Check out our Monday recap of who’s keeping their name in the lights and who’s making headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.
They are on fire!
Ireland None Italy 10 to 10: Ruthless, efficient, clinical. Let me sum up Sunday’s performance between Italy and Ireland in one sentence. In Dublin they put on a very clever show at times, easily allowing the Azzurri to cross six times without even conceding a single point to the visiting team. Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan (2), Jack Conan, James Rowe and Calvin Nash all crossed the whitewash as Ireland made a spectacular start to their Six Nations title defense with back-to-back bonus points. Will anyone be able to stop the Irishman from winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles?
🪜The Six Nations table after the second round. #Guinness M6N pic.twitter.com/0zGGTVK3gh
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 11, 2024
England vs Wales star cast: It wasn’t our best game at Twickenham, but there were some really outstanding performances. Leading the way was undoubtedly Tommy Leffell, who should have been named Man of the Match. The Welsh openside flanker was absolutely brilliant in every aspect, from his contribution to Alex Mann’s try to the crux of his breakdown work. It was a shame he was on the losing side, but Freddie Steward and Ben Earle had a lot to do with that as they shone for England. Steward was incredibly good under the high ball, while Earl continued to impress at Test level following his World Cup heroics. Both were key to the Red Rose taking a 2-2 lead.
Man of the Match is often overlooked for not being on the winning side, but no more so than Tommy Leffell at Twickenham. It was wonderful from start to finish. Ben Earl won the MoM gong, but Wales were proud of their country.
— Peter Jackson (@JackoRugby) February 10, 2024
France appreciates private lessons: In terms of individual players who were impressive, the likes of Gaël Ficou, François Clos, Grégory Aldritt and Louis Vier-Bialley, given their struggles in certain areas of the game at Murrayfield. , Les Bleus took care of me. They were completely behind in the first half, but Aldritt and Fickou stepped up to keep the visitors in contention. After the interval, the French captain was forced off with an injury, but Kross continued to perform admirably in his absence, and Biel Bialley won the match with great skill. Chapeau.
😱 The best chips from Louis Vier Bialley @France Rugby Go ahead 🙌#Guinness M6N #scofla pic.twitter.com/6jOjn1XXrL
— Guinness Men’s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 10, 2024
Springbok’s new coaching team: After losing head coach Jack Nienaber and assistant coach Felix Jones to Leinster and England respectively, SA Rugby replaced the duo with former Ireland and New Zealand internationals Gerry Flannery and Tony Brown from the Boks. He quickly moved to welcome him into the defensive line. Each is an offensive coach. In addition, Rassie Erasmus will step down as director of rugby and become head coach until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, while former referee Jaco Peiper will be appointed as legal advisor and Duane Vermeulen will take over as head coach. He will take on the role of traveling coach. Along with all South African national teams. It’s one impressive back room.
New Springbok coaching team:
Rassie Erasmus – Head Coach
Mzwandir Stick – Assistant Coach
Deon Davids – Assistant Coach
Daan Human – Assistant Coach
Tony Brown – Assistant Coach
Jerry Flannery – Assistant Coach
Andy Edwards – Head of Athletic Performanceplus:
Jaco Paper… pic.twitter.com/3GzjutO64M
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) February 6, 2024
Rob Valletini receives the award: For the first time in his career, the back rower was recognized as Australia’s best athlete in 2023, winning the John Eales Medal. Despite the Wallabies’ struggles, Baretini was very outstanding and earned himself the coveted award. The powerful forward joins great players such as George Smith, Matt Zito, David Pocock and four-time champion Michael Hooper to achieve this honour. An emotional Valletini said: It’s crazy because I used to watch guys like that when I was a kid. It’s surreal to play with the likes of “Poey” and “Hoops.” [I am] It’s a real honor to join them. ” This is very natural and he wants to build on this further in his 2024.
👏 Wallabies pillar and 2023 John Eales Medal. Congratulations Rob Valletini!pic.twitter.com/uPGeDgu1Wb
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 8, 2024
Cold as ice!
Another one who made a mistake that was close to Scotland. Gregor Townsend should take a deep look at why he succumbed to France at Murrayfield. The Scots have frankly failed badly in their last two games against teams that are far from their best. It’s not the first time they’ve been so disappointed, but this will probably be the most hurtful game. Scotland had a great chance to qualify for a Grand Slam with two wins and two losses after last week’s disastrous performance in Cardiff, but the hosts lost their way after the interval. It’s tough to lose, but in the end we only have ourselves to blame. This loss will bite during the fallow week.
Scotland are, after all, the kings of rugby drama… #SCOvFRA
— Two Cents Rugby (@TwoCentsRugby) February 10, 2024
Alarming developments from Italy: Have Italy returned to their disastrous Rugby World Cup form? Hopefully their performance against Ireland on Sunday, which saw them score 36 points without a goal, was just a moment of concern for supporters. They struggled to get a shot on the reigning champions, and this result dropped them to last place after two rounds. Gonzalo Quesada has some work to do during his vacation before traveling to France. Italy will then face Scotland at home and then face Wales in a bid to avoid another winless season.
🗣“We have been controlled.”
🗣 “You can’t lose every lineout in a match!”
🗣 “We can’t lose all the scrum!”
Italy captain Michele Lamaro gives an honest assessment of his team’s performance in Dublin.#IREvITA | #Guinness Six Nations pic.twitter.com/7FVnBEwg8E
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 11, 2024
Kick tennis at Murrayfield: There were bizarre scenes at Murrayfield for several minutes, with French and Scottish players kicking and then kicking the ball to each other with no runners on. Due to a loophole in the current framework of the game, players who are at least 10 meters away from the catcher do not have to retreat, they can simply stand. Once the player with the ball has advanced 5 meters, he is played onside, leaving little chance for a counterattack. This means that neither side is able to use that space to do anything active, with opposing players simply kicking the ball back and forth while each opponent simply makes a mistake. You will be waiting for It was no surprise that boos rang out around the field while this was happening during Scotland’s game against Les Bleus on Saturday.
This Kick Tennis ATM is turning forward into a freeze game 🤷🏼♂️🙄
— Matt Guiteau 🇦🇺 (@giteau_rugby) February 10, 2024
Scotland disallowed tries: The match between Scotland and France came to a dramatic and controversial end, with referee Nick Berry and TMO Brian McNeice having a lengthy debate in the dying minutes over whether the home team had scored a try. Lock Sam Skinner was found scattered under a pile of bodies, and Berry said he was initially taken into custody. However, television replays showed the ball rolling off the player’s boot before it even touched the ground. However, the TMO considered it inconclusive whether the try was scored or not and decided to disallow the score. The Scottish players were disappointed with the result, but their opponents were relieved to have achieved a narrow Six Nations victory.
when scotland crossed
versus
When the decision comes back#SCOvFRA pic.twitter.com/uhryM5cAJf
— Graham Love (@glove931) February 10, 2024
read more: Ireland vs Italy: Ireland’s depth reaches ‘new heights’ while Azzurri’s tight five needs ‘review’ – 5 points