Round 2 gave us a second opportunity to take a look at our Aviva Premiership sides. Across the country some were able to atone for their Round 1 losses, some added a second victory to their tally and others compounded their opening round frustrations. From dramatic draws to rampaging victories we saw a little bit of everything in Round 2 and as always it’s time to run the rule over the weekend's action.
Worcester 23 - 12 Gloucester Rugby
The weekend started with another dramatic Friday night encounter again involving Gloucester Rugby and right now being a Cherry and Whites fan must come with a health warning. This time they clawed back a nine point half-time deficit to take half of the spoils. Of course Alafoti Faoslivia’s red card was a turning point that took the wind out of Worcester’s sails. By the letter of the law it was probably a red, do we all agree that red was right? Probably not, but I do think Luke Pearce handed the whole incident well without having a screen of his own to see. It was tough on Faoslivia and his team mates but Worcester showed grit and endeavour with the emergence of Perry Humphreys being a great highlight. Gloucester will feel that this time they got out of jail and must address the coach killing penalties that were omnipresent.
Key Players: The two eights due to the leadership of Phil Dowson to keep Worcester together down to 14 and the work of Ben Morgan who was a busy man all evening. Morgan was the top carrier with 14 and added 13 tackles.
Sale Sharks 19 - 10 Harlequins
At the AJ Bell Stadium Sale Sharks started their home season with a victory and will certainly be looking to replicate last season's impeccable form at home. Prior to kick off AJ MacGinty was deemed unfit to start so that left Dan Mugford to take the reins. The former Nottingham fly-half put aside his disappointment at not being able to secure the game against Falcons and stepped up. He slotted every opportunity at goal and looked assured around the park. Sale held their nerve in the face of a feisty Harlequins side and John Kingston's men lacked discipline. Sale’s pack worked well and overall Steve Diamond should be pleased with the way that they managed the game. For John Kingston and Harlequins there remains a spot to think about, they’ve got their full contingent of Internationals and yet aren’t firing and in Round 3 head to Sandy Park to face an Exeter Chiefs side that will mean business.
Key Player: The aforementioned Dan Mumford showed oodles of character to step up and bounce back so strongly
Bath Rugby 58 - 5 Newcastle Falcons
For once The Recreation Ground enjoyed a spot of good weather for a Bath Rugby match and the home side made good use of it. Dean Richards’ Newcastle Falcons enjoyed plenty of possession early on but didn’t make it count and after Mike Delany’s penalty attempt went wide the half, and indeed the match, belonged to Bath. Once again George Ford pulled all the strings from fly-half and in a productive back line Semesa Rokoduguni was the standout. The Falcons haven’t won away from home since February 2015 and if they continue in this manner than that won’t change. They dropped off tackles and when they had possession basic handling errors thwarted any endeavour. A try arrived with three minutes to go to ensure Falcons weren’t whitewashed but it meant little. For Bath it was the dream return to The Recreation Ground after such a challenging season last time out. Their relatively inexperienced pack surpassed all expectations and provided a great platform to work off and they looked comfortable and carefree.
Key Player: George Ford kicked superbly out of hand and managed the game with ease. He nailed his kicks at all and looked every inch the world class fly-half that he is.
Leicester Tigers 22 - 34 Wasps
Wasps secured their first victory at Welford Road since 2008 and they did so in spite of falling asleep for 20 minutes in the second half. Welford Road is an intimidating place to travel to and yet Wasps handled themselves with ease and looked the calmer of the two sides when it came to the crunch. It has to be said that Guy Thompson and Sam Jones in their back row were both extremely impressive as they provided the tries and go forward Wasps needed. Again Jimmy Gopperth was a class act and as a whole Dai Young should be fairly be content with his side’s outing. Conversely the hosts haven't started the season as we would have expected them to and their errors in terms of ball retention and being outmuscled at the breakdown were present. The Tigers have shipped 31 and 34 points in the opening two rounds so need to shape up defensively and I’m sure that a few home truths will have been aired since the full time whistle.
Key Player: Guy Thompson was outstanding, from deft off loads to rampaging runs it was a reminder of the back row forward’s talent.
Bristol Rugby 10 - 32 Northampton Saints
In the sunshine at Ashton Gate Bristol had high hopes of a jovial return for Premiership Rugby but they were undone by a commanding opening half from their visitors. Saints raced to a 25-3 lead and dominated the possession, physicality and territory. For the opening forty Bristol didn’t have any answers and in their Director of Rugby's words they were 'schooled in Premiership rugby'. After the break Bristol turned up, they looked stronger in contract and in general more switched on. Their reward arrived in the form of a try from Ross McMillion but the damage was already done. Stephen Myler pushed Saints around the park well but in the second the visitors didn’t keep their foot on the gas as firmly as they would have wanted to and had to wait until less than five minutes from time to secure the bonus point.
Key Players: Stephen Myler showed the superior experience that he has over Harry Mallinder at fly-half and Louis Picamoles highlighted the value that he’s going to add with a productive 80 minutes.
Exeter Chiefs 13 - 34 Saracens
We all know that Sandy Park is an extremely challenging place to travel to and yet Saracens made it look simple. Much like we've seen the All Blacks do Mark McCall's side pushed themselves into another gear to take the game away from their hosts between half time and the 60 minute mark. Saracens suffocated Exeter and exposed their weaknesses and as a result extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches in all competitions. Henry Slade's showed a spot of his lack of experience at ten and across the board the Chiefs made errors they’ll be disappointed about. But, that’s what Saracens do they force sides off their stride and take full advantage as a result.
Key Player: Jackson Wray was given the MOTM award but in my book Billy Vunipola had a huge day at the office. He made offloads galore and carried like a man possessed.
