The final round before a European break is always action
packed as our Premiership Teams look to cement their places in the table before
heading off on their travels and Round 9 was no exception to this rule. We
enjoyed 6 outrageously competitive games in what was quite possibility the most
emotionally draining weekend of the season so far. Leads were formed, then
cruelly snatched away, injuries played a large part in matches and hearts were broken. So let’s review what happened in Round 9 of the Aviva Premiership;
First stop, the Friday Night Kingsholm Lights, it was always going to be a cracker as both teams had a lot to prove to themselves and to their fans. As a neutral it was one of those games that you were almost slightly sad that someone had to lose. Yes it was scrappy at times however the heart and soul that was displayed out there on the pitch, and that was caught (wrongly in my opinion) on the changing room camera afterwards should be praised. Sadly for Kingsholm and The Shed, Gloucester were the ones to end up on the wrong side of the score sheet and they remain without that confidence boosting domestic win. For Leicester and Toby Flood in particular they were simply happy to be out on the pitch and putting together something that was slightly more cohesive… injuries remain a huge, huge problem for them however they are doing what Champions do and eking out wins by any means possible. Both teams now head into Heineken Cup where they will seek to restore their confidence and pride; Gloucester have a double header against Edinburgh whilst Leicester entertain Montpellier.
First stop, the Friday Night Kingsholm Lights, it was always going to be a cracker as both teams had a lot to prove to themselves and to their fans. As a neutral it was one of those games that you were almost slightly sad that someone had to lose. Yes it was scrappy at times however the heart and soul that was displayed out there on the pitch, and that was caught (wrongly in my opinion) on the changing room camera afterwards should be praised. Sadly for Kingsholm and The Shed, Gloucester were the ones to end up on the wrong side of the score sheet and they remain without that confidence boosting domestic win. For Leicester and Toby Flood in particular they were simply happy to be out on the pitch and putting together something that was slightly more cohesive… injuries remain a huge, huge problem for them however they are doing what Champions do and eking out wins by any means possible. Both teams now head into Heineken Cup where they will seek to restore their confidence and pride; Gloucester have a double header against Edinburgh whilst Leicester entertain Montpellier.
London Irish held most of the
trump cards in their hand for this Round 9 fixture; it was being played at the Madjeski, it
was Topsy Ojo’s 200th Appearance and they were the ones who had the
better performance in Round 8. However Wasps
were certainly not in the mood to lie down and hand it to their London rivals
and it was a hard fought encounter from minute one to minute 83 when the ball
eventually went dead. James O’Connor was a shining light in the Exiles back line however it was his ‘deliberate knock on’ (questionable!!) that cost the Exiles
yet another penalty try against them and 10 minutes with 14 men. Wasps exploited this and Andy Goode continued to pull the strings for his team however on a more sour note it was sad to see Christian Wade carried off the pitch with a nasty looking ankle injury. Irish spent the last moments of the
game hammering on Wasps door however some outrageously solid defence kept them
out. Irish’s search for a Premiership win continues and
both teams head to play in the Amlin Challenge Cup with Irish taking on Stade Francais and Wasps entertaining Grenoble.
The Sale Sharks are not ones to
be discounted this season… their rise from the ashes has been superb to see and
they certainly gave Saracens a fright at Allianz Park on Saturday. Before I go into the
detail of the match I would just like to wish Will Fraser a very speedy recovery
from his injury, after spending such a long time out last season he was back and playing better than ever and Saturday's horrible looking leg injury
is a bitter and cruel blow for such a phenomenal player. Looking at the game
itself Sale continue to develop their rugby and like a broken record I must say that Danny Cipriani once again pulled the strings with expertise and flair from 10 and Sale were in
the driving seat up until half time. However we all know that Saracens are a proud and superb
team, who don’t often lose. I’m sure that a few carefully chosen words from Mark McCall at half time helped to inspire Saracens' second half resurgence because after 18 unanswered points, the game was won. Both teams remain at home for their
next European Fixtures; Sale hosting Oyonnax whilst Saracens welcome Zebre and
for what it is worth I’m predicting two sets of back to back wins to take both teams back into the
Aviva Premiership Round 10 with confidence and swagger!
In the preview to this round I
predicted that this would be an extremely tough afternoon at Sixways for
Worcester and the terms cricket score and funeral march were thrown out there however I am very pleased to have been proved utterly wrong!
Although the final score reads 10-33 to Northampton it took the Saints 61
minutes to gain the lead. The
resilience and determination of the Warriors will please Dean Ryan although as
we all know without recording wins and gaining some Premiership points they will not stay up, sorry to be a scrooge. The Saints will take
this game as a little blip on their otherwise impeccable radar and head over to the
Aviva Stadium to play their first of two matches against Leinster ready for
battle and excited to see where their European journey can take them.
The Rec is one of the most
beautiful stadiums in the Aviva Premiership and this weekend it's teams' fly half George Ford produced some beautiful kicking rugby to match. It was his cool head and talent that ensured that Bath won a game that perhaps they shouldn't have. Exeter outscored them 2 tries to nil however they headed home without the victory as Bath remain the only
Premiership team that they have failed to beat since their rise to top flight rugby. A hurting Chiefs now head to the Stade Félix Mayol as they take on the largest of all the Heineken Cup double headers
against Toulon whereas Bath will have a slightly easier time of it against Rugby
Mogliano in the Amlin.
Finally on Sunday, up in chilly Newcastle, the Falcons hosted Harlequins and early tries in both the first and second halves sealed the deal for the away team. Once again Newcastle were competitive and up front they were strong however their defence let them down. The rugby that they do play is promising and Dean Richards has a great amount of talent to work with up in the North East... however like London Irish and Worcester they need to start recording some wins. Europe may not be a huge focus for Quins given their early results however they will still look to record to confidence boosting wins against Racing. Newcastle host that well known side Cammi Rugby Calvisano!
So that is it... the Aviva Premiership table is now frozen and once again we had a thunderous weekend of rugby. Sadly there were a number of serious injuries and to all those players I wish speedy recoveries, however for the rest it is game on. Our domestic teams are off on their European travels for their back to back fixtures and will return, no doubt slightly battered and bruised in a few weeks. Enjoy Europe, but don't forget that home is where the heart is and the Aviva Premiership Round 10 will be a superb start to your Christmas celebrations!
So that is it... the Aviva Premiership table is now frozen and once again we had a thunderous weekend of rugby. Sadly there were a number of serious injuries and to all those players I wish speedy recoveries, however for the rest it is game on. Our domestic teams are off on their European travels for their back to back fixtures and will return, no doubt slightly battered and bruised in a few weeks. Enjoy Europe, but don't forget that home is where the heart is and the Aviva Premiership Round 10 will be a superb start to your Christmas celebrations!
