Round 17 of the Aviva Premiership was one of the most emotional rounds yet, it produced massive highs and extreme lows and continued to show exactly why the Aviva Premiership is one of the most exciting and competitive leagues in the world.
On Friday Night at Sixways Worcester hosted London Wasps in a hugely tense encounter that once again ended with a home loss. Dean Ryan hit the nail on the head in his post match interview;
“Sport is pretty cruel, you throw everything that you've got at it and
sometimes you don’t get what you deserve, it is really tough take and it
hurts”. His side have certainly experienced a huge amount of heartbreak already this year however the result on Friday night would have hurt the most. For 80 minutes Worcester had control of the game, they worked themselves into the ground and even started to play with confidence. However once the clock had gone red Jake Cooper-Woolley's try and Andy Goode's conversion snatched the match away from them and that was that. Prior to that point Wasps had hardly entered the Worcester 22 and had delivered a performance that lacked precision and penetration. Worcester will once again need to pick themselves up as they now travel to Kingston Park and we all know that if that ends in a similar fashion then the Championship becomes a very real prospect. Wasps are back at Adams Park in Round 18, they will be relieved to have gained a win and will know that they need to improve in every area to compete with their opponents Saracens.
The shock of the weekend came at the AJ Bell Stadium as the Sale Sharks comprehensively swept aside the Northampton Saints... something that they haven’t been able to do since 2011. The Saints were forced into a late change when Stephen Myler pulled out through injury and that meant Will Hooley was thrust into the limelight to gain his first ever Premiership start. An early Mark Cueto try set Sale on their way and they proceeded to cross the try line twice more before half time. Northampton looked disjointed and didn’t achieve the level of fluidity that we expect from them. Sale defended as if their lives depended on it and when the elements worsened and Saints came back at them they dug their heels in and secured the win. At the end of Round 17 in spite of that loss Northampton are not down and out, we all know how well they can regroup and I am certain that they will be ready to fire on all four cylinders against the Leicester Tigers next weekend.
On Saturday
afternoon Kingsholm was treated to a whopping 73 points from 10 tries, 7
conversions and 3 penalties. Gloucester looked to have the match wrapped up with a bow on top on 60 minutes with a 37-7 lead however then they crumbled and in the words of Nigel
Davies “fell off a cliff”. The Newcastle Falcons came back all guns blazing and gained a
valuable two points from the match, something that will have caused Worcester hearts
to break even more. Once again Rob Cook put in a strong performance for Gloucester and for the Falcons their back line looked sprightlier than it has done all year, led by Noah Cato. Frustration
should be the overriding emotion for Newcastle, just what could they have achieved if they had been clinical and proficient from minute one!? Both teams cannot afford to deliver such inconsistency in Round 18... Newcastle must pressure Worcester for the full eighty and if Gloucester switch off against Exeter they will be punished.
On Saturday
afternoon in North London it was a Derby Day with a difference as Premiership
Rugby took over Wembley Stadium. In front of 83,889 Saracens worked hard to gain a bonus point win and push themselves to the top of
the table. It should worry all of the other teams in the Premiership that in the post match press conference Mark
McCall described the changing room as a ‘frustrated one’ and said there was 'much to improve on' before Wasps next weekend. Farrell commanded the game superbly, Brits’
dancing feet were a thing of pure beauty and Burger continued to tackle like a
man possessed. Harlequins had a difficult day at the office as we all
thought that they might do, however there were some positives to take away. Their 20
year old tighthead Kyle Sinckler delivered the game of his life and was
highlighted by Conor O’Shea as a ‘one to watch’ and Luke Wallace put in a shift and a half in the back row however on the whole Quins were
their own worst enemies. Harlequins must now
regroup as a whole squad and sharpen their claws for yet another London Derby
next weekend against London Irish. Saracens head to Adams Park in imperious
form and if they continue to deliver at that level for the next 6 rounds
they will be very, very hard to beat this year.
It was an
emotional day at the Madjeski Stadium on Saturday afternoon as London Irish celebrated
their annual St Patricks Day Party and said goodbye to their club captain
Declan Danaher who retired after 17 years of playing for the club. Bath did not allow
themselves to be engulfed in the emotion of the day and they expertly crashed
the Irish party, although it did take them a little while to do so. London Irish fought
hard, they played with good continuity and kept in touch with their
opponents for the first forty minutes. In the second forty it was all about Bath
and their blockbuster backs; Stringer, Rokoduguni, Watson, Eastmond and
Abendanon together ignited the match and worked hard to secure the winning
bonus point. Once again George Ford was outstanding... he scored 24 points and made
30 tackles to guide his team to victory. Reflecting on the match Irish will
feel that they could and should have taken more away from it, Greg Garner’s ‘blocking’
decision certainly didn’t help however they need to park that and press on fast
as they have a huge London Derby next weekend against Quins. Bath, well they really are a delight to watch and in Round 18 they are hosting the Sale Sharks underneath those very special Friday Night Lights at The Rec.
At Welford Road the Leicester Tigers welcomed the Exeter Chiefs and despite a hearty Exeter performance the Tigers simply had too much to handle and out muscled their opponents. Niki Goneva provided us with another masterclass in rugby, Ben Youngs had an equally strong day at the office and Muilpola's all around game was outstanding. Exeter showed a lot of heart, they worked hard at the breakdown and never gave in. Henry Slade had an assured day although he will want to improve his kicking percentage from the tee and we all hope that Jack Nowell's shoulder injury isn't too serious. The Leicester Tigers are building exactly when it matters... at points during this season I often wondered if they could do it, but here we are with 6 rounds to go and they have a nice little 'points cushion' now in 4th. Exeter now need to step up and dominate against Gloucester next week to keep their Top 6 ambitions alive.
