Aviva Premiership Round 7 - A Very Big Game & Vital Victories

The domestic calendar year signed off in style as Round 7 contained a very Big Game at Twickenham Stadium, vital victories for London Irish and Bath Rugby and at the Ricoh Arena Saracens maintained their unbeaten record. 

Across the country individuals continued to put their hands up for International recognition and no doubt England's new forwards coach Steve Borthwick was given ample food for thought at Sandy Park. My understanding is that Eddie Jones is set to name his EPS squad on the 13th January and as that date draws ever closer the stakes increase for those in contention. For now let's park the International intrigue and instead focus on what was an enthralling round of Aviva Premiership rugby. 

It had been 3 years, 2 months and 20 days since London Irish had beaten the Northampton Saints in any competition and what a time to do it! The Exiles’ start of the year has been one of the toughest of all however on Saturday afternoon, over the balance of the full eighty minutes,  they thoroughly deserved their opening points of the season. The first-half was all about the home side, they played sensible rugby dominating the territory and physically abating Saints. Just prior to, and after half-time, the Saints started to launch their counter and the result was three consecutive tries however Irish weren’t ready to give up on this one. Tom Coventry’s men rode out a period with Aseli Tikoirotuma in the sin bin and then launched their final charge and when Jamie Gibson was given yellow the Saints chose to go into their final scrummage a man short. The result was a penalty try that not only took the match but also lifted the Exiles off the bottom of the table. For the Northampton Saints further soul searching is required as they still don’t look like the Saints of old. Key Men: Chris Noakes for steering London Irish into the right areas of the field & a notable mention for the entire pack delivering that last penalty try. 

Dean Richards' Newcastle Falcons started strongly against the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road however couldn't maintain their early form. The visitors were wholly competitive early on however as their Director of Rugby said they lost their patience and their ill discipline again proved to be a challenge for their endeavour. The match was riddled with groundings/non-groundings; Freddie Burns' pinpoint crossfield kick to Telusa Veainu was spilled over the line however Veainu atoned and scored off the next play. Matthew Tait was also deemed to drop the ball over the line and at half-time the scoreboard read 10-10.  However in the second half Peter Betham found his way through and Laurence Pearce added a second for the home side. Leicester's day was dominated by missed opportunities and they could have had a bonus point with the last play of the game however they misfired and settled for the victory instead. Key Man: Freddie Burns' performance at 10 will please both the fly-half and his head coach as he settles back into domestic life after injury and his crossfield kick was Ruan Pienaar esque.

Once again both the Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks were greeted by testing conditions at Sandy Park with the wind howling a gale. By all accounts the elements didn't spoil what was a captivating affair as both sides were evenly matched for sixty of the eighty minutes. Of the seven tries in total the pick of the bunch were Josh Beaumont stretching his rangy legs from just beyond half-way, Will Chudley sniping away for a double and James Short's 68th minute score that swung the balance of the game. The Sharks suffered from a spot of late imprecision that took the result away from them however Steve Diamond knows that his young side will learn from this game while Exeter brushed off their French woes well and head into Round 8 in second-place in the table. Key Man: Scrum-half Will Chudley had a blinder of a day, delivering lightning quick service from the base of rucks and sniping with great effect

At the start of the season four points for Bath Rugby against the Worcester Warriors was considered to be a given however after the start to the year that they’d had Sunday’s Premiership victory was a significant one. Mike Ford had held firm and rotated his squad giving Rhys Priestland his first club debut at 10 and changing 9 of his starting XV to the one that played against Wasps in the Champions Cup. The Warriors were wholly competitive throughout, we expect nothing less of them now, however certain areas let them down - their scrummage in particular. The match itself was far from a vintage affair, instead penalties were the order of the day expect for Horacio Agulla's first-class finish in the far left-hand corner of The Rec.  Across both sides individuals stepped up, Chis Cook had a belting day at the office from nine delivering Priestland with the quick service needed and for the visitors Phil Dowson gave the game everything he had and more. Overall Bath's cohesion going forwards remains far from where it was however for them Sunday's match was all about the victory. Key Man: His work may not be seen on the scoreboard however the ball carrying of David Denton was impressive and vital in Bath's back-row

At the Ricoh Arena the Saracens' juggernaut continued to press on as Mark McCall's side made Wasps pay with a potent second-half spell. The opening half was dominated by both sides kicking the leather off the ball in a bid to force the mistake and gain the territory. Saracens dominated the set piece, gaining multiple penalties and Maro Itoje was disrupting Wasps' usual rock solid lineout. At 9-9 the game was precariously poised however Saracens then produced two quick tries; the first from Duncan Taylor who stormed through a gap off first phase possession. The second was an opportunist score off a loose Wasps' ball, this time Duncan Taylor did the honours to put Owen Farrell in for the try. The double blow was ultimately too much for Wasps to come back from, Frank Halai gained a consolation score, however Saracens used their experience to see the game out and remain unbeaten in seven domestic rounds. Key Man: Saracens' Maro Itoje was awarded the MOTM award for a reason, his ability to disrupt Wasps' lineout and overall physicality will turn heads, not for the first time.  

The final match of the weekend was in front of 70,718 people at Twickenham Stadium  where Harlequins hosted Gloucester Rugby and it more than lived up to its 'Big Game' title. Just where do you start with a game that contained 10 tries in total and finished 39-39? Well it would be remiss of me not to mention Rob Cook's sensational solo try on 67 minutes - one of the best individual scores that we've seen this season however his score was just one of six in the second-half. Credit must go to the home side for what Conor O'Shea called their 'mental durability' to get themselves back and draw the match from eight-points down with a little over ten minutes to go. Gloucester Rugby's day was bitter sweet, the positives being the tries that they scored however seeing Henry Trinder gain another injury and both John Afoa and Jonny May leave the field will concern. If you've got a free 80 minutes then I suggest that you view this one in full for there is so much to take in; Matt Kvesic's individual performance will turn heads, James Hook delivered his best eighty of some time and for Harlequins Danny Care had a captain's day at the office leading by example. Key Man: Matt Kvesic will have impressed many especially given a certain member of his opposing back row and Jamie Roberts' impact was evident throughout as he punched holes galore, a strong Premiership debut from the Welsh International.