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!
‘Disrespectful’ French: France head coach Fabien Galthie and the French Rugby Federation received plenty of criticism from New Zealanders after they decided to leave several of their first choice players at home for their three-Test series away against the All Blacks. Leading the condemnation was former All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall, who said: “It’s complete BS the way that they’re treating this tour, the way that the French always seem to have come up with excuses to not bring their top players. I feel they disrespect the international window.” Les Bleus fielded an inexperienced side – with debutants in their matchday squad – in the first Test against the All Blacks but gave the men in black an almighty fright as they pushed them all the way before suffering a narrow 31-27 loss.
Springboks rookies: After cruising to an easy victory against the Barbarians in an exhibition match in Cape Town last week, the Springboks got their 2025 Test campaign off to a winning start with a 42-24 triumph over Italy in Pretoria on Saturday. While senior players like stand-in skipper Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse and Jasper Wiese showed their class with impressive performances, rookies like Morne van den Berg (scrum-half) and Vincent Tshituka (back-rower) also caught the eye with fine showings. Van den Berg was only making his third Test appearance but shone on attack as he scored two tries and was rewarded with the official man-of-the-match award after the game. Meanwhile, Test debutant Tshituka delivered an all-action display as he was brilliant on both sides of the ball and was unlucky to have a try disallowed.
Italy’s ‘Grenade Squad’: Although the Springboks were victorious at Loftus Versfeld, things did not go entirely their way as the Azzurri came back strongly after half-time and this was largely due to the efforts of their replacements bench which their head coach Gonzalo Quesada dubbed the ‘Grenade Squad’. Italy battled to contain the Boks during the opening half and were trailing their hosts 3-28 at the interval but were much more competitive in the second half which they won 21-14. The visitors’ replacements brought plenty of energy with the likes of Pablo Dimcheff, who scored one of his side’s tries, Ross Vintcent, David Odiase and Matteo Canali all shining up front while Alessandro Garbisi impressed amongst the backs.
England bring Pumas back down: After Argentina delivered an outstanding performance in their victory over the British and Irish Lions at the Aviva Stadium a few weeks ago, they were expected to continue with their fine form against an understrength England team when the sides faced off in La Plata on Saturday. However, the Red Rose, who are without 14 of their first choice players, did not read the script as they delivered a superb all-round performance and eventually clinched a deserved 35-12 victory. While the entire matchday squad deserve praise, it was a momentous occasion for experienced fly-half George Ford, who impressed in his 100th Test for England, while Tom Willis (number eight) was arguably the best player on the field as he shone on attack and defence.
Eddie’s Blossoms are Brave again: After taking over Japan’s coaching reins for a second stint at the start of 2024, head coach Eddie Jones has found the going tough as the Brave Blossoms have lost more matches than they have won under his guidance. Jones opted for a youthful policy and brought several newbies to his team, but results have not been forthcoming as they suffered defeats against New Zealand, France and England last year. However, Japan showed their class when they claimed a shock victory over Wales in Kitakyushu on Saturday. Wales raced into a 19-7 half-time lead, but Japan came back strongly after the break and eventually sealed a deserved 24-19 win.
BROKEN THERMOSTAT
Owen Farrell call-up: There was a lot said and written about the experienced utility back’s call up to the British & Irish Lions squad as a replacement for the injured full-back Elliot Daly. Head coach Andy Farrell received plenty of criticism for bringing his son into the touring group with many Lions fans accusing the older Farrell of nepotism as his son is primarily a fly-half, who can also play at inside centre, while full-backs like Wales’ Blair Murray and Scotland’s Tom Jordan were overlooked. The younger Farrell has also been struggling with his club form at Racing 92. However, despite all that criticism of the decision, what cannot be ignored is the fact that the 33-year-old is the most experienced Lions player in the squad. He is also their most capped international and his addition should bolster the squad.
COLD AS ICE!
Error-strewn Lions: Although the British & Irish Lions are still unbeaten on their tour of Australia, their third encounter against the Waratahs was very different to their first two matches against the Western Force and the Reds. The famous touring side delivered impressive all-round performances and notched a half century of points against the Force and Reds but it was a different story against the Waratahs as they made a plethora of unforced errors and eventually had to settle for a modest 21-10 triumph in Sydney. Lions head coach Andy Farrell has plenty of homework to do ahead of the opening Test in Brisbane which is less than two weeks away.
Elliot Daly injury: The 32-year-old’s injury was a cruel one as he was a late addition to the Lions’ run-on side in Brisbane after Hugo Keenan, who was initially selected to start against the Reds, was forced to withdraw due to illness. Daly was making his 11th consecutive appearance for the Lions, a run of unbroken involvement stretching back to the 2021 tour to South Africa, but his 2025 tour came to an abrupt end when he broke his forearm when tackling Reds full-back Jock Campbell.
Jake White’s departure: After several weeks of speculation, White’s five-year stint as the Bulls’ director of rugby came to an abrupt end with the Pretoria-based outfit confirming the 61-year-old’s departure by mutual agreement. This came after a ‘thorough end-of-season review’ and reports of a mutiny in the Bulls camp, with players and assistant coaches expressing dissatisfaction with White‘s leadership style. White’s exit was controversial as it was reported that some players threatened not to sign new contracts with the franchise, but the the decision to end his time in charge at the Bulls came at a meeting last Friday.
Woeful Wales: While Japan deserve plenty of credit for claiming that victory in Kitakyushu, Wales supporters will be wondering when their horrific losing streak will come to an end. It was very much a game of two halves as interim head coach Matt Sherratt’s troops raced into that 12-point lead at half-time but they completely lost their way in the second half and eventually suffered an embarrassing defeat to the Brave Blossoms. That result means Wales have now lost a record 18 Tests in a row, which is the worst losing streak for a Tier One nation. They will be desperate to turn the tables in the second Test in Kobe this weekend.
IRFU’s treatment of Chris Busby: The former IRFU referee, who retired at the end of the 2024/25 season, did not hold back in his criticism of the governing body as he published a no-holds-barred post on LinkedIn last week. Busby announced his retirement earlier in the season after his performance in a Connacht v Leinster clash was heavily criticised. An obviously disenchanted Busby posted a picture of his IRFU retirement memento placed in his rubbish bin along with a brief message. Busby wrote: “Today marks the end of my time with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). I was given a framed photo as a memento to mark the occasion. A gesture, I suppose. But what I really needed – and never received – from IRFU leadership was genuine support during the most difficult period of my professional life. I’ll be sharing more about that in the months ahead. For now, I’m grateful for the people I’ve met through the game, and looking forward to what’s next.”