Elvis & Breaking Records - Aviva Premiership Round 9 Preview

Can you believe that Round 9 is here already!? It is the last round before the Heineken Cup break and it contains a London derby, an Elvis special and a few other big clashes to keep us fully entertained! As Movember comes to a close it is the last weekend that we will get to see our Premiership players' outrageous facial hair, so if Mo’s are your thing then make sure that you take a few photos and make the most of this round because it will be 12 months before you see them again!

Round 9 kicks off on Friday Night with two teams who both have a recent run of matches that they are less than proud of; Gloucester and Leicester. Whilst the Tigers did win at Welford Road last weekend their recent run of form hasn't been great and Gloucester haven't won in the Premiership since September. Sadly Gloucester’s new signing Sila Puafisi, the Tongan power house, won’t be starting this weekend however there is a welcome return back from injury for Shane Monahan. In plain and simple terms the Cherry and Whites really, really need a win… the foundations were there against Quins however poor discipline cost them dearly. Turning the spotlight onto the travelling Tigers they will be pleased to have back Blaine Scully and Marcos Ayerza from International Duty and watch out for nineteen-year-old centre Javiah Pohe. Pohe is 19, a strong ball carrier and tipped by many, including Cockers as a ‘one to watch’. However it is not all about individuals; Leicester need to re-find their collective form… they started the season so well however International season hit them very hard and now is the time to get back in business and clinically close out a hurting Gloucester side. 

On Saturday we have a good old fashioned London derby… derby days are things of beauty as they include huge hits and an intensity that often eclipses the other matches. This weekend’s derby sees London Irish host London Wasps at the Madjeski and before you ask yes I do realise that Reading isn’t London but stick with me on this one! The home team have the larger point to prove, after recording 5 straight defeats in all competitions, the pressure is back on Brian Smith however at least this year the performances have been strong, even if the wins have been elusive. Wasps, well they had their ‘match horriblé’ last weekend and I expect that we will see a notable step up in their performance this weekend. If the reports are true Christian Wade could be making his first appearance back from injury and with Tom Varndell not far behind him the Wasps’ back line just got a little tastier again. Irish will be without Marland Yarde and David Paice, two big losses however Topsy Ojo is running out for his 200th appearance for the club and add in the delicious James O’Connor and you have yourself a great deal of excitement! 

Saracens, who host Sale this weekend, have been catching people’s eyes both on and off the pitch. Let’s start off the pitch first and this weekend it is their ‘Elvis Tribute Game’… any fan dressed as Elvis gets in for free, they will be playing back to back Elvis hits, have a tribute act and an Elvis lookalike contest… phew! My suggestion… whether you like Elvis or not is to embrace it!! On the pitch the man catching a lot of attention is Mr Jacques Burger; September’s Aviva Premiership Player of the Month continues to be in absolutely blistering form. Was it 36? Was it 34? Needless to say whichever is now the reported number of tackles that he made against the Exeter Chiefs last weekend it is simply outstanding. Did I also mention the 17 rucks hit and 8 carries that he made? The man is a machine and one that Sale should certainly watch out for and to add insult to injury he has a few other notable team-mates around him! Strength in depth is certainly a term made for Saracens! Sale, well they have only won once away from home since February and the question is whether or not a win on Elvis Day at Allianz Park is too much to ask!? If I give you my honest answer… maybe! However with their recent run of performances and future of the experienced Nick Macleod and young gun Ross Harrison secured there is an air of confidence at the Sharks now, so never say never. 

The Mighty Jacques Burger

Worcester Warriors are hosting the Northampton Saints at Sixways… this fixture should potentially come with its own theme tune… I wonder if Frédéric Chopin - Marche Funèbre would be fitting? This is not doing Worcester Warriors a dis-service; it is simply acknowledging the brilliance of the Northampton Saints and both teams’ current situations. There is no doubt that Worcester are moving upwards in terms of their performances; Chris Pennell remains on-song at fullback, moves are coming together and their set piece is becoming stronger however the Saints well they are a force to be reckoned with. Their preparation for the game has been slightly overshadowed by the controversy surrounding releasing George North for International duty however I am not going to open up that issue right now. The usual suspects of Courtney Lawes, Lee Dickson, Luther Burrell and Stephen Myler will form the heartbeat of this team and welcoming back players like Samu Manoa can only strengthen them further. Expect some huge hits, running rugby and a try or two at Sixways this weekend! 

 

Samu Manoa Premiership Player of the Month (October)

Bath are thoroughly enjoying the 2013/14 season so far, they have an A League team safely through to the final, Semesa Rokoduguni was the winner of Round 8 Try of the Week and their 1XV are riding high at third in the table. With 17 tries to their name and confidence building week on week you just wonder whether they could push for a Top 4 playoff position, although obviously we are still very early on in the season! The Chiefs cannot ever again be called the ‘Championship team that is having a good run of luck’, their heavy-weight Premiership status has been firmly cemented in the past few weeks and they are a joy to watch, whether they win or lose. They have a huge record to settle as their last ever victory over Bath was in 1978 and I’m sure that the whole team, fans and management would love to eradicate such of blot on their report card.

The final fixture of the weekend is at Kingston Park where Newcastle host Harlequins. The Falcons played a great game against the Northampton Saints last weekend; they fronted up and were lead from the front by Richard Mayhew and Scott Lawson, however sadly they came away with nothing. Clearly this weekend, at home, the Falcons are hoping to produce the same performance but deliver a different outcome. Harlequins are likely to be boosted by a few of their key men coming back from injury; Paul Doran Jones and Nick Kennedy both had a run out on Monday night and depending on how their bodies are feeling they could be back in action this weekend. Quins’ level of precision and ruthlessness during the sin binning periods last weekend will give them more confidence than they have had in a while and I suspect that they will grind out a win on the road.

So there you have it all of the Aviva Premiership Round 9 fixtures… it is the last hurrah before the 2 week European break so now is the time to cement table positions and gain some additional confidence before moving into the huge set of European fixtures. As the winter weather draws in I do hope that you all have your rugby watching coats and accessories sorted, you know the ones that I mean; mini hot water bottles, hats and if you are 18 or over a little hip flask! With less than 24 hours to go before the start of Round 9 and the rest of the team news on the way it is game on and all aboard the Round 9 Express!

Topsy Ojo's Testimonial Year – Back to Back TopTests

You may remember that a couple of months ago I attended the Launch Party for Topsy Ojo’s Testimonial Year… well the celebrations have continued in earnest and last night was the start of a set of back to back events. Before I dive into the details allow me to provide you with a brief biography of the man of the moment, Mr Topsy Ojo. When Topsy joined the London Irish academy in 2003 he was a fresh faced 18 year old bursting with talent and keen to make his way in the world of professional rugby. Since that day he has achieved a phenomenal amount… he is London Irish’s all-time leading try scorer with 65 tries and counting, he has represented England on and number of occasions and this weekend he will run out for his 200th appearance of the club. Topsy is without a doubt one of the biggest names at London Irish and often with such fame and status comes a level of arrogance and conceit however I can assure you all that Topsy is one of the most genuine, friendly and down-to-earth men that you could meet. He is held in the highest regard by all of his team-mates and it is no wonder that nearly every single member of the London Irish Squad has attended almost all of his Testimonial Events this year.  

TopTest Support

So I mentioned that last night’s event was the start of the back to back TopTest nights and I suppose now is a good time to tell you the theme of them. The evenings are both entitled ‘A Piri-Piri Top-sy Night’ and for two nights only Topsy and his team-mates are taking over and running Nando's! Now, for someone who has only ever eaten at Nando's twice in their life, yes I realise that this is a shocking statistic; I certainly think that the TopTest way of doing it is the future!! I arrived to be greeted by a full contingent of London Irish players who helpfully guided me step by step through the process and delivered my Nando's with a difference! Topsy led from the front taking full charge of  the till and the rest of the squad buddied up and rotated shifts. Some of players learned a few tricks of the trade and cooked behind the grill, others refined their serving skills (Pat Phibbs proved that scrum half hands are an asset when it comes to this) and I even caught some table cleaning being done! Who ever said that men, or indeed rugby players, aren’t domesticated!?! One final job that the players undertook was raffle ticket selling and here ‘service with a smile’ was taken to a new level when a certain player decided to encourage extra sales by removing his shirt! The player in question will remain nameless as I would not want to be responsible for any ‘internal club discipline action’!!!!! Questioning said player the justification for it was pure and simple “It is all for Topsy & for charity”, and that is exactly right. Topsy has three chosen charities for his Testimonial Year Restart, The USO and The African Child Trust and last night’s event continues to raise hundreds for them. 

Leading proceedings from the front!

If you missed out on last night's even don't worry because the TopTest team are off on the road... next Wednesday (4th) the team head to Reading, the home of the Madjeski and the home of the biggest Nando's Rugby take over yet! If you are a London Irish fan or indeed simply a rugby fan who happens to enjoy their Nando's (I do believe that there are a lot of them) then I suggest that you cancel your plans for Wednesday evening and head down for a Nando's with a difference. I will be enjoying my fourth ever Nando's and I can promise you that it will be a great evening, full of laughter, fun and all in aid of a true London Irish Legend; Topsy Ojo and his chosen TopTest charities. 

New role at the club!?!

1,000 Points, TMOs & Yellow Cards - Aviva Premiership Round 8 Review

How good did it feel to have Premiership Rugby back in your lives!? Although we have seen a few of our players in action over the last few weekends either in an LV capacity or on the International stage it was great to see most of our domestic teams back together again. Going into Round 8 Worcester were rooted firmly on the bottom of the table and on Friday night they headed to Sale to see if they could grab their first win of the year. On Saturday Exeter welcomed Saracens to Sandy Park, Northampton hosted the Newcastle Falcons, London Irish went to Welford Road in search of an upset and Harlequins wanted to get back to winning ways at The Stoop entertaining Gloucester. The final fixture of the weekend was on Sunday at Adams Park where Wasps welcomed Bath. So let’s see what happened then shall we!?

First stop, the Friday Night Lights and at the AJ Bell Stadium it was a game of two halves, how many times have I said that this season!? The first, well let’s just say that it wasn’t the best half of rugby that we have ever seen however the second was much improved!! 7-3 at half time, and with 4 points in it Worcester fans dared to dream that their win in the LV Cup could translate into the Prem. Sadly it didn’t, as in the second Sale sorted themselves out and put their foot down on the accelerator to deliver a bonus point win. For Worcester things still do not seem to be coming together for a full 80 minutes and despite the heart and charge of Chris Pennell and Captain Jonathan Thomas their first Premiership win remains elusive. It is onwards to Sarries for Sale and dare I say it, downwards for Worcester, who entertain Northampton at Sixways next weekend.

On Saturday there were 4 mighty fixtures all over the country… let’s start at Sandy Park shall we, where two BIG teams, played a BIG game at a BIG venue. For the Exeter players, management and fans a certain TMO, Mr David Sainsbury, will not be on their Christmas card list following two disallowed tries. The decisions left Rob Baxter fuming and it meant that Ben Ransom’s try on 4 minutes was the difference between these two huge sides. As expected it was a match that was played with a huge amount of physicality and intensity, when you put Jacques Burger, Dean Mumm, Dave Ewers, Billy Vunipola and co on a field together what else do you expect?!? Sarries will be a little unhappy with their penalty count conceding 12 in total however on the whole they will be very pleased with the result. A win on the road is something; a win on the road at Sandy Park is something that is even better!!

Whilst International season is over for England, the final fixtures and injuries meant that the Northampton Saints were without 9 of their first choice players. However they did what all top teams do and delivered the win regardless and that is all that matters. It wasn’t the best 80 minutes of their season however Franklin’s Gardens remains a fortress and Northampton remain in second position. Newcastle, despite recording 0 points were not as bad as the scoreline suggests, they fronted up and at times looked like they would take it to Northampton however the strength and depth of the hosts was simply too much to handle and they remain in 9th.

The Stoop is a place that has not seen too many wins so far this season, just the one in fact and that is something that Conor O’Shea and his team were very unhappy about. Gloucester arrived with their own point to prove and wanted Round 8 to reignite and really kick start their 2013/14 Premiership Campaign. The opening exchanges were competitive and both teams were playing high tempo rugby, however when Jimmy Cowen was yellow carded for tripping Danny Care it was effectively game over before he walked back onto the pitch. Quins took full advantage of the extra man and scored two converted tries during the 'bin period'. The second half started as the first did with another sin bin and Quins did exactly the same again and scored another converted try. Gloucester will be ruing their ill-discipline, because when they had 15 men on the field they were competing nicely and the likes of Billy Twelvetrees and Rob Cook looked dangerous. However 20 minutes with 14 men cost them the game and that was that. Whilst Quins head North to Kingston Park to take on Newcastle, Gloucester return home to entertain The Tigers next weekend… dare I predict two away wins in Round 9!?!

Leicester versus London Irish… at the start of the season many would have looked at this fixture and thought whitewash, however London Irish headed up to Welford Road with a match winning back line to excite any rugby fan, Irish or otherwise. James O’Connor, Topsy Ojo and Marland Yarde are the new three “Irish amigos” however in the end it was another outcome decided by ill-discipline, as the difference between the two teams was two penalty tries. Irish played much of the rugby but simply couldn’t convert it and left Welford Road empty handed. The Tigers will be happy with the win however it came at a cost as they lost yet another centre, this time Matt Smith, and I believe that they now have the largest injury list in the Aviva Premiership. On a happier note Toby Flood became the 13th player ever to reach 1,000 Aviva Premiership Points and he and the remaining Tigers head to Kingsholm on Friday night in search of more Cherry and White blood whilst Irish return home to the Madjeski needing a win more than ever.

Finally on Sunday Wasps welcomed Bath to Adams Park and normally this is a feisty affair filled with superb rugby however this weekend Wasps had their ‘match horriblé’ and Bath took full advantage. The first half was all about Bath’s forwards who out-muscled the home team and pushed their side to an 11-0 lead at half time. Rokoduguni continues to make a name for himself as one of the top finishers so far this season and despite Wasps bringing on Launchbury and Haskell early in the second it was Bath’s day. Dai Youngs was not a happy bunny after the game and he will be asking a lot of his side during training this week before their London derby next weekend. Bath, well they continue to enjoy themselves in the upper echelons on the Aviva Premiership Table and will be returning to The Rec high on confidence and ready to take on the mighty Exeter Chiefs in Round 9.

So, there you have it, Round 8 of the Aviva Premiership, or ‘the birthday round’ as I like to call it!! In just 4 days it starts all over again under the Friday Night Lights at Kingsholm where Gloucester welcome the Leicester Tigers. There is a London derby between Irish and Wasps at the Madjeski, Saracens return to Allianz Park to host Sale, Worcester welcome the Northampton Saints, Bath entertain the Chiefs and finally rugby returns to Kingston Park where Harlequins make the long journey up to take on Newcastle. Phew... that is a lot of rugby to enjoy!! Excellent!!! 

It Is Back - Aviva Premiership Round 8 Preview

So the Aviva Premiership is back, the young guns have done their stuff in the LV Cup, the English elite have recorded two huge wins and one gallant loss and now it is time to get back to the Aviva Premiership for some more domestic clashes of epic proportions. As it is Movember some of the facial hair on show might be a little bit dodgy however let's be clear that the rugby certainly won't be! Oh how I have missed it, an Aviva Premiership weekend with three fully televised games on BT Sport, six fixtures in total and four hundred and eight minutes of rugby to played… excellent! So without further ado let’s dive straight into it and preview Round 8 of the Aviva Premiership;

First up, the Friday Night Lights, this week Sale are hosting the Worcester Warriors and clearly they will start the match as odds on favourites. The Sharks are coming off the back of a narrow LV Cup win against Harlequins and a narrow defeat to Bath and having fielded two strong teams for both of these fixtures they will be riding on some collective confidence and will look to ensure that Worcester’s Aviva Premiership slump continues. Dean Ryan’s team provided us with the most exciting news of the LV Cup Round 1 by recording a WIN (the capitals are required for emphasis) against the Cardiff Blues at Adams Park. Topping that what was even more encouraging was the fact that they continued their form and only narrowly lost to a young Leicester Tigers team at Welford Road. So, could Worcester pull off the shock of the season and beat Sale at home?? Well, you never know!? It certainly would be a huge achievement and statement seeing as they haven’t won on the road since 1st January 2012! 

The Saturday fixtures start at Sandy Park where the Exeter Chiefs entertain Saracens. This match promises to be an absolute humdinger and it is my personal pick of Round 8.  Exeter are the team who have steadily built and built and built and their outstanding development showcased itself beautifully in the Heineken Cup. Saracens, well they are undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in the Aviva Premiership; they are bursting with talent and haven’t lost successive away games in the Aviva Premiership since January 2011. However Sandy Park is fast becoming known as Fortress Sandy Park and is one of the most difficult places for any team to visit, no matter how good they are. All in all this promises to be a cracker and let's hope that both teams' Social Media specialists are up for it too as this isn't one of the scheduled TV games this weekend.

 

Sandy Park will be rocking this weekend

The Stoop welcomes back Aviva Premiership rugby by hosting the Cherry and Whites. Neither of these two established Premiership teams have had the best of starts to their 2013/14 campaigns and both will be looking rectify this immediately with a Round 8 win. Gloucester are sitting in 10th with only 12 points to their name and have recorded just one Aviva Premiership win so far. Harlequins, well they have only recorded one Aviva Premiership win at home this season and are still battling with their humungous injury list. On a more positive note for Quins the announcement that 3 driving forces behind the club, Conor O'Shea (DoR), John Kingston (Head Coach) and Collin Osborne (Skills Coach) will be in contract until 2016 starts their Round 8 on a high note. I expect that the game itself will be a competitive affair; both teams will be hoping for dry day to be able to keep the ball with their backs and play some running rugby. It certainly will  interesting to see if Gloucester’s forwards have improved during the LV break their scrum was their biggest weakness during Rounds 1-7. 

The Leicester Tigers will be the happiest team in the whole of the Aviva Premiership to welcome back their England stars. The International season did not do them any favours as they dropped to 6th in the table after two consecutive losses to Wasps and Harlequins. The Champions have looked out of sorts without their backbone of Internationals and let's hope that their precision returns again. Their opponents in Round 8 are London Irish who will of course be looking for the James O’Connor effect to take serious shape this weekend. In his Round 7 debut against the Saints he didn’t get much ball and it certainly will be very interesting to see what he can do with a lot more of it. Ultimately I think that Leicester will come back with a bang in this round, they have a point to prove and the chance of London Irish recording their first win at Welford Road since 2003 is slim, however stranger things have happened!!

 

The J.O.C Effect.... (Image Getty)

Northampton Saints have been in formidable form since Round 1 and unlike Leicester losing their England stars did absolutely nothing to dent that.  Franklin’s Gardens is a huge stronghold... they have not lost a game there since Februay and you suspect that it could be a tough day at the office for their visitors the Newcastle Falcons. In saying that, to date, the Falcons have exceeded the expectations of many who thought that they would be the punch bag of the 2013/14 Aviva Premiership Season. They have steadily gained bonus point losses and the odd win and sitting in 9th position. However their last Aviva Premiership outing was that thumping from Saracens (3-40) at Allianz Park and their fans will be hoping that this match does not follow the same pattern. 

Time for Action. Image @SaintsRugby

Finally London Wasps versus Bath… this match is likely to be one of the feistiest and closest of the weekend. Wasps will certainly want to continue their winning habit at home and will naturally look to Andy Goode; their old dog, with new tricks (said in an extremely respectful and nice way) in order to help them do this. Bath, well they will be delighted with their first 7 rounds of the Aviva Premiership... they are sitting pretty at 3rd in the table and their young guns are proving that they are more than just wannabees. Having mentioned Mr Goode it would be remiss of me not to mention the young man opposing him; Mr George Ford… deemed by many as the future solution to the supposed English fly half problem (personally I’m not sure that there is one) and it will be very interesting to watch the matchup between these two, assuming they are both selected!

So there you have it, a little review of the Aviva Premiership Round 8… and with the team news on its way the excitement will keep on building and building until 7.45pm on Friday evening when the action starts! It is time to say a huge "Welcome Back" to the Aviva Premiership, I can't wait for the action to restart because let's be honest, it just hasn’t quite been the same without it. 

Premiership Rugby is back!!

Premiership Rugby Does Movember

Movember, the time of the year when outrageous facial hair is allowed and when size really does matter! This year our Premiership Rugby players have thrown themselves into Movember in a big way... most squads have their own Movember teams and I think that I’m right in saying that every single Premiership Club has a representative supporting Movember within its ranks. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of Movember allow me to give you a very short lesson; Movember was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 and since then has become a global phenomenon. For 30 days men grow their moustaches (Mos) from a clean shaven start and become walking awareness billboards. The premise is simple.... grow your mo and help your bro by raising huge amounts of money and awareness for Prostate Cancer. 

Not growing a Mo myself I needed to hear first-hand from some people that are in order to understand the intricate details of choosing the right Mo, Mo maintenance and obviously finding out about their fundraising activities. Before you ask, no I didn’t just stop some people on the tube and fire questions at them... I went straight to the top and attended the Aviva Premiership Movember Night.

Movember & Premiership Rugby (Pinnacle for Aviva)

I went through the usual pre-event preparations; doing a little research on the players who would be attending, ensuring that the weekend's Premiership fixtures were firmly in my mind and making sure that I was fully clued up about Movember. I must say that all of this helped a treat however I did learn one extremely important and significant journalistic lesson last night; do not to start an interview with the words “So yours is quite small”! Don't worry I certainly won't be repeating that mistake nor will I reveal exactly which player I said it to!! 

 

I believe that the question was regarding Twitter following!!

The evening was held at the Gillette Pop Up Barbers in Covent Garden and we were joined by leading Premiership Mo'er; Dylan Hartley, the Wasps' trio; James Haskell, Elliot Daly and Chris Bell and the Saracens duo; Ben Ransom and Will Fraser. 

As I mentioned before some teams are having more Mo success than others; Dylan is leading the way as the captain of the Front Mo Union at Saints whilst Ben and Will informed me that their Sarries team would certainly like to have a few more professional Mo growers in their ranks. Sadly for them I don't think that Mark McCall will take that into consideration when approaching any new signings for next year!! 

Mo'ing Saracens Style

Having grown the largest Mo of the group it is no surprise that James Haskell spent a little while having his Mo groomed. The result speaks for itself however I was told from two very reliable team mate sources that James did have a little head start!? Our Wasps' players are part of a Movember team that is captained and led by David Kurk. David is an ambassador for a Movember having battled prostate cancer himself this year; he is an inspiration and a driving force of their Movember team. When you meet people like David it really hits home that whilst Movember is hilarious to watch it has an extremely serious and important message to it. The money raised makes a huge difference and I certainly hope that with the help of our Aviva Premiership players this year’s fundraising amount will surpass the 2012 total of £92m. 

 

Chris Bell & David Kurk

Our hosts for the night; Premiership Rugby, are heavily involved in Movember and are supporting various initiatives to generate awareness and funds. The Like Your Prem Rugby Mo Facebook competition is by far the easiest to get involved in and yes it is a simple as pressing ‘Like’ on your favourite Mo picture in their album on Facebook. At the end of Movember the player with the most 'Likes' will have £2000 added to their fundraising total. Having done this a few days ago I 'Liked' Mr Ben Foden, as I believe he, along with last night's attendee Will Fraser, are two of the very few people who look as attractive with a Mo as without one!!!!

It is important to style your Mo correctly! (Pinnacle for Aviva)

It was a superb night and with 11 days to go our Premiership players received some well needed Mo maintenance and grooming advice! Whilst I still think that Mo's are an acquired taste and was very worried when Elliot said that he might keep his all year (I think that he was joking), it is raising money for a superb cause and I for one will certainly be fully supporting our Premiership Players' Movember efforts. So as we head into Round 8 of the Aviva Premiership don't forget to 'Like' your favourite Prem Mo, look out for our MoBros running out at the weekend and remember what they are Mo'ing for.

Movember & Premiership Rugby

The Important Premiership Rugby Information: "To support Movember, Aviva is donating £2,000 on behalf of Aviva Premiership Rugby's best Mo. Vote for your favourite Mo at Facebook.com/PremiershipRugby and donate at www.premiershiprugby.com/Movember”