Round 18 of the Aviva Premiership delivered us with some blistering rugby, dramatic moments and ultimately shifted a few things around in the hunt for the playoffs. After 400 minute of action the Saints have extended their lead on top, the Exeter Chiefs dropped to fifth and Bath and Leicester pushed themselves into third and fourth respectively. At the bottom it is now mathematically impossible for London Welsh catch the Newcastle Falcons who secured a losing bonus point, so their time in the Aviva Premiership will end after Round 22. All in all it was a dramatic round, with a lot of action, so sit back and take it all in with the full Out On The Full Round Review.
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On Friday night Premiership Rugby came back into our lives with a dramatic match at Franklin's Gardens between the Northampton Saints and Wasps Rugby. Wasps meant business form the outset, Christian Wade reminded us all of his unique gifts & Alex Lozowski cooly orchestrated proceedings with expertise far beyond his years. The Saints took a while to get going and were slightly stunned by Wasps' start however the turning point came with the red card decision from referee Craig Maxwell-Keys. Nathan Hughes saw red following an unfortunate and unintentional collision of his boot with George North's head following North's try scoring act. Thoughts are with North and it goes without saying that his return to play must be managed extremely carefully given his recent head injury history. The enormity of the referee's decision cost Wasps their foothold in the game and whilst Dai Young's men played with heart to claw the score back to 30-33 they ran out of resources. When the Saints got into their stride they showed their power, in the set piece and in attack and the result is the first tick in the box for Jim Mallinder's side en route to a home Semi Final.
In North London Aviva Premiership Rugby arrived at Wembley Stadium and 84,068 people helped to achieve a World Record Crowd for a club rugby match. The crowd were treated to action from the offset as Harlequins' Jack Clifford scored within 30 seconds and the visitors started promisingly. However during the opening half Saracens' wingers showed exactly what they can do as David Strettle and Chris Ashton crossed and Harlequins’ Senior figures uncharacteristically lost their discipline giving away costly penalties. There will have been stern words at half time from Conor O’Shea and Harlequins did tidy up their act, slightly, in the second. Chris Ashton’s second try of the game on 52 minutes made the scoreline a comfortable one and in every facet Saracens over powered their opponents. The result pushes Mark McCall's side up to second place in the table and sends an ominous message to the rest of the Aviva Premiership for they are shifting up the gears with ease and looking dangerous.
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At the same time West of the Captial another celebration was occurring as London Irish held their annual St Patrick's Day party. The Exiles started brightly thanks to Halani Aulika's opening score after 90 seconds and it was clear they were going to attack the fixture with gusto. The Falcons didn't equip themselves as they would have liked to in the opening half, as they failed to make two periods with an extra man count. Promisingly for Dean Richards his side had a superior second and gave Irish fans an emotional end to the game. Newcastle scored two strong from Chris Harris and Adam Powell, the former really exerted himself on the game when he arrived onto the field and the boot of Tom Catterick continued to deliver. Ultimately Irish eyes are still smiling following their most important fixture of the year and it was another 'one we should have won' for the Newcastle Falcons.
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The Leicester Tigers celebrated the 50th meeting between themselves and the Exeter Chiefs with a well earned 25 points to 18 victory. Freddie Burns continued to display the fruits of his hard labour with 20 of his side's 25 points, great accuracy off the tee and dynamism in open play. The Chiefs pressured Cockerill's side for much of the first half however they weren't able to finish off their chances. In the end their early handling errors and two missed penalties proved to be costly however their endeavour warranted their losing bonus point. Both side's clashed with ferocity in the sunshine, with every round Leicester look more like the side we expect them to be every and Henry Slade's break to put Will Chudely away continues to highlight the fly half's prowess and his side's overarching intent. In short it was an intense 80 minute clash between two sides that know the importance of every single point given their precarious positions in the Aviva Premiership table.
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At the AJ Bell Stadium the Sale Sharks pushed themselves into one point of the Top 6 with a comprehensive and impressive victory over Gloucester Rugby. Once again it was Danny Cipriani who caught my eye as he showed that his lack of game time during the RBS 6 Nations hadn't affected him one bit. Alongside Cirpiani's show the home side took control of the breakdown, as they have done on a number of occasions this year and their ferocity in defence defined their victory. Gloucester were disappointed in themselves as they did not apply what David Humprehys described as a 'positive training week' and it looks now their hunt for the Champions Cup is just slightly out of reach. The final word on this game must go to Mark Cueto, who celebrated his 300th appearance for the Sharks, an unbelievable milestone that few in world rugby let alone the Aviva Premiership achieve.
The final game of the weekend was in Oxford where London Welsh hosted Bath Rugby. Sensibly Mike Ford had rested Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, George Ford and Dave Attwood however the team sheet still carried some particularly large names; Eastmond, Burgess, Houston and co. The torrid conditions, ranging from torrential sheet rain to swirling winds, didn’t allow either side to truly flourish in attack however Bath patiently delivered the 4 tries that they required. London Welsh stood up to Ford's side admirably, their lineout and scrum held firm and defensively they were stronger and more structured than we’ve seen them all season. It was much improved and will have pleased Rowland Phillips on his first match in charge, however the fact remains that with Falcons’ losing bonus point it is now mathematically impossible for them to reach the Northern side and as such they are set to be relegated. Bath weren’t anywhere near 5th gear, they were made to work harder than they would have like however it’s the result that counts and their under performance won’t impact their trip to Leinster in the slightest.
