After the pacy start to the new Premiership Rugby season Round 2 didn't quite hit the try scoring heights of the first weekend however there is still plenty to discuss and it's time to touch on a few talking points.
As we all saw on the BT Sport coverage Eddie Jones and his coaching team were putting in the miles to take a look at various players across the country. Next Friday morning (22 October) he will announce the training squad that he will be taking for a camp in Oxford the week after and his final squad for the Old Mutual Wealth Series will arrive on the morning of Thursday 26 October. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing the mix of players that the Australia chooses for both the training camp and the internationals. Will he rest some of the British & Irish Lions and look at others or will he go all guns blazing?
For now I'll pause on the England discussion because there will be a whole host of England features and articles coming over the next few weeks but right now here's a few of my reflections from Premiership Rugby Round 2.
For now I'll pause on the England discussion because there will be a whole host of England features and articles coming over the next few weeks but right now here's a few of my reflections from Premiership Rugby Round 2.
It can’t always be pretty….
Friday night’s game at the AJ Bell Stadium is not one that spent very much time in the recorded programmes section of my Sky Box. In fact I deleted it as soon as I got home from my BBC shift and I’m sure that many of you did too.
Following the 50-try high of Round 1 we were all set for Round 2 to start with a bang and instead we witnessed what I hope will be the worst first half of the season. I say that I hope it will be the worst half because I don’t think that I can take too many more like it!! Now I appreciate that the weather was horrendous and fit for ducks however the half was littered with errors and made you shout at the television for the wrong reasons.
Following the 50-try high of Round 1 we were all set for Round 2 to start with a bang and instead we witnessed what I hope will be the worst first half of the season. I say that I hope it will be the worst half because I don’t think that I can take too many more like it!! Now I appreciate that the weather was horrendous and fit for ducks however the half was littered with errors and made you shout at the television for the wrong reasons.
For Sale fans I imagine that was a frustrating Friday at the AJ Bell Stadium however for Newcastle’s fans I expect that they went home with a smile on their faces even after a game like that. Why? Well because those are the types of matches that good sides slog out and get maximum points from. Not all teams can win every game in a beautiful fashion because sometimes the elements, or injuries, are against you. However the sign of a team’s development is when they rough it out on the road at places like the AJ Bell Stadium.
With the talent housed in Dean Richards’ squad the Falcons' ambition is to get the crowd on their feet and score tries yet having the backbone of being able to ride out match like Friday's will ensure that they are a team pushing for Champions Cup rugby this season. Of course next is a tussle with the back-to-back European champions and they're set to face a Saracens team coming off the back of a loss. Personally I'm interested to see how Newcastle raise their game in the face of such competition and equally which names might make first Premiership appearances on their team-sheet. We all know that DTH Van der Merwe, Toby Flood and Maxime Mermoz are yet feature in the competition and their influence as a trio, and as individuals, is likely to have a hugely positive effect on a team that has already shown a solid base in the first two rounds.
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Team training in the USA - (C) @FalconsRugby |
With the talent housed in Dean Richards’ squad the Falcons' ambition is to get the crowd on their feet and score tries yet having the backbone of being able to ride out match like Friday's will ensure that they are a team pushing for Champions Cup rugby this season. Of course next is a tussle with the back-to-back European champions and they're set to face a Saracens team coming off the back of a loss. Personally I'm interested to see how Newcastle raise their game in the face of such competition and equally which names might make first Premiership appearances on their team-sheet. We all know that DTH Van der Merwe, Toby Flood and Maxime Mermoz are yet feature in the competition and their influence as a trio, and as individuals, is likely to have a hugely positive effect on a team that has already shown a solid base in the first two rounds.
A Rocking Rec
On Sunday morning The Sunday Times’ Stephen Jones took to social media to comment on the tremendous atmosphere at The Recreation Ground. Now Stephen isn’t one to hand out compliments without a valid reason. He’s a man that I personally have a huge amount of respect for and with years of global experience in the game his praise is hard-earned. The Recreation Ground is one of my favourite Premiership grounds to visit for a number of reasons. For me it's the combination of its picturesque situation, the passion of the fans and the feeling that the club such an integral part of the city.
On Saturday afternoon The Rec was rocking and rightly so given the mixture of gumption and pizazz that the home side showed their fans. As a collective Bath delivered the hard-edge that they had taken on the road to Leicester and coupled that with a spot of flair. If that wasn't enough the icing on the cake was Semesa Rokoduguni pushing the ‘Roko button’ in the latter stages to secure victory.
The squad’s Round 1 win on the road was their first in seven Premiership away games and their next trip to Franklin’s Gardens will test their metal again. In the past Northampton had been one of Bath's bogey teams and with injuries still a concern particularly up front they will be seriously tested. Yet what we’ve seen so far out of Farleigh House is a team that’s started with real confidence and one that’s showing serious intent for the season ahead.
Seven days is a long time in sport
I can’t even being to imagine what Northampton Saints’ changing room was like at half-time at Twickenham Stadium. I can only assume that it was a sea of emotion after a productive pre-season had led to a 38-point deficit after 40 minutes out on the park.
It was 40 minutes that no player or fan will wish to dwell on too much other than for the former to have used it as fuel to fire their emotions on Saturday. So often we talk about expecting a ‘reaction’ from a team and my goodness me did we see one from Jim Mallinder’s squad in the weekend's East Midlands derby.
Everything that the Saints lacked in Round 1 they showed in spades in Round 2 and none more so than physicality. At Twickenham Stadium they were second best on the gain line and were toyed with by Saracens. Yet at Franklin’s Gardens their key men - Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley in particular - set the tone from the off and were unrelenting in their pursuit of victory. As a collective the team bullied their opponents off the park and that took guts.
Let’s not forget the emotions that the coaching staff will have gone through over the past week too. The pressure on them is clear, Northampton are an ambitious side and one that hasn't kicked on as they would have liked after winning the Premiership. The Round 1 performance put immediate and intense pressure on all behind the scenes and yet clearly they did the right things in terms of rectify mistakes and preparing the side for Round 2. Now both the squad and coaching staff must show that such an outing can become the norm. Consistency must be the name of the game for Northampton Saints and if they deliver 20 more performances like Saturday’s then they will be just fine this season!
