David Skippers 19 Jun 2023 9:06 AM
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!
Romain Ntamack: Big players step up at the crucial moments and that is what the France international did in the Top 14 final. Down 26-22 to La Rochelle with three minutes remaining, Ntamack received the ball 60 metres out. There was an opportunity on thanks to the brilliance of Antoine Dupont, who manipulated the defence to leave an overlap on the outside. However, the fly-half spotted the chance to go himself and showed all his qualities to break the first-up defence and speed away for a wonderful individual try. To be perfectly honest, he didn’t have his greatest game but no one will remember that thanks to his moment of genius which won Toulouse the title.
Chiefs and Damian McKenzie: The men from Hamilton finished the league season at the top of the table and deserved their standing as the top seeds in the play-offs. They came into Saturday’s semi-final against the Brumbies in Hamilton as overwhelming favourites, after they were made to work hard in their quarter-final win over the Reds. It was a similar story against the Brumbies though but they deserve plenty of credit for maintaining their composure, despite being under great pressure for long periods, and eventually ground out a 19-6 win. Leading the way was McKenzie, who continued his superb form as he laid the groundwork in the build-up to the game’s only try – scored by Brodie Retallick – and impressed with a fine goal-kicking performance as he finished with a 15-point haul courtesy of four penalties and a conversion.
Crusaders and Leicester Fainga’anuku: Earlier, on Friday, the Crusaders turned on the style in their semi-final against the Blues as they sealed an emphatic 52-15 victory in Christchurch. If truth be told, a much closer battle was expected as the Crusaders have been decimated by injuries this season and they took on the Blues without All Blacks like Sam Whitelock, David Havili, Ethan Blackadder, Joe Moody, Sevu Reece, George Bower, Cullen Grace and Fletcher Newell. Despite being without those stalwarts, they showed why they are the defending champions as they delivered an outstanding all-round performance and outscored the men from Auckland by six tries to two. Fainga’anuku caught the eye with a fine attacking display as he finished with 82 metres gained during a 54-minute shift and was rewarded with a brace of tries.
All Blacks newbies: Five uncapped players have been selected in Ian Foster’s squad, with Cam Roigard, Dallas McLeod, Emoni Narawa, Samipeni Finau and Tamaiti Williams being rewarded for their form in Super Rugby Pacific this season. Scrum-half Roigard has arguably been the standout having shone in the absence of TJ Perenara at the Hurricanes, while Narawa and Finau have been a joy to watch at the Chiefs. McLeod and Williams have impressed in the Crusaders’ late season resurgence and will also provide versatility with their ability to play multiple positions.
BROKEN THERMOSTAT
Italy change coaches: We were surprised by the Italian Rugby Federation’s decision not to renew Kieran Crowley’s contract but, on the face of it, the addition of Gonzalo Quesada is an impressive one. Crowley has done brilliantly with the Azzurri, helping to nurture a talented young group of players and gain some good results in the process. Under the New Zealander, they ended their 36-match barren streak in the Six Nations and beat Australia for the first time ever. However, Quesada has a superb club resume having won the Top 14 and Challenge Cup titles with Stade Francais, and taken the Jaguares to their first – and only – Super Rugby final before the Argentinian franchise were axed from the competition.
COLD AS ICE!
Blues collapse: That was a pretty dreadful way for the Auckland outfit to mark the end of Leon MacDonald’s tenure. The head coach will now leave the franchise to take up a role with Scott Robertson’s All Blacks after the Rugby World Cup having turned around the fortunes of the Blues. They have become genuine title challengers since his arrival and claimed silverware with the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman trophy in 2021, but MacDonald’s men have been unable to add to that. Friday’s performance in particular was a huge disappointment as they never really got going against the Crusaders and were pretty much out of the contest at half-time. The second period wasn’t much better, with the hosts continuing to dominate and racking up over 50 points.
Shaun Stevenson left out: We were left stunned by Foster’s decision not to select the Chiefs man in his 36-man Rugby Championship squad. Granted, there is plenty of talent in that back three, but Stevenson has been one of the best players in Super Rugby this season and surely deserves his shot. He has been added as injury cover for Mark Telea but the fact that the head coach doesn’t consider him one of the leading wings or full-backs in New Zealand is quite staggering. The 26-year-old is so unfortunate and you just wonder whether he will ever get a shot in the squad, if his current form isn’t deemed good enough for a place.
Graceless Ronan O’Gara: Everyone, including us, enjoys his openness and honesty, and his interviews are always fascinating to listen to, but his comments after their defeat to Toulouse in the Top 14 final were rather bitter. O’Gara called the victors “average” and stated: “We’re going to see the great Stade Toulousain explaining rugby to everyone,” which is basically accusing the club of a lack of humility. That was at odds as to how Ugo Mola’s men actually acted in victory as they were incredibly gracious, especially when speaking about La Rochelle. Yes, the best team probably did lose, but O’Gara could have shown a bit more class post-match.
