Who’s hot and who’s not: Fantastic France, individuals star in Six Nations and Super Rugby, and unfortunate Italy

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!

France: They were an absolute joy to watch on Saturday. Fabien Galthie’s men started in stunning fashion, concocting two absolutely superb tries – the first in particular was utterly outstanding – before moving through the gears in the second period after weathering a Scottish storm. Their pack is fearsome, mixing powerful carrying with strong set-piece work, while they are equally excellent in defence, with their breakdown skills arguably the best in the world. With that platform, it allows their extremely talented backline, led by the world’s best player Antoine Dupont, to weave their magic. There are a few things to iron out and, under pressure, there is a tendency to have the odd brain fade which could cost them in the future, but they are looking like early World Cup favourites at the moment. And after the mediocre performances of Wales and England at the weekend, a Grand Slam almost looks a certainty.

Alex Cuthbert and Taulupe Faletau: Cuthbert has had a difficult few years but, on the occasion of his 50th cap, the wing was excellent and caused numerous problems for the England defence. He finished with almost 200 metres made after tormenting the hosts in the wide channels throughout the 80 minutes. He was Wales’ man of the match, just in front of the returning Faletau, who shone despite only recently recovering from injury. The Bath number eight had spent seven months on the sidelines and only featured in two club games before being thrust into the cauldron of Test rugby, but it did not show as the back-row excelled. Wales may have lost but the efforts of those two were quite rightly lauded.

Maro Itoje and Alex Dombrandt: Despite the displays of Cuthbert and Faletau, it wasn’t enough to overturn their great rivals, who were aided by the performances of their own outstanding duo. Marcus Smith may have got the official man of the match but it was these players that laid the platform for England‘s triumph as they dominated the breakdown battle. Both made numerous turnovers at the contact area, while Itoje also had a good defensive game at the lineout. Dombrandt is still not quite dominating in attack but he showed some nice touches with ball in hand, finished his try superbly and the number eight’s work in the tight is proving to be invaluable.

Hurricanes comeback: The men from Wellington looked dead and buried in their Super Rugby Pacific encounter against the Blues in Dunedin when the Auckland-based side’s replacement Sam Darry crossed for a try in the 68th minute to give his team a 32-14 lead. With an 18-point advantage and time running out on the clock, Leon MacDonald’s troops must have thought they had the game in the bag but the Hurricanes didn’t read the script and launched a stunning fightback during the game’s closing stages. Leading the charge was hat-trick hero Salesi Rayasi, who scored two tries in quick succession to add to an earlier five-pointer in the first half, before inspirational captain Ardie Savea sealed the win with a try in extra-time. Great effort!

Memorable weekend for new and old: There was reason for cheer for a player starting out on his international career and also one at the other end of the spectrum as Michael Lowry enjoyed a fruitful Ireland debut while Ben Youngs reached a significant milestone for England. Lowry, who was enjoying his first cap, went over for two tries in a busy performance against Italy, capitalising on the wide open spaces in Dublin. Meanwhile, it’s also hats off to Youngs as he overtook legend Jason Leonard as the England men’s most capped international, making his 115th appearance on Saturday against Wales. Well done to both players on special occasions in their own unique way.

Will Jordan and Sevu Reece: All Blacks outside backs Will Jordan and Sevu Reece were on fire for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby Pacific clash with the Highlanders on Friday. The duo were responsible for three tries in total with Reece’s brace both coming in the first half. Ultimately it was Jordan who hammered the final nail in the Highlanders coffin with a try in the 66th minute when he evaded two tackles before powering his way over the try-line. Reece’s second five-pointer drew him level with legend Dan Carter in terms of tries scored for the Christchurch-based outfit, with only two players ahead of him. When these two play together, it just feels like at least one of them will score.

COLD AS ICE!

The law is an ass (sort of): Italy found themselves in the unique situation of effectively having two players sent off against Ireland for one red card in a rather farcical situation that left everyone unhappy. Hame Faiva had come onto the field for the injured Gianmarco Lucchesi but was correctly dismissed 10 minutes later by referee Nika Amashukeli for a high shot. However, because the Azzurri had no one else that could play hooker, it resulted in uncontested scrums and they were forced to play with 13 men. Now, it’s not a good look for rugby and you really feel for Italy, but you shouldn’t necessarily blame the law, rather the teams that led World Rugby to act. For example, Wasps, who had a weak scrum back in the day, were regularly accused of feigning injury to force uncontested scrums, while there were also several incidents from other teams down the years that were very suspicious. As a result, the governing body took the complaints on board and provided a deterrent to those that tried to play the system. It has led to this unfortunate situation and perhaps it needs looking at and some discretion provided in situations like this, but Italy have really been punished for the actions of others in seasons gone by, rather than the law itself.

Chris Harris and Stuart Hogg: Even though France were excellent, Scotland were still in the game just prior to the break. They then manufactured a huge opportunity as Duhan van der Merwe broke through and found Harris. The Scots had a huge overlap with several players in support but the centre decided to throw a long pass out to Hogg. It wasn’t badly executed as such and the captain should have taken it, but it was out in front of him and not the easiest to take. As a result, the opportunity to take the lead was lost and not long after that Les Bleus had their third try, which proved to be a big blow. It was where the match went from Scotland’s grasp.

Wales’ first half issues: In both of their away games, against Ireland and England, Wayne Pivac’s men have started slowly and it has cost them. Even against Scotland, Wales only really came on strong after the half-hour mark, and it is a theme they will want to alter in the final two rounds. Particularly on Saturday, they were very poor in the opening period, making a series of mistakes and conceding numerous penalties, which led to a 12-0 deficit at the break. In contrast, they were very good in the second period but, by that point, it was too late as the reigning Six Nations champions succumbed to a second defeat in this year’s competition. They must sort this sloppiness immediately.

The bad luck of Manu Tuilagi: And just like that, the bulldozing England centre is packing his bags again. After yet another injury, Tuilagi left the Red Rose camp and was unavailable for Saturday’s game versus Wales following a reoccurrence of a hamstring issue he sustained in last year’s Autumn Nations Series Test against South Africa. This was a crushing blow for England, who also missed the renowned centre during their first two Six Nations Tests. Perhaps it is time for Eddie Jones to give Mark Atkinson a shot at playing the role he was called up to fill?

Sad loss of two rugby greats: Rugby fans across the world were saddened to learn of the passing of both Va’aiga Tuigamala and Joeli Vidiri this past week. Former England star Jason Robinson led heartwarming tributes in honour of the code-switching (and nation-switching) international wing Tuigamala, whilst the All Blacks and Blues social media teams voiced their sorrow at Vidiri’s death with the Auckland-based franchise calling their former flyer “one of the greatest players of all time”. They have both gone way too soon and our thoughts are with their friends, families and former team-mates.

Rebels: It’s still early days in Super Pacific but things are not looking good for the Melbourne-based franchise after they suffered a humiliating 28-3 defeat at home against the Western Force on Saturday. Take nothing away from the Force, who deserved their victory, but there were plenty of worrying signs for the Rebels, who were outscored by three tries to none in their backyard. Although they are back at home against the Brumbies on Friday, things will not get easier in that encounter as the Brumbies’ confidence will be high after they cruised to victory against the Fijian Drua at the weekend.

READ MORE: Five takeaways from England v Wales as the Red Rose benefit from the visitors’ slow start