Who's hot and who's not: The All Blacks' Will Jordan, France, and Henry Pollock shine, while the Wallabies struggle and SA Rugby faces drug scandal
It's Monday, and that means it's time for our weekly round-up of the rugby world. Who's making headlines for all the right reasons, and who's falling short? Let's dive in.
The Hot Ones
Will Jordan: A Try-Scoring Machine
Will Jordan is on fire! The All Blacks' winger broke the long-standing try-scoring record with a hat-trick against the Azzurri. This wasn't just any hat-trick; it was a symbolic one, with Jordan overtaking Doug Howlett as the All Blacks' all-time top try-scorer. His performance was a testament to his growth since his debut in 2020, and he's now undoubtedly one of the first names on the team sheet. Jordan's poacher's efforts were all the more impressive, with his first try coming after a kick-chase and clever support line, and the hat-trick-sealing score coming after a pinpoint pass from Jordie Barrett. It was a performance that made the whole day sweeter, especially with him also being given the captain's armband.
Henry Pollock: A Statement Performance
Henry Pollock had a statement performance for England, with calls to promote him into the starting team growing louder. With 32 minutes on the clock, the Northampton Saint took control of the game, almost making it the 'Henry Pollock show'. His hat-trick and second-most metres across the Test were a testament to his confidence and form, which has been on the rise. Pollock won Man of the Match in Northampton's PREM final win over Exeter Chiefs last month, and his performances in big games are seemingly transferring over to an England shirt. With his current form, a start for England is not too far away.
France: Answering the Critics
France had some vocal critics ahead of the Nations Championship block, but they seemed to answer all of them with a big win over the Wallabies. The playmaking axis of Maxime Lucu, Romain Ntamack, and Matthieu Jalibert worked beautifully, with the trio combining to get Les Bleus purring in attack. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang enjoyed a fine Test debut, bagging a brace, and the bench turned the screw late on. This win was a scary thought, considering they have the likes of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos, Antoine Dupont, and Julien Marchand to come back into the picture. The fact it came after a brave performance against the All Blacks with none of their Top 14 finalists proves that Les Bleus are in rude health, and you'd be brave to write them off.
The Cold Ones
Pacific Island Nations: A Weekend to Forget
The Pacific Island nations had a tough weekend, with all of them tasting defeat to European opposition. Fiji were whacked 73-8 by England, Tonga fell to a 32-19 defeat to Spain, and Samoa lost 33-12 to Georgia. The fact none of them picked up any form of bonus point in these defeats will also sting, and seems to lose them ground in their respective pools. While they do have winnable Tests lined up this weekend, they'll just want to forget about the weekend just gone by.
Wallabies: Losing Their Mojo
The Wallabies are back in a sticky position, with Joe Schmidt's side on a run of nine defeats from their past 10 Tests and haven't won since a victory over Japan in October last year. They pushed the British and Irish Lions all the way in Test Two of the series and could easily have won, before going on to claim victory in Test Three and a week later beating the Springboks. They then ended the Rugby Championship third in the table, an improvement on 2024, with two wins from six and could feel unlucky to not have more considering the performances against the Boks and Argentina in their respective defeats there. But now, they just seem to have really lost their mojo compared to where they were 12 months ago. The ongoing coaching saga might have an effect, but in the here and now, they just need to find a way to win. Then, they can build.
SA Rugby Drug Scandal: An Ugly Picture
South African rugby has been hit with yet another unwanted drug scandal, with a urine sample from Junior Springboks and Sharks man Kai Pratt returning an adverse analytical finding relating to a prohibited substance. With this also coming amid the backdrop of Asenathi Ntlabakanye’s 18-month ban, it just paints an ugly picture for the union.
