Once again the Great British weather did its best to thwart our Aviva Premiership weekend. In spite of the conditions the rugby, for the most part, defied the odds and we had an enjoyable weekend of action. Notably Saracens' pack annihilated the Leicester Tigers at Allianz Park, the Newcastle Falcons gained their first victory over Bath Rugby at Kingston Park since October 2003 and both Gloucester Rugby and the Worcester Warriors achieved handsome comebacks - with only one ending victorious. With that short and sweet overview let's dive into the detail of Round 8 of the Aviva Premiership.
The rugby stated bright and breezy on New Year's Day where Northampton Saints headed into the game with all of the pressure on their shoulders after a Boxing Day loss to London Irish. Conversely the Exeter Chiefs were the form team of the competition having dropped only two points in the last six domestic rounds. However on a wet New Year’s Day the form book went out the window as the home side put in a strong defensive effort that nullified the Chiefs and gained their fourth domestic victory. It wasn’t a beautiful game, far from it, in attack the Saints still didn’t have the answers however their pack did the business and they’ve set a winning platform to work on. Exeter weren’t themselves, Rob Baxter admitted that he ‘couldn't put his finger on why’ afterwards however sometimes that happens in sport - they are still in a great position and will regroup before heading back to Sandy Park. Standout performances from Mikey Haywood and Tom Collins were the highlights on an otherwise fairly forgettable Premiership affair. 
In a Kingsholm mud fest that any festival would be proud of Gloucester Rugby hosted London Irish. The visitors were the quicker of the two sides to start; Ciaran Hearn crossed for his first try in Exiles' colours and then Alex Lewington brilliantly took a sweetly struck cross field kick from Chris Noakes. Irish were looking good however in the second-half Gloucester's pack took hold and the home side showed the confidence and endeavour of one that are more secure in their own skin. Overall tries from Matt Kvesic and Billy Burns added to 17-points from James Hook's boot to secure the victory. The Welsh International yet had another eye catching performance to add to his one at Big Game 8 and with every game played it is clicking a little more for the Cherry and Whites.
At Kingston Park the Newcastle Falcons welcomed Bath Rugby to town and recorded their first-ever victory over the visitors at home since October 2003. This is yet another indication that in this competition anything can happen and certainly mixes things up at the foot of the table. Bath Rugby will be frustrated and annoyed with themselves, their discipline still continues to plague them as do the personal errors that they just can't shake off. Conversely although the Falcons missed points their Director of Rugby thought that 'they came up with the goods and deserved it'. If there was ever going to be a time to record a big win then this was it ahead of their stand off with Irish. For Bath Rugby the questions will now come in thick and fast, just what isn't working? How can it be fixed? They'll need to find some answers as they have a Champions Cup meeting with Toulon to contend with next and the three time European Champions aren't a forgiving bunch.
The match at the AJ Bell Stadium between the Sale Sharks and Wasps was another that was played in conditions that you can only be described as 'less than ideal'. The visitors have a backline that can thrill however in the wind and rain weren't able to do so. In contrast the Manchester based home side are a little more used to the elements and had the back bone to nudge out the fixture. Danny Cipriani's boot was the source of all Sale's 15-points and his Man of the Match reward was thoroughly deserved. Both sides had try-scoring opportunities in the opening half however neither Sam Tuitupou nor Rob Miller both could finish the job. It wasn't always a free flowing game of rugby however that won't trouble Steve Diamond in the slightest however for Wasps their winless Premiership run continues and that will be of slight concern to Dai Young. 
At Allianz Park Saracens produced an almighty second-half performance to send the Leicester Tigers back up the M1 with nothing in their pockets. The performance of Mark McCall's pack was one of the strongest that we've seen from any Premiership side as they took the Leicester pack to the cleaners. The net result was a five-pointer from Jamie George and three penalty tries in total; the home side played the conditions well and like they've done many times before inflicted a strangle hold on their opponents. Losing both Tom Croft and Ed Slater to injuries didn't help the visitors at all, as they are key experienced men, however overall the Tigers lacked the bite required. Richard Cockerill was philosophical after the match and said that it would be an 'uncomfortable week for all at the Club' ahead of their Derby Day but you sense that they had one eye on that match anyway with their selection.
The final match of the weekend, indeed the only Sunday fixture, was at Sixways where the Worcester Warriors welcomed Harlequins to town. This was a thriller that included 5 tries in total and the home side coming back from 3-24 down to the final score of 20-24. Harlequins started the better of the two sides with Charlie Walker showcasing his electric feet, twice, and Luke Wallace finishing a driving maul score however Dean Ryan's side weren't done. Ryan Mills' kicking out of hand was putting them in all of the right areas; Marco Mama started the try-scoring, followed by a penalty try and another of from Phil Dowson - had Mills' conversion landed for the final Dowson try we could have been in for a box office drop-goal finish however it never reached the target and Harlequins held on for a very hard-earned victory on the road.
