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| Aviva Premiership |
I
can't begin to fathom how many rugby fans were on the edge of their
seats on Saturday from 3.30pm onwards, probably hundreds of thousands
watching and waiting in anticipation...
All
eyes were on Welford Road on Saturday for the final round of Aviva
Premiership action. Admittedly, there was quite frankly no pressure
on Northampton to secure the win but Exeter's fate and Saracens
admittedly, lay in the hands of Mallinder's men. On arrival at
Welford Road, I realised I still get butterflies for this
East-Midlands Derby. It was a lava bubbling cauldron from the word
go and an almighty roar ripped the roof off when Tigers ran out to
24,000 supporters. This rivalry always gets the adrenaline pumping
and this game was no different. Jim had consciously decided to rest
his first team men for the semi-final so it was half expected, when
the Tigers sent Saints marching home with a 22-14 win, securing third
place in the league. Saints
led 9-8 at half time, but a succession of scrums five metres from the
Northampton line after the break proved the turning point, with two
Saints props being yellow-carded. And
even though a win's a win as Cockers described it and the
Tigers’ victory capped an impressive recovery from their
faltering start to the season, making the play-offs for 11 seasons in
a row,
I was more impressed with Northampton's ambition and tenacity than
Leicester's set piece. Don't get me wrong it was good, but good
enough to beat Bath at the Rec next week? Ermm, well I won’t eat
my hat - it’s too big - but I'm sceptical.
Leicester
Tigers will play Bath at the Rec in the second-leg of the Aviva
Premiership Semi-Final, KO 5pm.
As
if one local derby wasn't enough to whet your appetite, there was
another
free-flowing, entertaining encounter at The Rec where Bath beat
Gloucester by 50 points to 30, their sixth win in a row. Always
a humdinger and this game was no exception, with a total of 11 tries.
Ageless
scrum-half Peter Stringer injected some real fizz into Bath’s play
and what
a thrilling spectacle it was for the neutral. You name it, everyone
you would have expected to score for Bath, scored. Kyle Eastmond,
Anthony Watson, Semesa Rokoduguni, George Ford, Ollie Devoto and
slammin' Sam. Gloucester’s
much changed side scored four tries in reply from McColl (2), Ludlow
and Robson. They will now face a play-off with Connacht for a place
in next season’s Champions Cup. But Bath's
taste buds will be tingling for more after that rocketing confidence
boost ahead of this colossal semi-final next weekend. Great work
this season Gloucester, you are so exciting to watch! And of course,
Good luck Bath – we’re hoping for that Eureka! moment.
So
Leicester were through, who's joining them you ask?
Well,
we knew Saracens would run rings around London Welsh at the Kassam
Stadium but it wasn't as easy peasy first half as they may have
expected, running in at half-time with only an 11 point lead, 17-26.
However, Mark McCall's half time talk must have done the job because
in the final forty, the flood gates opened for a try fest. It was
Chris Ashton who scored a staggering three tries in five minutes -
yes you read correctly – it was the
fastest Premiership hat-trick on record!
What an absolutely outstanding performance by the winger. This
contributed heavily to ensuring Saracens were well on their way to
fourth place in the Premiership; The
other tries coming from David Strettle, Alex Goode, Juan Figallo and
both of the Vunipola brothers and
when Charlie Hodgson completed the tally, running in for Sarries
tenth try of the day, it reaffirmed that it was job done, that
try fest was just enough to nudge Exeter into fifth place
17-68. So we say thank you and bye-bye to Tom May and London Welsh
and Saracens now head to Franklin's Gardens next Saturday to play
Northampton Saints in the first-leg of the Aviva Premiership
Semi-Final, KO 2pm. Ooooer!!
With
the top four locked in, I could only feel for the supporters, players
and playing staff at Exeter Chiefs. This has been quite a season for
them and they may be frustrated not to reach the play-offs but what
an incredibly high note they ended on at Sandy Park on Saturday. It
was a humongous final surge that saw Chief’s
score seven tries of their own
in
a 44-16 victory over Sale Sharks. Ian
Whitten, Jack Nowell, Ben White, Henry Slade, Byron McGuigan and Matt
Jess (2) all went over in their bid to make the play-offs but the try
of the afternoon was scored by Sale’s giant lock Josh Beaumont, who
charged down the wing from 30 metres out to score in the corner.
Sale’s
retiring Mark Cueto remains the Premiership’s record try scorer but
the curtain came down on his illustrious career a little bit earlier
than he’d hoped. He was yellow carded ten minutes from the end, but
still left the field to much appreciative applause
So
Sarries have pipped Chiefs to the post in terms of points scored to
secure fourth place in the Premiership. That said, this Devonshire
side have the X Factor. They're likeable, incredibly powerful, a
modest and cohesive unit and Rob Baxter’s contribution and
leadership has been remarkable this season. Every team is wary of
playing at Sandy Park and for that matter, playing Exeter Chiefs at
all. They're a clean, well respected side, but deadly in their facets
of play. Watch this space.
Will
Exeter win the LV next year? I hope so. Will they reach top four?
Most definitely.
The
Madejski saw a 9,295 crowd witness a tightly fought try-scoring
ping
pong contest, with another eighty-pointer game and ten tries, leaving
it level, 40-40 on the final whistle between London Irish and
Coventry Wasps. What. A. Game. Thompson,
Tagicakibau (2) Miller and Haskell all scored tries for Wasps and
Fenby, Lewington, Noakes and Short(2 ) replied for Irish.
It was Andy Short's late try that enabled Irish to cling on and
although
Fly half Shane Gerahty’s attempt at a match-winning conversion with
the last kick of the match could have stolen a win, it went narrowly
wide;
but actually the Exiles were pretty much on point throughout the
match which made it even more gripping. As for Wasps, they finish
off their season in style, sixth in the Premiership and securing
their European Champions
Cup place
for next season. Fantastic play Irish and ‘Way to go Wasps!’
Newcastle
Falcons also finished off their season in style with a 37-21 victory
over the Harlequins. Did you expect it? I did. Falcons are in fine
form at the moment and even though they haven't won for twelve weeks,
Saturday proved to be a turning point ... better late than never.
And a fitting send off for Mike Blair who touched down for what will
be his last match for the Falcons. It was Andy Suall though who put
the final nail in the coffin for the Harlequins in the eightieth
minute to send the Falcons flying off into the distance.
Harlequins
have had a troubled season to say the least but finishing eighth
means they must make time for some soul searching over the summer
ready to regroup and aim high next season.
So
now we know. After one of the tightest Premiership seasons on record,
Northampton will be at home to Saracens and Bath will have home
advantage against Leicester in the play-off semi-finals.
But
what a finale to the regular season, with Exeter missing out on
fourth place by just points difference.
So
with the semi-finals in sight and the Aviva Premiership rounds laid
to rest for this season, there's only one thing for it...roll on the
final!
See
you on the other side.