. 20,000 fans were at the Dunedin venue while over 40,000 turned up in Auckland to see the Blues and Hurricanes go toe-to-toe on Sunday, which is great to witness after dwindling attendance numbers in the competition before the Covid-19 outbreak. It appears New Zealanders have sorely missed their beloved sport and also the normality of seeing rugby with their friends and family. We hope these numbers aren’t a flash in the pan.

COLD AS ICE!

Jefferson Poirot retirement: There was a huge shock last week when the former France captain announced his international retirement at the age of just 27. The loosehead was a key part of the French squad and featured in all their games in the 2020 Six Nations before the coronavirus pandemic halted the tournament. The loss against Scotland was the last of his 36 caps and he will now concentrate on club matters with Bordeaux-Begles when the new season begins. It is a massive surprise given that he still has plenty to give at the highest level but Poirot stated that a lack of motivation was a factor. “When the competition (World Cup) finished, a few minutes after the final whistle, I felt empty,” He told L’Equipe. “I feel my motivation is not at its maximum. I always promised myself I would be at 100% when playing for France, to not lie. Les Bleus, it’s the Holy Grail. I can’t go and play for them and just take my cap and my bonus.”

Premiership civil war: This all began in March and April when players from top-flight clubs in England agreed to take a temporary 25 per cent pay cut because of the coronavirus pandemic. In May, Premiership Rugby attempted to make it permanent, something which was rejected by the Players’ Board, but on Monday, clubs unanimously voted to cut the salary cap by £1.4 million to safeguard the sport financially. Unsurprisingly, the governing body which represents those on the field – the Rugby Players Association – were not happy, with the clubs pushing for pay cuts after the lowering of the salary cap. The RPA have threatened legal action but negotiations have since ended with clubs critical of how the players’ association have acted. It has duly turned into an ugly battle between the RPA and the clubs, as well as Premiership Rugby, and is not what the sport needs in England ahead of their proposed August 15 restart.

Goodbye to a Blitzbok legend: It was a sad day for South African rugby, as well as the global game, when that country’s highest points-scorer on the World Rugby Sevens Series, Cecil Afrika, announced his retirement from the shortened version of the game last week. The 32-year-old’s current SA Rugby Sevens deal finishes at the end of July and with the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc, it means there’ll be no swansong for Afrika as the 2019/20 World Sevens Series’ four remaining tournaments are unlikely to go ahead. Added to that, this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo has also been postponed until next year. One of the brightest attacking players on the international Sevens circuit, the 2011 World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year calls time on his career after representing his country at 66 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments, and he scored a whopping 1,462 points since making his debut in Dubai in 2009. Although he will not get a deserved send-off, Afrika provided plenty of joy to Blitzboks fans and will go down as one of the international Sevens game’s very best. Thanks for the great memories, Cecil!

Tom Taylor situation: Not renowned for their patience, a French club has once again unceremoniously dumped one of their players for going against their request to remain in the country. New Zealander Taylor, who had been with Pau since 2016, was asked to stay in France but instead went home on March 17. As a result, the Top 14 outfit have taken the step to sack the former Crusaders full-back on the grounds that “This personal decision, contrary to all the instructions that had been given by the club since March 13, is all the more illegitimate since it was not justified.” They also stated: “It was therefore necessary that the players were all immediately available in the event of a resumption of activity, which all his teammates understood and respected.” Ultimately, while contractually they may be within their rights to terminate the deal, it was an understandable position for Taylor to take given the worries over Covid-19. Family comes first and no doubt being in your home country is far more comforting when there is so much uncertainty around.