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!
Le Bomb Squad: Fabien Galthie took a massive risk in what was billed and proved to be a decisive fixture in the 2025 Six Nations by once again backing a 7-1 split on the bench. Deploying ‘Le Bomb Squad’ almost blew up in his face when Antoine Dupont went off injured (more on that later) and fellow back Pierre-Louis Barassi followed soon after. However, France stayed the course and secured a mightily impressive 42-27 victory over Ireland. It was a brutal showing from Les Bleus. Oscar Jegou was particularly influential as he stepped into the centres for France with the back-rower putting in a sterling shift as Les Bleus cruised to victory.
Fine wine Welsh veteran: At 34 years old, Taulupe Faletau continues to be utterly world-class. The Welsh legend has had a plethora of injuries that have threatened to bring his career to an end but he has overcome those concerns and delivers sterling performances. He was simply sensational in the defeat to Scotland. 19 tackles, 15 carries and over 100 running metres were the simple stats from yet another outrageous performance. Faletau has already appeared on three British and Irish Lions tours and really we would not write off a fourth.
England finally thrill: Steve Borthwick’s men have been slammed for their lack of attacking intent this Six Nations but on a sun-kissed day in Twickenham, they finally let the shackles loose and entertained. England crossed for seven tries in their 47-24 victory over Italy with Fin and Marcus Smith tearing the Azzurri defence to shreds while Jamie George shone in his 100th Test match – a day to remember for England fans after a rather underwhelming 12 months. The result gives them an outside shot at the title, something few would have predicted before the opening round of action.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey: One of, if not the, most dangerous attackers in international rugby right now, the French flyer has officially broken the record for the most try involvements in a Six Nations campaign after crossing twice against Ireland in Dublin. He became the first player to reach double digits with his first try, adding to his four-try assists and five five-pointers earlier in the tournament and took his tally to 11 involvements with a second score. He now sets his sights on breaking the record for the most tries in a single edition of the Six Nations after levelling Jacob Stockdale’s 2018 record of seven tries.
Finn stars in Scotland’s bounce back: After the gutting defeat to England in the Calcutta Cup, Scotland skipper Finn Russell produced a stunning performance as Gregor Townsend’s charges claimed a 35-29 victory over Wales. The victory wasn’t as emphatic as it should have been but, when Russell departed proceedings, he had put his side into a commanding 35-15 lead.
Historic Brumbies win: Another brilliant weekend of Super Rugby Pacific was headlined by the first Brumbies victory over the Blues at Eden Park since 2013. Ryan Lonergan stepped up in the 79th minute to slot the match-winning penalty for the men from the Australian capital to sink the reigning champions at their fortress.
Super upsets: That was not the only upset in the premier Southern Hemisphere club tournament as the Fijian Drua finally grabbed their first victory of the season, handing the Chiefs their maiden defeat of 2025. The Pacific Islanders narrowly lost all three of their opening games but finally got over the line against the season’s frontrunners. They were not the only ones to claim upsets with Moana Pasifika downing the Hurricanes while the Crusaders emphatically defeated the Queensland Reds.
Sharks bounce back: After being hammered 38-14 at the hands of the Lions last week, the Sharks bounced back on home soil seven days later claiming a 25-22 victory, and with it the SA Shield, in the URC. The Sharks have been rather inconsistent this season but winning the SA Shield will surely give them confidence for what lies ahead for John Plumtree and his charges.
Siya Kolisi: At a press conference in Cape Town this week, Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus hailed the ‘iconic’ double World Cup-winning captain and confirmed that Kolisi would remain as the Bok skipper in 2025 and beyond provided that he continues to be one of the best and fittest players in his position. Kolisi responded emphatically with a superb individual showing for the Sharks, hitting the ground running in his first start since his enforced break. The 33-year-old played a pivotal role in his team’s opening try before grabbing one of his own shortly afterwards.
Scottish drought ends: The Scotland u20s clinched a rare victory this weekend defeating Wales 27-12. Prior to this weekend’s success, the Scots had lost 11 matches in a row and won just once of their previous 23 Six Nations matches.
Premiership Rugby Cup finalists: And then there were just two. The Premiership Rugby Cup final will be contested between Bath and Exeter Chiefs, whose victories over Newcastle Falcons and Ealing Trailfinders respectively. Bath ran in six tries to down the Falcons 29-41 while Tom Wyatt crossed for a late try to defeat Ealing 28-24.
COLD AS ICE!
Antoine Dupont injury: A hammer blow for Les Bleus and Toulouse as their captain Dupont will be sidelined for the next six to nine months after sustaining an ACL injury in the Six Nations clash against Ireland. It’s a cruel setback for the world-class number nine after an ugly incident.
Jarring footage emerges of Antoine Dupont injury as furious France boss promises citings
Failed citings: Galthie was seething after the match at the Aviva Stadium and understandably so with his best player suffering a season and potentially year-ending injury. The France boss duly reported Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter for their involvements at the ruck leading to Dupont’s injury, as well as Ireland winger Calvin Nash for his tackle on Barassi. However, his pleas fell on deaf ears with the citing commissioner deeming that none of the trio’s actions warranted a red card.
Ireland: A Six Nations Grand Slam was very much in Ireland’s grasp as they hosted France at the Aviva Stadium in a crunch clash. However, the men in green failed to rise to the occasion and were duly thrashed by France. Two late tries made the final scoreline look somewhat respectable. Even with France playing a large chunk of the match without their best player, Dupont, and a forward in the backline, Ireland failed to capitalise as they rued their ill-discipline with two yellow cards.
Farewell failure: The loss was made all the more disappointing as Ireland failed to celebrate Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray’s final appearances at the Aviva Stadium in the green jersey in style. Frankly, the trio deserved better.
Wales: After a morale-boosting performance against Ireland last time out, there was some hope that Wales could end their torrid run of defeats with this publication predicting as much. However, it was not to be as Matt Sherratt’s side fell to their 16th successive Test defeat. They threatened a miraculous comeback but ultimately fell short yet again.
Showboating at U20s: A hard lesson was learned by France U20s flanker Noa Traversier, who paid the highest price for an early celebration. He started showboating before dotting down the five-pointer and was robbed of a try by Ireland’s scrum-half Will Wooten who dislodged the ball from his grasp.
Beauden Barrett injury: Dupont’s injury was not the only high-profile setback this week as the Blues have lost the services of All Blacks superstar Barrett, who has suffered a hand fracture and will be out for several weeks.
New Zealand Super Rugby teams: The Aotearoa teams have dominated the tournament in recent years but it was not a memorable weekend for the New Zealand outfits with the Hurricanes, Blues and Chiefs all falling to defeats. The Crusaders managed to pick up an emphatic victory over the Queensland Reds while the Highlanders enjoyed a bye.
READ MORE: World Rugby rankings: Ireland narrowly avoid double fall as All Blacks close in on Springboks
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/whos-hot-and-whos-not-le-bomb-squad-blow-disappointing-ireland-away-after-ugly-dupont-injury-while-new-zealand-teams-fall
