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.
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!!!
