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Each Monday, I’ll be putting together a wrap of the weekend’s sporting action, standout moments, and major talking points, with a focus on football, cricket, and rugby.

So, off we go…

I regret to inform you that the Proteas have, once again, completely imploded.

But let’s not ruin the weekend sports wrap before it’s even begun. Mondays are dark enough as it is.

Instead, let’s kick things off with Super Bowl LV (or 55), and a certain Tom Brady cementing his place as the greatest American football player of all time.

Some Americans are arguing he’s the greatest athlete of all time, in any sporting code, but they really need to look beyond their own borders.

The showdown between 43-year-old Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the man many believe could one day surpass Brady’s greatness, fizzled out as a contest early on.

The Buccaneers triumphed 31-9, securing Brady his seventh Super Bowl ring, whilst Mahomes completed only 53 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions in the second half.

If you want to watch the official NFL highlights package, head here.

There’s also a great read on Brady and his relentless winning attitude here, but let’s enjoy the moment he spotted his family after the game:

Tom Brady when he saw his family ❤️

(via @NFLUpOfficial)pic.twitter.com/6b9xgTgOKP

— ESPN (@espn) February 8, 2021

Can he add an eighth Super Bowl title? He’s going to give it a shot:

“I’m coming back.” – @TomBrady#SBLV | @Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/P7gl5xMf76

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

Let’s move to rugby, and a bumper weekend in the Six Nations.

Firstly, Scotland beat England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years on Saturday, with George-born Duhan van der Merwe powering through the Pom defence for the match’s only try.

You can read more on van der Merwe and watch match highlights here, but let’s enjoy how much this one meant to the Scots.

The moment the Calcutta Cup trophy was lifted to the sky:

It’s coming home 🏆#AsOne pic.twitter.com/6wGXzx7bVd

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 6, 2021

This fan has been waiting a long, long time to unleash these celebrations:

YASSSSSSSSSS#ENGvSCO #6Nations pic.twitter.com/9uOIizAMX0

— Graham Love (@glove931) February 6, 2021

38 years of hurt
ENDED #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/2v4u1BXixl

— Graham Love (@glove931) February 6, 2021

The duck has been broken.

France gave Italy a solid hiding in the tournament’s opener, triumphing 50-10 in Rome:

In the round’s final match, Wales overcame a spirited effort from Ireland, who were reduced to 14 men early on after a red card was dished out to Peter O’Mahony.

He can have no complaints about being sent off, with the incident kicking off the below highlights package:

There was also some red card action in the English Premier League, where Newcastle hung on for a gritty win against Southampton.

Having seen Jeff Hendrick sent off, and then losing Fabian Schär to injury after manager Steve Bruce had already used all three substitutions, the Toon dealt with a hellish final 20 or so minutes to win 3-2.

One might say it’s the second time in a week Southampton have been beaten by nine.

The loss shouldn’t detract from the fact that James Ward-Prowse is an absolute magician from a dead ball setting:

Another day, another James Ward-Prowse special 🎯

Is there a better player in world football when it comes to free-kicks? The Saints trail Newcastle 3-2 with 10 minutes to go.

Watch live: https://t.co/bw5ULpVfPO#PL | #NEWSOU pic.twitter.com/ybIpAFTLfA

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 6, 2021

He’s certainly up there with the best free-kick takers in the world.

West Ham were also forced to finish their match a man down, following the sending off of Tomáš Souček after an accidental clash with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrović.

The Fulham man even told referee Mike Dean it wasn’t a red card, but Dean just couldn’t help himself, and after seeing the replay via the VAR screen on the side of the field he sent Souček off.

Soucek got a red for this 😭 pic.twitter.com/5Mg8toir5b

— Tom (@thomasgeorge97) February 6, 2021

Not a weekend goes by where football fans don’t decry the use of VAR, but it boggles the mind sometimes.

West Ham have appealed the decision, and if it’s overturned, as it should be, that will be the second such ruling against Dean in his past two matches.

Players get dropped when they don’t perform at the level required, so here’s hoping Dean gets the same treatment.

The most anticipated match of the round was Liverpool at home to Manchester City, and it was a match that ‘keeper Alisson will want to forget.

The Brazilian was at fault for two City goals in the space of a few minutes, and ended up conceding four as Liverpool lost their third straight match at home:

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s last-gasp equaliser for Everton against Manchester United means that Pep Guardiola’s side now have a five-point lead over the rest of the pack, with a game in hand, and are 10 clear of the defending champions.

If the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden keep on hitting the back of the net, and the clean sheets keep coming, you’d back City to waltz to the title.

They could still suffer an implosion, but it would take some turnaround to prevent another trophy for Pep’s chargers.

One of Guardiola’s former stars, a certain Leo Messi, also had a decent kickabout on Sunday.

He came on as a substiture in the 57th minute of Barcelona’s La Liga clash against Real Betis, scored two minutes later, and played a vital role in the 68th-minute Victor Ruiz own goal which put Barcelona ahead.

You can see those highlights here.

In Italy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 500th club goal, followed by his 501st, for AC Milan against Crotone in the Serie A.

He becomes only the third player in the 21st century to achieve this feat, after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

You can see his 500th from around 45 seconds below:

Fine, we must talk about cricket.

I’ll begin with an incredible example of a successful run chase in the subcontinent, and one spearheaded by a man on test debut.

The West Indies looked dead and buried when Bangladesh set them 395 to win the first test, but Kyle Mayers had other ideas.

Sporting a first-class batting average of 28 before the match, Mayers struck a double century, leading the Windies to a remarkable three-wicket win.

It’s the highest ever run chase in Asia, the fifth-highest of all-time, and an example of grit and application that will hopefully inspire other batsmen to follow suit.

If you missed the drama, I would highly recommend teeing up the highlights below:

India and England are currently doing battle in Chennai, and it’s the visitors, thanks to a double century by skipper Joe Root, that are dominating.

The home side, having been set 420 to win in the fourth innings, are 39/1 at stumps on day four.

I guess I can’t avoid it any longer.

The Proteas.

It’s all so utterly predictable, and time and time again, it’s the hope that kills you.

After letting the Pakistani tail off the hook, Quinton de Kock’s men were set a daunting total of 370 to win, and the match was written off.

But then Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, and Temba Bavuma dug in, and at 241/3 you thought maybe, just maybe, we were in with a shot of pulling off a miracle.

Incorrect, because as we have grown used to, one wicket brought six more, and we were dismissed for 274, having lost our final seven wickets for the addition of 33 runs.

Worse still, we knew this was coming. Consider this graphic below, which doesn’t include the latest unravelling:

Our final five wickets for 37 in the first innings, our final seven for 33 in the second, and yet more unnecessary pain inflicted on South African cricket fans on a Monday morning.

That’s nine test defeats on the trot in Asia, and the third time we have lost exactly 7/33 since 2018.

Given that the Australians have pulled out of next month’s tour, we may not play another test for 10 months, or perhaps longer.

When that next test rolls around, Quinton de Kock will mercifully no longer be captain, and there will also be debates around whether he merits a spot at all. For a player of such considerable talent, his test match stats are simply not good enough.

Faf du Plessis, having served us so well over the past decade, may also have hung up his boots by then, meaning some new talent, like Kyle Verreynne, can be blooded in the middle order.

Somehow, this batting line-up needs to find a backbone, because we can’t carry on like this.

Yes, there is still a T20 series to be contested, which will feature a second-string South African line-up, but it’s test match beatings like today that really hurt us Proteas fans.

Let’s call it there. I need a lie-down. Watch this at your own peril: