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!
A South African first!: The Bulls created their own bit of history over the weekend as Jake White’s charges eked out a 16-13 victory over Munster. Not only did the Bulls become the first South African outfit to beat Munster at Thomond Park, but are also the first team from the republic to defeat every one of the four Irish teams in one season.
Leinster: Yet another superb week for the Leinster faithful, starting with the shock announcement that came out of nowhere that All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane would join the club next season on a short-term deal. He will fill Jordie Barrett’s void in the squad, and after announcing yet another top-class signing, the Irish province went about their usual business securing a bonus point victory over rivals Ulster.
Sexton bombshell: Johnny Sexton did not let Ioane dominate the headlines for too long as the Leinster and Ireland legend was unveiled as the latest addition to Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions coaching team ahead of the tour to Australia. There were murmurs this might be the case a few months back, only for Sexton to be omitted from the initial coaching team announcement but no, he is going.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Three tries in 26 minutes! What a performance it was for the Springboks’ sensation, who ripped Connacht to shreds in the first half of the United Rugby Championship (URC) fixture in Cape Town. The fly-half was just as excellent around the park and kicked superbly out of hand too. He has hit the ground running since his return from injury.
Premiership trio: All of Sale Sharks, Saracens and Leicester Tigers could easily have been given a section of their own here but we’ll give them a collective pat on their back for their performances over the weekend. Sale were hugely impressive in their win at Harlequins – five of their players made our Team of the Week – while Saracens proved too hot for Gloucester and Leicester stunned Bristol at Ashton Gate. All three are hitting great form at just the right time.
Hat-trick duo: Cardiff wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb picked up and impressive treble in their vital URC win over Ospreys but Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan is just taking the mickey at this point. His three tries in just over a quarter of the game after coming on for Gus McCarthy in the second period shows how deadly he is. The British and Irish Lions starting jersey is his for losing right now.
BROKEN THERMOSTAT!
Eben Etzebeth’s return: Springboks fans breathed a sigh of relief as Etzebeth‘s name was finally included on a Sharks’ teamsheet for the first time in 2025 after fears started to emerge around his future after his long lay-off due to a concussion and then a hamstring injury. Etzebeth marked his return against Edinburgh, captaining the side to a victory over the Scottish outfit, but his outburst, throwing Sam Skinner to the floor and earning a yellow card, did put a damper on his comeback.
COLD AS ICE!
Fiasco at Thomond Park: Oh dear, this was bad. Munster were forced to play 14 second-half minutes a man down after a mistake when Stephen Archer left the field injured, this after fellow tighthead prop Oli Jager had departed early on. Referee Andrea Piardi and his officiating team informed Munster they would have to surrender a player due to the game going to uncontested scrums, meaning back-row Alex Kendellen was sacrificed. However, that was incorrect is a tighthead is replaced due to a failed HIA. The backlash continues to rumble on.
Stormers defence: While Feinberg-Mngomezulu was red-hot for the Capetonians on Saturday with ball in hand, director of rugby John Dobson barely got to praise the youngster right after the match as he was left seething by his team’s defensive efforts. The Stormers conceded a late try with a successful conversion, handing Connacht the victory before the officials chalked off the try for a clear obstruction. Dobson stated afterwards that he was pleased that the correct call was made, but admitted that his team deserved to lose after one of their worst defensive efforts in years.
Nolann Le Garrec simulation attempt: A real eyesore from the weekend as France and Racing 92 scrum-half Le Garrec attempted to earn a penalty from the referee with a theatrical dive after he ran into a Perpignan player. Thankfully, the official was not persuaded in the slightest but it is a real shame to see players, particularly of Le Garrec’s quality, sink to such lows. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a trend of simulation in rugby at the moment but hopefully, it gets stamped out quickly.
Blunt Bristol Bears: A rude awakening for the Bears as they were well and truly beaten by an impressive Leicester side on Sunday. Bristol pride themselves on a lethal attacking game and while it featured at times at Ashton Gate, they were largely well contained by the Tigers. The loss sees Pat Lam’s men relinquish second place on the Premiership table and suddenly they are in danger of missing out on the play-offs. They simply must respond against Northampton.
Judgment Day turnout: Ospreys head coach Mark Jones was vocal about his disappointment over the supporter turnout for the Welsh double header at the Principality Stadium. Just 28,328 fans were in attendance for the Ospreys v Cardiff and Dragons v Scarlets games, when in the past 60,000 had made the trip to the national stadium. Jones admits the country desperately needs fans to fall in love with rugby again and he’s not wrong.
Matt Williams’ uneducated remarks: Many of the ex-Scotland head coach’s remarks leave a poor taste in the mouth, but perhaps none so more than his recent insinuation that the ‘Bomb Squad’ tactics and South Africa’s focus on scrummaging were a result of his career-ending neck injury. His comments sparked a reply from Rassie Erasmus, who was clearly not happy with what was said about his former player and rightly so. Really poor form, Matt.
Rassie Erasmus slams Matt Williams after Steven Kitshoff’s injury and Bomb Squad take
Another All Blacks star departs: Another star departs New Zealand: Questions around the lure of the All Blacks jersey have once again been raised following the confirmation that winger Mark Tele’a will be off to Japan at the end of the season. It’s a hammer blow for Scott Robertson and his coaching team despite the usual plethora of options outwide for New Zealand. After just two seasons of international rugby, Tele’a is calling it quits and heading to Japan.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/whos-hot-and-whos-not-officiating-fiasco-eben-etzebeths-return-and-the-lure-of-the-all-blacks-jersey
