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!
Bledisloe retained and All Blacks youngsters: It was a case of job done for New Zealand, who secured the Bledisloe Cup following a storming opening 15 minutes which saw them go 21-0 in front. Although the Wallabies won the next hour or so 28-10, Scott Robertson’s men held on to claim a 31-28 success. The visitors’ standouts were interestingly their younger players, with Wallace Sititi and Cortez Ratima impressing. Sititi backed up his efforts in South Africa by starring against Australia, while Ratima also shone. In what has been a mixed start to Robertson’s reign, the head coach has potentially found long-terms options at in the back-row and at scrum-half.
Bath’s revenge: In a repeat of the 2024 Premiership final, Johann van Graan’s got the better of the champions at the Rec on Friday. They were simply excellent, making an early statement with a 38-16 triumph over Northampton Saints. They are many observers favourites for the title and you can see why. Van Graan has built an excellent squad which is strong in the key areas. Bath have a superb pack and two half-backs in Ben Spencer and Finn Russell that are among the best in the Premiership. Watch out for them in this, domestically and potentially in Europe.
Johnny Sexton’s ‘heir’: There has been much excitement over young fly-half Sam Prendergast for quite some time and he has been compared to the great Sexton, but Leinster have been hesitant to give him a consistent run. Prendergast has been eased into the first team but on Friday he was handed an opportunity to start their opener against Edinburgh and showed just what he can do. During his 60-minute stint on the field, the playmaker was excellent, displaying his ability with ball in hand and accuracy off the tee. It could be a big year for the youngster.
Fiji claim Pacific Nations Cup: The Flying Fijians produced a stunning final 20 minutes to claim the title following a 41-17 triumph over Japan. The Brave Blossoms had started well, with Dylan Riley’s superb individual score moving them 10-3 ahead, but after Vuate Karawalevu levelled matters at the break, Fiji took control. Karawalevu touched down two more times to complete his hat-trick while Ponepati Loganimasi and Albert Tuisue also went over, meaning Malo Tuitama’s late score was just a consolation for the Japanese. Congratulations to Mick Byrne’s men, who who very much showed their class in the final.
Jordan Hendrikse and the Sharks: The Durban outfit claimed the Currie Cup in dramatic fashion as the fly-half kicked a 60-metre effort to snatch the title. It wasn’t that long ago that the full-back was a Lions player but he came back to haunt his former team by slotting a late winner for the Sharks. The hosts had been 14-13 ahead going in the latter stages thanks to Nico Steyn and Siba Qoma tries before the visiting playmaker stepped up to stun the Lions.
Los Pumas: WOW! For the first time ever Argentina has beaten all three Rugby Championship opponents in one campaign setting up an outside shot at the title after beating the Springboks 29-28 at the weekend. It was a gutsy performance after going down 0-17 in a matter of minutes. Felipe Contepomi’s men deserve all the credit for the way they not only rallied together but how they took the game to the world champions who were left shell-shocked for much of the game. Regardless of whether the side falls short of the title or not this is easily Los Pumas best Rugby Championship and it is a sign of what could be in store for the South Americans under one of their own legends in Comtepomi.
Tomas Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz: Already the fly-half has been compared to the legendary ‘EL Mago’, Juan Martin Hernandez, and for good reason as Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz was outstanding for his side against the Springboks. The Los Pumas star has it in terms of s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set and picked his moments brilliantly against the South Africans attacking the line with purpose when he wasn’t kicking accurately out of hand. His efforts were so impressive he earned full marks in our player ratings from Santiago. Certainly, a player to keep an eye on in the blue and white hoops.
COLD AS ICE!
All Blacks’ big concern: While New Zealand secured the win in Sydney, they will be worried by their second-half displays under Robertson. Once again, they were were outscored by their opponents after the break, which is the third time in a row it has happened. In fact, they haven’t had the better of the second-half in any of their Rugby Championship encounters, with them drawing Argentina at Eden Park in the final 40 minutes. Considering the All Blacks were renowned for their ability to pull away late on, this will be a worry for the coaches, players and fans.
Springboks Bomb Squad: It is not often at all that the famed Bomb Squad feature in this section but with the exception of Eben Etzebeth and maybe Vincent Koch the bench did not get the job done for the Springboks at the weekend. The biggest downfall of the replacements was Manie Libbok missing what would have been a game-winning penalty. Rassie Erasmus has already come to the fly-half’s defence claiming it should have been 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed off before and while that is true one would expect those to go over. The selection concept for the Argentina leg was always a gamble for the Springboks who will call on all the firepower available for the Nelspruit clash where Etzebeth will likely become the most capped South African in history.
Vinaya Habosi: The Fijian was reportedly arrested after an alleged attack on his wife. After an argument, witnesses claimed that Habosi pushed his wife, who was holding their 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦, to the ground before then punching her in the back of the head. It is not the first time that he has allegedly been involved in domestic abuse as an incident in 2023 led to his contract being cancelled by Fijian Drua. It also continues a shocking trend of domestic abuse cases involving rugby players in France after Mohamed Haouas and Wilfrid Hounkpatin were both convicted.
Stuart Hogg in more trouble: It has been an eventful year for the Scot who has been arrested several times in relation to an ongoing situation with his estranged wife. After coming out of retirement to join Montpellier the full-back was in the middle of it again but this time on the field where he was yellow carded for sparking a mass brawl against Toulouse that ended with former Scotland teammate Blair Kinghorn dragging Hogg out of the action.
