A
crazy and spiteful West Country Derby, what an absolute shocker this
weekend! A game that saw two reds, five yellows, Gloucester down to
11 men and a mass brawl in the dying moments of the game. Referee Tim
Wigglesworth emptied his pockets of cards with Carl Fearns, Matt
Garvey, Dave
Attwood, Mike Tindall and Huia Edmonds sin-binned and Sila Pilafouisi
and Tavis Knoyles sent off. A fiery finish, which saw Bath
victorious with a penalty try and a 17-18 one point win. A match
that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
It
was 1st
vs. 2nd
as the Northampton Saints travelled to Allianz Park. The Saints
were supposedly revitalized and ready for business with Stephen Myler
and Samu Manoa back for the Saints. But Saracens were confident,
composed and in control early on and even though Northampton's surge
and intensity increased in the last quarter and they came back to
narrow the gap 28-24 in the dying moments, it was too late. Bosch
and Brits for Saracens, demonstrated real skill and agility today -
all over the pitch. Both these sides are clinical and exceptional to
watch, in my opinion, but to secure a home semi-final, Northampton
need to start how they finished. Fresh back from Lanzarote - the
holiday’s over.
Friday
Night Lights saw 6th
place Sale welcome 5th
place Harlequins to Salford City Stadium. It was a battle of the two fly
halves with Nick Evans and Danny Cipriani on form as usual but
unfortunately, Danny Cipriani was pretty much a one man band, as the
Quins secured a vital 12-27 win and the bonus point try to take them
into a comfortable lead. Harlequins got the job done. Are these
dark horses slowly creeping into a play-off position?
Leicester
welcomed the London Wasps to Welford Road. And as the Tigers were
intent on cementing their place in the play offs, it was all to play
for. The Wasps took the lead on the half hour but Niki Goneva took
the Tigers to a four point lead by the interval. Tigers pulled
further away from the woeful Wasps in the second half and secured
their bonus point victory 27-15. Timing is everything and the
possibility of a home semi-final is definitely on the cards!
It
was a try fest at Sixways as the Worcester Warriors hosted Exeter
Chiefs. A game that saw the Warriors chasing points from the outset
as Exeter’s attack was bullish and dominant. But the home team
had a five point deficit with two minutes to go and it was a narrow
defeat, 33-38. A true reflection on how far the Warriors have come
this season and proof that their confidence is growing game by game.
But have they left it too late?
Newcastle
Falcons headed to the Madjeski Stadium to take on London Irish and it
was an absolute belter with a hat trick of tries by the former
Falcons player Andrew Fenby being the highlight of the six try
victory - Irish winning by 40 points to 12. Strength in numbers and
the ability to win on home turf is what the Irish do so well.