Round 13 was the Aviva Premiership round in which the
form book was thrown out of the window and home advantage was the name of the
game as all 6 of the home sides were victorious. It was a round of rugby that
had it all and it has left everything in the balance whilst we take a month off
for Europe, the LV Cup & the start of the RBS 6 Nations.
The round started on Friday night at Kingsholm where the
Cherry & Whites hosted Saracens. It was one of the most emotional
games that Kingsholm has witnessed in a very long time, indeed David Humphreys
wasn’t sure if he’d ever experienced anything quite like it. Saracens lost Owen
Farrell to injury prior to kick off that put Alex Goode under the spotlight at
10, however as expected he delivered like a true professional. Gloucester
equally lost Tom Palmer from the bench & Greig Laidlaw from the starting XV
however the latter’s replacement, Dan Robson. played an absolute blinder and scored a sublime
individual try. I must send the very best
recovery wishes to Ben Morgan who suffered a horrible leg injury that puts him out for a long time and to Nick Wood who was stretched off with neck issues. Saracens’ never really looked
truly comfortable during the game and a huge amount of Gloucester physicality
and nerves of steel from James Hook stole the most memorable of memorable
home victories.
On
Saturday afternoon Wasps travelled to The Rec in search of
their first double over Mike Ford’s side since the 2007/8 season however they
left with a bonus point and a sense of thinking what if; as they took 60
minutes to really turn up. Bath on
the other hand fired from moment one, the combination of Ford, Burgess &
Joseph was delightful and crossing for his first Premiership try was nothing
less than Burgess deserved, who looked much more comfortable on a union pitch. When Wasps
arrived they looked impressive, Joe Simpson delivered on his 150th appearance
for the Club and Alex Lozowoski ignited proceedings off the bench. In short, it
was a cracking game of rugby.  |
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At The
Stoop Harlequins took things up a level as they
dismissed a Leicester
Tigers side that will feel
that they should have done much better on the road. Last week Harlequins
struggled against London Welsh however they were re-born thanks to the return
of their big guns. Nick Easter’s man of the match performance showcased his
seemingly timeless class on his 250th club outing and a superb off load to
Danny Care was as good as you’ll see in any competition, anywhere. Marland Yarde beautifully exploited a loose
Tigers’ defence. Danny Care shot his hand up for 6 Nations contention with a
display that said ‘Stuart… remember me, I’m your man’. All in all it was the
type of day Quins fans live for and an all too familiar day of defeat for the
Tigers.
Further North on Saturday afternoon the Northampton Saints suffered from acute
travel sickness as they struggled to compete with Sale at the AJ Bell Stadium. The Sharks
meant business from early and their forwards must be given huge credit for the
manner in which they took the game by the scruff of the neck and delivered. Will
Addison and Josh Beaumont in particular both highlighted to us all that they
are ones to watch both now and in the future. Another Shark that shone was
Danny Cipriani, his decision making was first class and with Stuart Lancaster
in the audience we will now wait with baited breath again to see if he is named
amongst the EPS squad in 9 days time. The Saints missed a huge amount of bite without
Courtney Lawes, Samu Manoa and Dylan Hartley and failed to help themselves with
less than perfect precision. It was a physical and gutsy effort from Sale who
beat the Saints at their own game… 
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