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!

Eben Etzebeth concussion relief: There were concerns after the Springboks lock was made unavailable for the Sharks’ clash with Zebre Parma. That game was supposed to be the second-row’s comeback match having struggled with concussion over the past three months. Of course, once it was revealed that Etzebeth had failed to make the game, thoughts immediately turned to his head injury and whether it was related to his recent issues, but thankfully it was simply a slight hamstring strain he picked up. He should therefore be back on the pitch soon. Rassie Erasmus and John Plumtree must both be breathing a sigh of relief.

Harlequins stun rivals: There was no Marcus Smith while a few of their stars were missing, but they produced a superb display in the final half-hour to shock Saracens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. At 12-0 in arrears, it was not looking good for Quins, but youngster Jamie Benson came on at fly-half to inspire a turnaround. Oscar Beard was also excellent while up front Will Evans and Jack Kenningham produced fine showings to seal a superb win.

JVP stars in derby demolition: After playing – and impressing – as a replacement in England’s final two Six Nations matches, Jack van Poortvliet was back featuring for his club Leicester Tigers on Friday and the scrum-half was utterly superb. Van Poortvliet dictated the game for the Tigers as they embarrassed their arch-rivals at Franklin’s Garden, securing a 33-0 triumph. The highlight was undoubtedly the playmaker’s superb individual try as he broke from the base of the ruck, chipped over the top and recollected for an outstanding score.

Northampton v Leicester: Five takeaways as Saints suffer ‘derby disaster’ with England playmaker ‘pulling the strings’ in Test team-mate’s absence

Thrilling URC: As a product, the United Rugby Championship has certainly developed since the introduction of the South African sides and it continues to excite, with Round 13 particularly producing. All games were hotly contested with the Stormers’ victory over the Scarlets (29-17) the only match to have a bigger winning margin than four points. Every other encounter was remarkably tight and went down to the final play in what was a superb weekend in the URC.

Six Nations victors: After the men’s competition concluded the previous weekend, the women’s tournament got underway on Saturday. There were unsurprising victories for Europe’s two dominant countries in France and England, who overcame Ireland and Italy respectively, but there was a thriller in Edinburgh as Scotland overcame Wales 24-21 thanks to tries from Sarah Bonar, Emma Orr and Leah Bartlett.

Spellbinding Stormers: John Dobson was boosted by the returns of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse for their clash with the Scarlets and it certainly paid dividends as the Stormers claimed a bonus point 29-17 victory playing some simply gorgeous rugby. The Capetonians have had their fair share of injuries but the return of the Springboks duo is a massive boost and the side looked incredibly confident and convincing in their win.

Are the Crusaders back? After a woeful first season in charge of the proud Canterbury club, Rob Penney has well and truly turned things around remarkably picking up his first away win since taking charge of the side. It was an emphatic victory at Eden Park over the Blues with the 42-19 scoreline really flattering the hosts. The ‘Saders won just four of their 14 matches last season and have already matched that win tally after just five rounds. When the red Crusaders machine gets going it is incredibly difficult to stop and the win in Auckland was a statement of intent but there is still a long way to go in the season.

🌊⚔️ Blues v Crusaders: Five takeaways as ‘sluggish’ All Blacks hopeful sums up woeful hosts while Saders rise from horrific slump

Pace-setting Bath: Johann van Graan’s men made rather light work of Gloucester in the derby this weekend running in six tries to the Cherry and Whites’ four to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points. Last year’s beaten finalists look on track to seal a top-two finish and a home semi-final after winning 10 of their 12 matches so far.

Reds lead Australia’s improvement: It’s been an incredibly competitive Super Rugby Pacific season so far this year, and that has been partly down to the immense improvement of the Australian teams. The Reds edged the Highlanders this week as Les Kiss’ side notched up their fourth win from five matches, leaving them ranked third overall. The Brumbies and Waratahs played out an entertaining fixture in Sydney, with Dan McKellar getting the ‘W’ over his former side, while the Western Force hammered Fijian Drua 52-15. Although the Chiefs and Crusaders are setting the pace at the top of the table – the latter only leading the Reds by points difference – the other two New Zealand teams find themselves trailing the Australian quartet. Who would have predicted that at the start of the season? Perhaps we could see one of the teams upset the Lions this year…

🚨 Competition: Win Premiership final tickets, signed ball and more with eToro 🚨

COLD AS ICE!

Player welfare in Super Rugby: We have been a critic of their approach to head injuries in the past – after all, it was the Australians and New Zealanders who have consistently backed the 20-minute red card – and once again there were a couple of concerning incidents at the weekend. The first occurred in the Highlanders v Reds clash when Veveni Lasaqa appeared to effectively headbutt Tom Lynagh. The result? A knock on from Lynagh. The next came in the Brumbies v Waratahs encounter when Andrew Kellaway was caught in the face by Ollie Sapsford. Kellaway pleaded with referee Ben O’Keeffe but, according to the official, it had been cleared by the TMO, who stated the contact was on the shoulder. Well, the evidence suggested otherwise. Super Rugby really needs to wake up.

Peato Mauvaka: The France hooker has quite rightly been banned for his headbutt on Scotland scrum-half Ben White, although he can perhaps be thankful that it was not longer. Mauvaka was given a three-week ban for the incident in the first half of their Six Nations decider against the Scots. He was only sin-binned at the time, with the bunker deciding not to upgrade it to red, but many felt he should have been given a straight red. The disciplinary panel evidently agreed which means Scotland, as well as England, who would have won the Six Nations if Gregor Townsend’s men had emerged victorious in Paris, may be feeling slightly miffed.

☘️ Ex-Ireland forward slams 20-minute red card and warns of ‘slippery slope’ after refereeing call ‘helped’ France win the Six Nations

Northampton nilled: It is the first time in Premiership history that the Saints have been kept scoreless at Franklin’s Gardens and the first time since 2005 – ironically against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road – that they have not managed a point in a league game overall. It was a pretty shameful performance from a side that desperately needed a victory to keep their Premiership play-off hopes alive.

Leinster lose: For perhaps the first time this season, Leo Cullen’s charges fall into the NOT after falling to their first defeat of 2024/25. Sure it was a young squad that went to the imposing venue that is Loftus Versveld but really, they were in a position to win the match and failed to get over the line. Cullen wasn’t overly fazed in the aftermath understanding how the odds were stacked against them and how close they came to actually coming away with a win. “I’d rather lose now than in a knockout match,” Cullen quipped.

Maddening inconsistency: In the men’s Six Nations, Taulupe Faletau had a brilliant try ruled out against Scotland for Blair Murray jumping in the tackle. While we would ordinarily like to have seen it being awarded, just for the sheer excellence of Murray in the build-up, we can understand why it wasn’t and, equally, why the law is there. It was therefore incredibly frustrating to see a similar incident not punished in the women’s tournament. Ironically, it happened in another Scotland v Wales match and once again it was the visitors who were hard done by when the hosts’ centre Lisa Thomson hurdled the tackle of scrum-half Kiera Bevan. The TMO ruled that it was ‘not a clear jump’ but, come on now, Thomson could have been in China over the weekend for the World Athletics Indoor Championships, it was that obvious. There is an element of interpretation with rugby’s laws but the game doesn’t do itself any favours when there is such inconsistency.

Fortunate South African sides: Not often victors are in this section but the Sharks and Bulls do rather need to buck up their ideas if they are to be realistic title challengers this season. On the face of it, a win over Leinster would be something to cherish but, when you consider the Irish province were playing a severely weakened team, it puts the hosts’ success into context. The Bulls were fortunate to be on the right side of the scoreline and were indebted to their scrum for the victory. As for the Sharks, the Springboks-laden outfit really struggled against supposed Italian minnows Zebre Parma and snatched it late on thanks to Ethan Hooker’s converted try. Some credit must be given for getting over the line but both teams need to be vastly better during the run-in.

Blunt Blues: Last season the Aucklanders won their first Super Rugby title since 2003 but, on the evidence of the opening few rounds of the 2025 campaign, they certainly won’t be defending it. Their latest loss – a 42-19 home reversal at the hands of arch-rivals Crusaders – was arguably their worst. The Blues currently reside in ninth position in the table with just one victory in six matches and their latest defeat was probably the most concerning.

READ MORE: Rating every England player from the 2025 Six Nations: ‘Merciless’ prop stars shine while Smith plays himself into Lions contention

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/whos-hot-and-whos-not-relief-for-rassie-erasmus-australias-red-hot-super-form-blunt-blues-and-shameful-saints