A Festive Feast of Rugby... that is how I would describe Round 11 of the Aviva Premiership as we witnessed 296 points and some absolute Christmas crackers!! The order of the weekend was that the matches had to go down to the wire and boy did it make things interesting! Here is the full Out On The Full Round 11 Review;
On Boxing Day London Irish hosted London Welsh at the Madjeski Stadium in a game that exceeded expectations. Pre-match it was deemed by many that it would be an 'average' game however in actual fact it was filled with drama and some good rugby, considering the terrible conditions. Tom May and Dan Leo both saw red from referee Greg Garner after an emotional scuffle that epitmoised the power charged game. Irish's tries came from Tom Court and Geoff Cross on a day in which the Exiles' forwards really stepped up to the mark. Welsh will be disappointed with their precision for they made many of the right moves but a missed pass here and a knock on there squashed any fluidity. Irish will be delighted with their first Premiership win in three months and they will need every ounce of confidence for their trip to Allianz Park in Round 12 whilst Welsh continue to dig deep into their emotional reserves.  |
| BT Sport |
In a fixture that has been traditionally dominated by Bath, this Round 10 derby was far from a one horse show as Exeter ruffled feathers at The Rec. It was one of the most enjoyable fixtures that I have seen this season as both teams delivered 80 minutes of super rugby. Positivity was the word of the day, epitomised by the tries from Matt Jess and Kyle Eastmond both of whom had great days at the office. The strength of Bath’s bench proved to be their ace card as the fresh legs of Paul James and David Wilson in particular added extra spice up front. Mitch Lees’ yellow card for going in at the side with ten minutes to go meant that Baxter’s men struggled to find the final push for the losing bonus point and were exposed out wide for Anthony Watson’s final try on 77 minutes.
On a frosty day in South West London Harlequins made their annual trip to Twickenham for their Big Game. Harlequins’ form has been patchy but there is nothing like a crowd of 82,000 to inspire you to your best performance of the Premiership season so far. Statistically it was all about Nick Easter’s men as they dominated in terms of the possession (75%) and meters made (487 to 158) however the Saints showed why they are Champions as they defined clinical and made the most of their limited ball. Samu Manoa excelled and he showed exactly why Toulon have reportedly paid the big Euros for him! It was great to see Alex Corbisiero back on the field for Saints and their forwards certainly had the upper hand throughout. Harlequins should take much confidence from their performance level and as Conor O'Shea said afterwards 'they'll win a lot of games if they play at that level'. Saints impressed and proved they can the ugly ones too! |
| @AntolRay |
Steve Diamond sighted a spot of inexperience from his side as they lost by two points after having had a handsome 30 points to 15 lead. It was exactly that type of grit and determination that Leicester are historically famous for and they needed every inch of experience that they had to secure result at the place that is fast becoming one of the most difficult grounds to visit, the AJ Bell Stadium. Leicester had to contend with two changes prior to kick off as Graham Kitchener and Anthony Allen both withdrew however their replacements Sebastian de Chaves and Seremaia Bai in particular conducted themselves well. Sale will be kicking themselves for the game was there for the taking, Chris Custier stole the show on what was a good but heartbreaking day at the office for Sale. For the Tigers it could be the game that ignites their Premiership campaign although Cockers is still less than impressed by his team’s defensive ability. 
All the Out On The Full pictures from Twickenham are here
View the Full Premiership Table here
