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!
Bath end 29 years of hurt: For the first time since 1996, the West Country outfit are the champions of England after they deservedly beat Leicester Tigers in the final. While their opponents never gave up, Bath were the better team for much of it and were rightly the ones lifting the trophy at the end of the game. Much of the credit has to go to head honcho Johann van Graan, who has quite literally taken them from the bottom of the Premiership to the top, masterminding their treble success.
Leinster finally get job done: Not winning a trophy for four years would be acceptable for most sides but not the Irish giants, who have consistently fallen at the final hurdle over recent years. They are a team stacked with talent but have often choked in the biggest games, but not on Saturday, as they hammered the Bulls 32-7. Leinster were exceptional, with their Jacques Nienaber-designed defence regularly smashing the South Africans backwards as they proved too powerful and streetwise for Jake White’s men.
Super Rugby finalists: Congratulations to the Crusaders and the Chiefs who have reached the showpiece event in the southern hemisphere’s premier club competition. While we are firmly of the belief that Clayton McMillan’s men should be out after their defeat to the Blues, they took advantage of the ‘lucky loser’ spot to put in an improved display to overcome the Brumbies. They will take on the most successful side in the competition next weekend, who became the top seed after the Chiefs’ loss in the Qualifying Final, as they edged past the Blues.
Brilliant Bayonne: It has been a remarkable rise for the Basque outfit, who will take on Toulouse in the Top 14 semi-finals after overcoming Clermont Auvergne 20-3 in the Barrages. Bayonne have been a yo-yo team in France but, since their promotion from the Pro D2 in 2022, they have built superbly, culminating in their incredible 2024/25 season. They were outstanding on Friday as the hosts dominated Clermont in atrocious conditions to reach the last-four. Bayonne haven’t won the French title since 1944, but could this be the year they end that barren streak?
Ngani Laumape back in Super Rugby: After five years away from New Zealand, the former All Blacks centre will make his return to Super Rugby in 2026 after Moana Pasifika announced his signing. While Laumape only accrued 15 caps for the All Blacks, he was always one of the best players in the domestic competition and it is great to see him back. Of course, time and age may change that but hopefully he can bolster Moana like Ardie Savea has done this season.
Shock Springboks call-up: Rassie Erasmus has already hosted the first few training training sessions as the Boks begin preparations for the 2025 international season. Those plans ramped up on Sunday when the Bok boss cut his squad to 45 with a shock call-up for Edinburgh prop Boan Venter, who qualifies on residency grounds for Scotland next year. Venter has been a cornerstone of the Edinburgh pack in recent seasons and with several injuries at loosehead, he has the opportunity to press for a Green and Gold jersey this year – with a possible debut in the clash against the Barbarians in Cape Town.
COLD AS ICE!
Another Michael Cheika ref rant: The former Wallabies boss was always going to complain about the officials if Leicester lost and, alas, that is what transpired following their 23-21 defeat to Bath. His main grievance was with the yellow card to Dan Cole, who was sin-binned when trying to charge down a Finn Russell ‘up and under’. While we have sympathy for the retiring Leicester prop, those types of incidents have always resulted in red and yellow cards, basically ever since CJ Stander wiped out Pat Lambie in 2016. Like Cole, Stander’s actions weren’t intentional, but he was rightly sent-off as Lambie retired three years later after suffering multiple concussions due to the effects of that hit. We did not think Karl Dickson had the greatest game but the Tigers did not lose become of him and Cheika’s continual ref rants do no help anyone.
One-dimensional Bulls: The conditions should have suited the Pretoria outfit on Saturday. Rained teemed down and the South Africans have had the best scrum in the competition, but they were surprisingly outgunned in that area by Leinster. Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson got the better of Wilco Louw and Jan-Hendrik Wessels respectively, which took away the visitors’ main weapon. As a result, they simply did not know how to respond and struggled to create anything against Leinster’s fierce defence.
Grenoble and Perpignan fans fight: On Saturday, the two teams went head-to-head in the ‘Access Match’, which determined who would be in the Top 14 next season. Perpignan finished in 13th position in France’s top-tier, which meant they had a play-off with a side in the Pro D2 away from home. There was plenty at stake and it was USAP who managed to edge the contest 13-11, resulting in a pitch invasion by the visitors’ supporters. Grenoble fans then responded by charging onto the field and, unfortunately, some fighting broke out in absolutely disgraceful scenes. It was certainly not a good look for the two clubs or the sport as a whole.
Noah Lolesio setback: Just 10 minutes into their Super Rugby Pacific semi-final with the Chiefs, the Wallabies fly-half was forced off and needed a HIA. Lolesio unfortunately, would not return and the Brumbies certainly missed his presence, but more concerning was that he suffered another issue just a month after sustaining what was very nearly a horrific spine injury. Thankfully, that did not prove to be serious and we hope the same is the case for this latest one.
NZR in search of new CEO: It was announced last week that Mark Robinson will leave his role at the end of the year. Officially, it is family reasons which has led to the decision, with his wife and children currently in Australia, but it all seems rather sudden. There was no murmurings that Robinson was about to depart but, either way, it ends a rather turbulent time in charge of the governing body. The 51-year-old was dealt a difficult hand, having taken over just before Covid struck, but at the same time, he did not handle certain situations well, particularly around Ian Foster’s future.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/whos-hot-and-whos-not-leinster-bath-end-trophy-droughts-disgraceful-scenes-in-france-and-chiekas-continual-ref-rants
