Who’s hot and who’s not: Dublin delivers and Finn Russell shines while things look bleak for Wales and Worcester Warriors

Colin Newboult
James Lowe and Dan Biggar split

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!

One of the great 40 minutes: That was a pretty special first half in Dublin as the world’s number one and two ranked sides put on a show for the Aviva Stadium spectators and those watching on television. The intensity, speed and quality of the rugby was of the highest order as Ireland and France look every bit Rugby World Cup title contenders later this year. The here and now though is Six Nations rugby and in the end, as expected, the Irish were a nose in front in terms of performance and form at the moment. It truly was a wonderful half between two outstanding teams as Ireland eventually pulled away for a significant 32-19 win that takes them one step closer to a now likely Grand Slam.

https://twitter.com/Sonjamclaughlan/status/1624424596500889600

Milestones: It’s congratulations to Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Dave Kilcoyne, who all reached the 50 cap mark for Ireland over the weekend. The trio would have been delighted to celebrate the milestone with that victory over France and all put in a shift in Dublin, which makes the day extra sweet. There was also a milestone to celebrate for Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg at Murrayfield as he played his 100th Test (98 for his country and two for the Lions). Like the Irish trio, his own feat was made even more special after Scotland overcame Wales.

Finn Russell and Scotland turn it on: After an indifferent first-half performance, Russell turned on the style after half time as he helped Scotland to a 35-7 victory as they made it two bonus-point wins out of two on Saturday. The Six Nations result ends their frustrating Round Two hoodoo of the past two years as finally they backed up an opening win in the Championship. Russell was superb in the second period as his kicking and offload game had Wales all at sea. If the fly-half can replicate this form in Paris in Round Three, Scotland can spring a shock.

Jack Willis and Ollie Lawrence: Both missing for England in their opening round defeat to Scotland, Willis and Lawrence’s comebacks were certainly emphatic as they helped lead the Red Rose to a comfortable victory over Italy on Sunday. Despite playing just 53 minutes, the flanker racked up 20 tackles and was a menace at the breakdown in an emotional return to Test rugby, proving just how crucial he will be to Steve Borthwick moving forward. Elsewhere, Lawrence was a wrecking ball in midfield and now looks to have nailed down a centre jersey.

Jake White’s and Sbu Nkosi’s return: There was a double boost for the Bulls as these two key figures were back at club headquarters after being absent recently. It was a worrying time for both. White underwent life-saving surgery following a blood clot which damaged his small intestine, while Nkosi has been struggling with his mental health. The Springbok wing was reported missing by the Bulls after being “absent without leave” for three weeks. Fortunately, he was found safe and well and last week, alongside White, was back with the Pretoria-based outfit as they look ahead to the rest of the campaign. Thankfully, these concerning stories had positive endings. Welcome back, both.

All Blacks stars heading to Toyota: Japan looks like it is the place to be following the Rugby World Cup after Toyota Verblitz added All Blacks stars Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett to their ranks. With those two world-class players in tandem, they will no doubt be incredibly difficult to stop next season. It also continues the trend of New Zealand stars heading to Asia to take up fiscally prudent contracts, rather than going to Europe, where the money is similar but the toll on the body would be significant. What a half-back combination to sign up.

COLD AS ICE!

Wales suffer heavy defeat: Are they destined for the Wooden Spoon this season? It’s looking an increasing possibility after that showing at Murrayfield as Wales were picked apart in the second half. Warren Gatland wielded the axe for this match as he wanted to look at young players in his squad and while Christ Tshiunza came out of the loss with some credit in the bank, it was a largely disappointing effort from Wales on the whole. It’s currently an ill-disciplined team lacking a clinical edge and they must rectify these issues before England come to Cardiff or the prospect of a clean sweep of defeats is on the cards, with Italy and France (both away) difficult matches their March run-in.

The death of Worcester Warriors: Our hearts go out to the Worcester supporters, who effectively saw their club die after Jim O’Toole and James Sandford (otherwise known as the Atlas consortium), basically ended their existence. After previous owners, Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring, mismanaged the club to the extent they were forced to go into administration, O’Toole and Sandford swooped in by promising much but delivering very little.

Questions also have to be asked of the administrators Begbies, whose job is to help the creditors (i.e. those owed money from the club, including players and staff), but under the current arrangement they will receive absolutely nothing. Atlas’ plan is to merge with National 2 side Stourbridge and rebrand as Sixways Rugby, which means they will avoid paying the outstanding £5.2m debt.

The RFU set Worcester, and the other financially-stricken club Wasps, a deadline of February 14 to meet their criteria to play in the Championship, but negotiations broke down, leading to the latest developments. However, despite O’Toole’s and Sandford’s insistence that they wanted to act in the best interests of the club, there are serious doubts as to whether that was the case.

They have always been the administrators’ preferred bidder, but the other consortium, which included former Warriors director of rugby Steve Diamond, have insisted that their bid intended to pay all the money the creditors are owed. If that is indeed the case, and Diamond is quite frankly far more reputable than those two, then Begbies have not done their job. This story still has a long way to go but our thoughts are with the Worcester supporters as well as the former players and staff.

Leicester Tigers’ exodus continues: After seeing Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield leave to become England head coach and defence coach respectively, two more will depart following the end of the season. Current interim Tigers boss Richard Wigglesworth and head of physical performance Aled Walters will also join up with the Red Rose. Walters will be a particularly big miss – and a significant coup for the national team – having helped get the Tiger side conditioned. He had a vital role in South Africa’s success in 2019 and Borthwick will hope he has the same effect with England. However, it is pretty brutal for the Premiership holders, who have seen their coaching staff completely decimated. There have been rumours of some pretty impressive names they are apparently chasing, but the Tigers are very much in a rebuilding phase.

Vinaya Habosi: It was announced on Tuesday that the Fijian Drua had terminated the contract of wing Vinaya Habosi ahead of the 2023 campaign after it was alleged he had assaulted his partner. The 23-year-old was outstanding for the Super Rugby Pacific outfit last season and was subsequently rewarded with a debut for Fiji. However, we will not see Habosi in action this year “due to a high-level breach of the club’s Code of Conduct”, said the Drua in a statement. The wing has reportedly signed a deal to join Racing 92 after the Rugby World Cup.

End of an era for England: After a world record 30-game winning run and two Rugby World Cup finals, the women’s team will see head coach Simon Middleton leave following the upcoming Six Nations. He has done an excellent job and arguably helped changed the landscape of women’s rugby during his time in charge, but there will still be regret after those two defeats to New Zealand in the 2017 and 2021 (well, 2022) global tournaments. He leaves the game in England in better shape but without the reward he and perhaps the Red Roses deserved.

Rassie Erasmus’ latest Twitter rant: The SA Rugby boss was in the news again over the weekend when he took to Twitter to respond to comments made by former Springbok head coach Nick Mallett on Supersport’s Final Whistle television programme recently. In response to a question about the state of coaching in South Africa, Mallett said it’s part of Erasmus’ duties as the country’s director of rugby and he should do his job properly, instead of tweeting about the Springboks. Erasmus did not take kindly to that criticism and hit back at Mallett via a voice note which he posted on Twitter in the early hours of Saturday morning. In his response, Erasmus accuses Mallett of “saying things without substance”, that he “doesn’t know what a rugby director is” and he also also uses foul language at the end of the clip. Erasmus’ rant leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and one wonders why he couldn’t just confront Mallett via a private phone call to clear the air. Will he ever learn?

READ MORE: Six Nations: Five takeaways from England v Italy as Steve Borthwick’s men go back to basics in promising showing

Blues Finn Russell

Related Articles