Aviva Premiership Round up

In a weekend dominated by the stodgy kick-fests in the Six Nations, a pretty decent round of rugby in the lil' ol' Aviva Premiership was missed.  This round contained tries galore, with 20 five-pointers being racked up – not bad at all for games at this time of year – but, just like it's international Big Brother, the weekend sprung a fair few surprises.

Where better to start than our featured 'big game' of the weekend, Northampton v Gloucester.

Not so long ago, Franklin's Gardens was a fortress.  You would travel there safe in the knowledge that you were about to be made to feel as welcome as a particularly sly fox at a rabbits-only poker club, and would receive a physical pasting as an inevitable consequence.  It's been a constant stronghold since Saints came back up from their brief foray into the second tier several years ago.  But recently, they've suffered an appalling degree of inconsistency, perhaps encouraged by the signing of only Jekyll-and-Hyde-like players who can be as brilliant as they can be downright rubbish.  Take Ryan Lamb, Stephen Myler, Paul Doran-Jones, Van Velze (who spends half his time sinbinned) as prime examples and even the Pisi brothers are prone to the odd mental breakdown on the pitch.  All these players are absolutely top rate when things are going their way and they have front foot ball, but would you rely on them when the chips are down and you need a siege mentality?  I think it's this that Saints have lacked.  Phil Dowson, though not exactly a world beater, is rock-solid and rarely has a poor game – a few more of the likes of him to steady the ship, interspersed with the talented individuals the club undoubtedly has on its books, and Northampton might find themselves challenging for top honours on a regular basis.

As it was, Northampton imploded once again at the weekend, succumbing to a side who don't usually fare much better in the consistency stakes, but Gloucester had the electric Jonny May to thank for their lead as well as a gutsy rear-guard action that limited the home side to one score, despite getting over the line three times (being held up twice).  The end result is that Northampton have now lost 3 of their last 4 home games in the Premiership.

The game's tentative start, made up predominantly of aimless kicking and mistakes, was only brought to life after 7 minutes – after the hosts had taken a 3-0 lead through Myler – but it unfortunately wasn't down to any creativity or genius on the pitch.  Instead, a ripple of sniggering grew into a wave of hooting laughter as the Franklin's faithful first spotted Gloucester full back Rob Cook's kicking stance as he lined up a shot to level the scores.  Cook, taking over boot duties following the absence of Freddie Burns, has been described by his teammates as looking as if he's doing across between riding a wave on a surfboard and doing the haka.  I'm leaning more towards a cross between man nervously petting a very large, potentially dangerous dog and a posture adopted by a 1980's glam rock keyboardist, but either description will do.  He does look ridiculous, but he's pretty effective, as he smashed the Cheery and White's level before sneaking them into the lead shortly after.

Then up stepped Jonny May to introduce some rugby-based entertainment finally after 20 minutes.  The Gloucester flyer came in off the blindside from a lineout to receive the ball in midfield, where he bamboozled George Pisi into doing a pirouette before gassing past the cover to score from 40 metres out.  It was some score.

 
Myler and Cook exchanged penalties again before Cook slotted another to take Gloucester further out in front and, just before halftime, Gerrit-Jan Van Velze – clearly playing the part of Dylan Hartley during the game – got himself yellow carded for slowing the ball down.  Two minutes into the second half and the Cherry and Whites effectively put the game to bed, with May picking up on a loose ball to scorch over from 70 metres.  It was another scintillating display of speed and most neutral fans will be playing that May can hold off injury for long enough to build up some form – he's one of the few players in the Premiership who genuinely has rocket boots.  In fact, I demand to see a charity foot race between Varndell, Wade, May, Chisholm and Sharples (with Tim Payne thrown in as well, for a laugh) at the end of the season so we can see who the real pace-master is.

Unfortunately, May undid some of his good work just 5 minutes later after being shown yellow entering from the side as Northampton tried to drive their way over – but even when they did get over the line, they couldn't get it right as lock Samu Manoa inexplicably dropped the ball instead of grounding it.  The home side did eventually get a 5 pointer on the board through the excellent Phil Dowson, but this again was tainted after Manoa completed a miserable afternoon for him by getting sin-binned in the aftermath of the try for throwing a punch.  It meant that Saints couldn't capitalise on the momentum, and with Gloucester getting another 3 points as the game wound down, it was the bizarrely-positioned Cook who had the last laugh.
 

Despite the win, Gloucester miss out on 4^th spot after a couple of surprise results across the rest of the grounds...

 

Sale Sales 21 – 15 Exeter Chiefs
A record breaking 76^th try for veteran Mark Cueto helped Sale pick up a vital win that pulls them within striking distance of 11^th place London Irish and 10^th place London Welsh.  Daniel Braid got the other try for the hosts, whilst Watisoni Votu grabbed one for the Chiefs.

 

Leicester Tigers 28 – 12 London Welsh
Leicester went top of the Premiership thanks to other results and another stuttering performance that ended in victory.  Tigers scored tries through wingers Adam Thompstone and Niall Morris before replacement 10 Dan Bowden put some gloss on the win.  Gordon Ross scored all of the visitor’s points with the boot.

 

Bath 32 – 9 Worcester Warriors

Bath trounced Worcester with a five try victory at the Rec, with wing Horacio Agulla grabbing 2.  In a game where Kyle Eastmond impressed at centre, Peter Stringer scored his 3^rd try in as many games, returning hooker Rob Webber went over on his first Premiership start for Bath and Tom Biggs touched down for the other.  Worcester’s only points came courtesy of the boot of replacement fly half Danny Gray.

 

London Irish 29 – 16 Saracens
Irish shocked Saracens at home with a great 2^nd half performance, leading them to a convincing win that helps them claw back some of the distance on the main pack of the Premiership.  Fullback Tom Homer kicked 19 points for the hosts, who scored tries through Shane Geraghty and Ofisa Treviranus, whilst the visitors could only manage a consolation from wing David Strettle in addition to the 11 points from Charlie Hodgson.

 

Harlequins 16 – 17 London Wasps
Quins were stunned at home by a Wasps side who went ahead early on through a sharp intercept from Tom Varndell and a good finish from fellow winger Christian Wade.  Harlequins couldn’t recover from the deficit despite a fortuitous try for centre Matt Hopper, and missed kicks by the usually ice-cool Nick Evans proved critical.  The result sees Wasps cling on to 4^th spot and gain revenge for their thrilling loss on the opening day of the season, whilst Quins have been knocked off top spot.