Clearly the off field dramas that dominated the news last week did not distract our Aviva Premiership players whatsoever as we enjoyed another blistering weekend of rugby across the country. With so many clubs now having injury lists almost as long as their match day team-sheets you might have predicted a quieter weekend, with debutants and young guns showing a few nerves, however that was certainly not the case. Round 3 provided us with some of the best tries and moments of the 2013/14 campaign to date!
Friday Night Lights were reserved for Sixways and the AJ Bell Stadium. Worcester were keen to give their loyal home fans something to cheer about and Sale wanted to show their supporters that they are a whole new team, with a whole lot of fire power. Harlequins, the visitors at Sixways, arrived with a big point to prove (collectively and individually) and the other visitors Wasps, well Wasps needed to actually win a game. Let’s look to Sixways first and despite Worcester’s best efforts the class and skill of the Harlequins ‘old boys’ was far, far too powerful. Nick Easter rolled back his 35 years to put in an outstanding performance that I’m sure even Stuart Lancaster would tip his hat to!! Chris Robshaw was outrageous; I think that his sterling performance was dedicated to those who have written him off from ever playing for England again, let alone being Captain in the autumn. The match will give Conor O’Shea’s men a great platform to take on the dominating Sarries at home next weekend and Chris a strong platform to regain his captaincy.
For Sale Sharks it was all about their “some people love him, some people hate him” Number 10 Mr Danny Ciprani; 1 try, 2 conversions and 4 penalties off the bench, not a bad tally for his first appearance of the season… imagine what he could do when he starts!!! Yes it wasn’t a walk over, 4 points is tight, however it was a huge win for Sale in terms of confidence and table position (5th is certainly the highest they’ve been in a very long time). On the other hand Wasps are yet to record a victory this season… in fairness the losses have been all marginal; a point down against Quins, 4 points against the Chiefs and another 4 against Sale however it certainly isn’t ideal to have 0 from 3. Hopefully a return to Adams Park to take on Worcester next weekend will provide a little more excitement and a better result.
For Leicester Tigers it was ‘job done’ in the most efficient manner. With their Lions returning from injuries and Manu needing to redeem himself post Bunny Gate you always knew that sparks were going to fly at Welford Road against the newly promoted Falcons. Bonus point… tick, Manu charging through in a Lomu-esque manner… tick, Welford Road remains a fortress… tick! As everyone knows Cockers is never happy and I suspect he will have wanted his men to turn the corkscrew even more on Falcons in the second half... however the 19,000 or so Tigers fans there will be more than happy with that result.
Rugby finally returned to the Madjeski Stadium, after hosting their first home game of the season at Twickenham Brian Smith’s men were keen to start off as they meant to go on at the Mad Stad. The Exeter Chiefs on the other hand, arrived with confidence on the back of their win against Wasps, hungry for more and raring to go. Although Tom James continued the blistering form that he showed last weekend it was London Irish who could have had the victory if they’d kept their intensity for a full 80 minutes. They were confident and in control in the first half, however they let things slip after half time and the pressure from the Chiefs was too much in the end. Understandably the overriding feeling in Reading was disappointment however there was equally a fair anount of positivity, after all last season in the first 3 games they did concede at least 40 points against them per game, a narrow loss is a big improvement!
The final match on Saturday was between Gloucester and Northampton and it provided the most talking points of the weekend… ‘questionable’ refereeing and that man George North were at the heart of it. For those of you who haven’t seen this yet just sit back and enjoy the deliciousness of this man’s ability here. Gloucester were extremely lucky, The Shed wouldn’t have been a forgiving place if the result had been the other way round and luckily Billy Twelvetrees is as cool as a cucumber when it comes to last minute penalties. As it was Jim Mallinder was the one who was angry... taking it out on an advertising board wasn’t potentially the best move however we all know that he does wear his heart on his sleeve. Just one question for you; if it was Cockers who did that, do you think he would have got a ban?!?!
Sunday, cue Henson Gate… Saracens vs. Bath… pre-match predictions had this one down as quite a close one with Bath showing the brilliance of their new signings last weekend. The cheeky little marketing side plot had everyone talking however Bath refused to play into Sarries hands not letting Gavin take a single penalty, even in front of the posts! On the day Sarries were just too good and they had the bonus point wrapped up by half time. With a stronger second half from Bath it is not all doom and gloom for Black, Blue and White faithful however it just goes to show again how important the full 80 is! Saracens continue to look extremely dangerous, the on form team of the Prem were boosted by the return of Alex Goode, a constantly brilliant Jacques Burger and a flying Matt Stevens who seems to be loving life post Lions. Bath will be relishing their home fixture against London Irish next weekend, with so many ex London Irish players there the rivalry will be fierce and weather permitting some great running rugby will be on display. Sarries take the short journey to Quins driven by momentum and confidence.
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| Matt Stevens flying over the try line |
With Round 3 done and dusted the Premiership Table is looking a little different to usual with Wasps propping up the bottom and Sale riding high(ish)! Let’s hope that this week is a slightly quieter one than last in terms of off the field antics… I don’t think that there is anything in the diary that could cause too much controversy but nowadays you never know. With the Autumn Internationals creeping up on us already the speculation has begun regarding squad places and the captaincy… this will only intensify and I’ll bring you all my thoughts (for what they are worth) shortly!
