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!

Wales go three from three: There had been heaps of pundits and viewers playing down Wales’ opening two victories over Ireland and Scotland due to those teams each having a man sent-off. However, the Welsh performance against England in Cardiff on Saturday silenced many of those doubters as they scored the most points they have ever managed against England (40), with the character shown at 24-24 in the final quarter really catching the eye. Wayne Pivac will be delighted with how his charges are progressing in 2021 and with an expected win over Italy in Round Four coming, only France in Paris is likely to stand in their way for a Grand Slam.

Much-improved Ireland: Another head coach who heads into the Six Nations fallow week with a smile on his face is Andy Farrell, this after his team cruised past Italy 48-10 in Rome on Saturday. The pressure was most definitely on the Irish going into that match after they suffered back-to-back losses to start their campaign, but this was a revitalised performance that has lifted plenty of gloom. Driven by the impressive Johnny Sexton, Ireland were ruthless from the outset and this classy triumph has given them an excellent platform to launch a strong finish to the Championship campaign when it resumes against Scotland (away) and England (home).

Tyrone Green’s superb try double: It was a dream first start for Harlequins from a personal viewpoint for the South African wing. The result notwithstanding – Quins going down to a 25-22 loss to Newcastle Falcons – Green was a machine at Kingston Park as he claimed two outstanding tries. The former Lions finisher turns 23 this week so has plenty of years left in him and it looks like Quins have done a great bit of business bringing him to the Stoop. If he stays fit they have a serious player.

George North and Ardie Savea: The Welshman became the youngest player to reach 100 international caps in what is a remarkable feat at the age of 28. He celebrated it in style with a Triple Crown win against England and will now look to retain his spot at centre for the run-in. Elsewhere, despite finishing on the losing side in the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby Aotearoa opener against the Blues, it was also a momentous occasion for Savea, who was making his 100th appearance for the Wellington-based outfit and captaining them for the first time. The All Blacks back-row was his usual energetic self and came to the fore with a typical all-action performance. There were memorable scenes on the Sky Stadium pitch after the game when the 27-year-old’s mother presented a Mere Pounamu – a traditional Maori club made from greenstone – to him, and his family and friends paid tribute to Savea with a passionate haka. Well done, both!

COLD AS ICE!

Ill-disciplined England: Criticism, most of it constructive, was levelled at England during the fixture against Wales and it has continued thereafter as that was a hugely frustrating showing for their fans to watch. Their penalty count was staggering at 14 – Maro Itoje contributing five of those by himself – as Eddie Jones’ side played far too close to the legal line on Saturday and it cost them. Yes, those two controversial early Welsh tries didn’t help their cause but one can’t help but feel that better discipline could have seen England come out on top. This has been a problem too many times under Jones and it’s an issue that has resurfaced, much to his dismay.

Reporter and player attacks: It was disappointing to read that BBC Sport reporter Sonja McLaughlan had been personally attacked on Twitter after doing her day job with a strong line of questioning to the captains and coaches of both England and Wales on Saturday. For her to get in her car after work and be in tears is not nice to hear and those on social media @ing her should take a long, hard look at themselves. Then on Sunday England released a statement showing support for their players after they were the victim of online abuse. Prop Ellis Genge has revealed that he received death threats after a video appeared to show him not clapping the Welsh players through the post-game tunnel and it seems there’s more England internationals on the receiving end of trolls. Twitter can be a positive platform but, at times, the trolls will crawl to the surface. No one should be subject to such abuse.

Waratahs: The Sydney-based outfit have made a terrible start to their 2021 Super Rugby AU campaign and although it’s still early in that competition, they’re setting records for all the wrong reasons. On Saturday, Rob Penney’s troops suffered a humiliating defeat against the Brumbies, who dominated most facets of play en route to a 61-10 win. That was the Sydneysiders’ worst loss to the Brumbies in 26 seasons of Super Rugby and comes shortly after they suffered their heaviest defeat to the Reds (41-7) in the season opener. That leaves the Waratahs languishing at the bottom of the table with zero points from two matches played and their supporters will expect a much-improved showing against the Western Force in Sydney on Friday.

A step back for Italy: After showing flashes of real quality against England at Twickenham, many had expected a decent account from the Azzurri against an Irish side lacking confidence going into Saturday’s game. What we saw was anything but as their attack was weak, despite enjoying a greater amount of time in the opposition half and 22 than their visitors, while their defence was atrocious as they let through 48 points. An 87% tackle success rate – 26 missed – is simply not good enough against Six Nations opponents, with this a hugely disappointing day at the office. Their long wait to break their dismal losing run continues.