Wow,
what a difference a week makes!
It
was an interesting way to round off the Aviva Premiership Round 8
weekend. Any surprises? A couple.
Who
knew London Welsh would step up their game so intently against
Leicester Tigers; rectifying last week’s issues against Wasps. A
strong performance from the side lying bottom of the table. The
exact reverse I would say about Wasps ... who found themselves on the
receiving end of an embarrassing custard pie to the face, being
trampled all over at Sandy Park by Exeter Chiefs! On that note, when
will the attention turn to Exeter Chiefs and their form? This
Devonshire side are consistently strong and real contenders for a top
spot this season but there seems to be a lack of chat about them.
Their academy side are sensational; they're versatile, their set
piece is strong and they continue to develop the cream of the crop,
so why are they rarely discussed? Then what about the fantastic
Falcons? Reborn, revitalised and renewed.
So
onto this weekend's games … Sale stormed to a huge yet surprising
12-16 win away at Twickenham Stoop on Friday night against the
Harlequins. What will this mean for the Sharks? Well, it's the
first time Sale have beaten the Harlequins since 2010 and they'll be
sure to carry that momentum over to next week's game away against
Newcastle Falcons. That said, Newcastle Falcons also round off the
weekend on a high, having welcomed Gloucester to Kingston Park and
displaying their ability to rumble and return to winning ways - to
Dean Richards and the fans delight - with a 20-10 victory. A tough
time may I add for the Cherry and Whites at the moment with nine
players off on England duty but the Falcons have now won 3 out of
their last 4 games. It'll be a huge northern head-to-head next
Sunday as they take on the Sale Sharks. Emotions will be running
high!
Exeter
Chiefs at home is one of the toughest fixtures for any team and I'm
in no doubt a couple of Wasps players gulped at this fixture. No one
should ever think Chiefs at Sandy Park is easy and it certainly
wasn't for the Wasps, as they lost on the road, a defining, 31-15. A
tough reality pill to swallow for Dai Young who said after last
week’s match against London Welsh, “We
showed we have great quality in our squad and if we play like that we
can trouble anyone."
They'll have to work very hard this coming week as they're on the
road yet again; this time to the equally ‘not so welcoming’,
Welford Road. Gird your loins and prepare yourselves for the Tigers
lads! As for the Exeter Chiefs, they're now second in the
Premiership table.
Bath
faced a tenacious London Irish pack on Saturday and granted, ‘a
win’s a win’ but as this West-Country pack headed home, I’m
sure questions will be asked of the 23-33 score. This was a tough
game. Why did Bath falter in the second half? Credit where it's due
and London Irish were definitely on the bounce. It's been heartbreak
for the Exiles these last two weeks with defeats to Sale and Bath but
as Brian Smith quite rightly says, ‘We're only a third of the way
through the season and there's still a lot of rugby left to be
played.’
Premiership
Champions, Northampton Saints travelled to Allianz Park to win and
they did just that, 24-31 against perennial rivals Saracens. They
found themselves taking a very comfortable 8-25 lead going into half
time but their momentum came to a grinding halt in the second and
they didn't make life easy for themselves, conceding 16 points alone
in the second half. Had they kept that momentum, it could've been a
hammering and a completely different story. Sarries really stepped
it up second half, dishing up the exciting rugby we want. It's
evident in games between these top teams, the real crux is in the
last quarter and if Northampton fail to keep form in the last twenty,
it could slowly churn them up. That said, Northampton go back to top
of the Premiership table.
Last
but by no means least; it was a tough day in the office for Leicester
Tigers at the Kassam Stadium. A 'greasy' game as Richard Cockerill
described it, as London Welsh did well to defend and score in the
first half with only seven points separating these two sides. But
the Tigers managed to secure the bonus point win in the last forty
beating London Welsh, 5-26. A marked improvement in London Welsh’s
play but where cohesion of players in defence and handling errors
still prevent progression and the perfect confidence boost needed for
Tigers before they take on the Wasps next weekend.