Who’s hot and who’s not: Springboks’ ‘pocket-rocket’ stars while the Joe Schmidt effect is in ‘full swing’ and ‘worst’ Wales team in history
Split image of Cheslin Kolbe and James Botham.
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!
Cheslin Kolbe: Yes, it is a team game and to a man the Springboks dug in to seal another victory on their tour, but two scores from Kolbe proved decisive against England on Saturday. South Africa’s pocket-rocket’s first try showed he has ice in his veins as he waited patiently – and confidently – for the ball to drop in his grasp from Manie Libbok’s cross-field kick before stepping Freddie Steward en route to the line. His second once again included a customary side-step before he raced to the whitewash from distance to give South Africa breathing space. Such a devastating big-game winger and arguably the best on the planet at the moment, Kolbe just consistently delivers for the Springboks.
Wallabies on fire:?The Joe Schmidt effect is in full swing as the Wallabies claimed their second win on tour with a 52-20 hammering of Wales. It was an encouraging shift from the Australians who attacked with great fluidity and effect, much like their successful team of old. There are just two more Tests in the year for the side and Schmidt will want to maximise their time on the pitch before that all-important British & Irish Lions Series next year.
France resolve: Les Bleus needed a response after the break against the All Blacks as they trailed 17-10 and were on the back foot in terms of the set-piece. They certainly got one as quick-fire tries from Paul Boudehent and Louis Bielle-Biarrey put them in the ascendancy before a metronomic Thomas Ramos won the kicking battle to seal a famous win. Impressively this was France’s third win in a row over New Zealand.
Scenes in Paris: The French really know how to put on a show. The lights dimmed, the spotlight was on the All Blacks before the camera shot to the home-ground hero, Antoine Dupont, then back at the visitors who lay down the challenge with the colours of the French flag beaming in the stadium. It was cinematic. And that was before the whistle was even blown with the match living up to the pre-game hype and glorious scenes of the Haka.
The Haka by night ?#AutumnNationsSeries | #FRAvNZL pic.twitter.com/QltgP9xPtt
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 16, 2024
USA victory over Tonga:?For the first time since 1999 the USA Eagles managed a victory over Tonga as they triumphed 36-17 in France. It is an encouraging sign for the Americans, who will be looking to continue building towards their home Rugby World Cup in 2031. For Tonga it’s back to the drawing board.
Argentina:?It is not often we have a losing side here but Los Pumas deserve a mention after they pushed Ireland to the edge in a 22-19 loss to Andy Farrell’s men. The signs of a rapidly growing Argentina side are certainly there, loud and clear, and it will be interesting to see how far they can go under Felipe Contepomi.
Wasps nearing return:?The former Premiership club are on track to return to English rugby after they applied for a place in next season’s expanded Championship season. The six-time Premiership champions went into administration in October 2022 and have not played since, but that could all change after the RFU invited bids to join a newly structured second tier of English rugby with the league expanding from 12 to 14 teams.
Red-hot Darcy: Livewire winger Darcy Graham has now scored a remarkable 17 tries in his last 10 Test matches for his country, taking the mantle as Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer. This comes after he crossed for four tries against Fiji at the start of the month and once against Portugal this past weekend. He is now set to turn out against Australia and though the Wallabies have been on a fine run in the north, don’t bet against the lively winger grabbing another five-pointer.
The North hits back to share the spoils: After a clean sweep for the Southern Hemisphere nations last week in the Autumn Nations Series, the North hit back this weekend with wins for Ireland and France over Argentina and New Zealand respectively. However, the weekend’s scorecard reads the North 2-2 South after the Springboks and Wallabies claimed wins in England and Wales respectively. It was another tantalising round of the Autumn Nations Series with one jampacked weekend to follow.
COLD AS ICE!
Warren Gatland’s Wales:?11 losses in a row means Gatland’s Wales are the worst in the country’s history. Outside of a 20-minute period where they showed some promise, Wales were completely outplayed by their opponents. There really is not much else to say other than change is required.
England lose again: The pressure is really beginning to mount on head coach Steve Borthwick after England once again fell to a narrow defeat without really firing a shot in the latter stages of the game. Granted they have played top-class opposition in New Zealand and South Africa in recent weeks but many fans and the English press are starting to become impatient. An upcoming fixture against Japan is surely a ticket to victory but one cannot understate how much Eddie Jones will want to spoil the party at Allianz Stadium. He couldn’t, could he?
More Eddie Jones criticism:?The Jones pile-on continues as the polarising head coach returns to his old stomping ground this weekend, leading Japan against England. Much has been made of Jones’ time in charge of the England men’s team particularly after Danny Care’s criticism of the coach in his new book and former fly-half Danny Cipriani adding his own voice to that. Cipriani believes that he wasn’t selected often by Jones because he could not be bullied by the coach: “My experiences with Eddie are that he probably felt I would stand up to him too much and he didn’t feel like he could bully me so he didn’t bring me into the environment.”
TV directors in Ireland: The French certainly cop their fair share of criticism for selective replays but this weekend it was the Irish TV director’s turn after the final whistle sounded at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Argentina were adjudged to have knocked the ball on in the final moments of the match at the breakdown as they pressed for a winning score, bringing the game to an end and sealing an Irish win. But fans and Los Pumas lock Franco Molina were left perplexed by the decision and it certainly didn’t help when not a single replay showing the knock-on was made available. This led to onlookers dubbing it the ‘invisible knock-on’.
Matthieu Jalibert: Remarkably, France head coach Fabien Galthie revealed last week that Bordeaux fly-half Jalibert refused the opportunity to be selected on the bench for the clash with the All Blacks. With Romain Ntamack injured, many thought that Jalibert would be the go-to pick in the number 10 jersey but that was not the case as Galthie backed Thomas Ramos instead and the head coach was rather calm in explaining the situation to the press stating that Jalibert “will continue in the French team… if he wishes” when asked about the playmaker’s future in the squad.?We have only heard one side of the story but still, it’s quite a bold move from Jalibert.
