Aviva Premiership: Northampton Saints take pole position
An emphatic 31-10 bonus-point victory over Bath sent out a crystal clear warning to the rest of the Aviva Premiership: Northampton Saints are in it to win it this season.
Jim Mallinder’s side were in scintillating form and hammered their fellow play-off contenders at Franklin’s Gardens. Bath had their 100% record smashed in front of a 13,000-strong crowd, as the Saints deservedly sealed maximum points on home turf.
Phil Dowson, Joe Ansbro and Chris Ashton grabbed the tries for the hosts, with Ashton crossing the line twice in quick succession to put the match beyond Bath’s reach. While Shane Geraghty kicked three penalties to put the icing on the cake.
Leicester Tigers would have watched Northampton’s demolition of Bath on Friday evening and knew that anything other than a victory over London Wasps would see them lose further ground on the Saints. And that’s exactly what would happen. A stunning comeback from Wasps secured their first win of the season, and condemned Leicester to their second defeat.
The visitors had led 30-18 at the break, following four tries before the interval from Matt Smith, Ben Youngs, Billy Twelvetrees and Tom Croft. However, Wasps’ remarkable fight back was completed in the dying embers of the match as Richard Haughton’s last-gasp try sealed a dramatic 37-30 home win.
It was a vital win for Wasps, who climb to eighth in the league table, but the Tigers slip to seventh and will now look to get back to winning ways against Leeds Carnegie on Saturday.
Leeds are still rooted to the bottom of the Premiership after their third successive defeat. A dominant performance from Saracens saw Brendan Venter’s side race into a 13-0 half-time lead, and the pressure on Leeds didn’t relinquish after the break as the Sarries ran out 26-14 winners.
That victory lifted Saracens to fourth in the table, while Leeds are in serious danger of replicating last season’s showing. Only this time, they may not be capable of producing another miracle escape.
With Northampton top, Bath in third and Saracens in fourth, London Irish complete the top four after a 23-16 win against Gloucester at the Madejski Stadium.
The Exiles were linked with a move for Wales international Gavin Henson at the weekend but, on the evidence of their victory over Gloucester, they may not need him.
Ryan Lamb kicked 13 points against his former club, while James Buckland and George Stowers scored the tries, as London Irish climbed to second in the league table. The Cherry and Whites, meanwhile, fall into the bottom three.
The surprise package of this season’s Premiership campaign, Exeter Chiefs, recorded their second win of the month against Newcastle Falcons.
After their impressive display against Wasps last weekend, more was expected of Newcastle against the newly-promoted side at Sandy Park. However, fly-half Gareth Steenson kicked 17 points in Exeter’s 22-17 win to keep the Chiefs comfortable in fifth place.
That may well have been Newcastle’s second defeat of the campaign, but they still find themselves ahead of Harlequins in the league table. The Quins were beaten by Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park on Friday night, ensuring their winless start to the campaign drags on.
The first-half had gone to plan for the visitors, who took a 17-6 lead at the break. Unfortunately for the Quins, though, Sale bounced back in style over the next 40 minutes and eventually won the match 21-17.
Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea revealed that he was “furious” with his side’s second-half capitulation, and promised his players a difficult week on the training ground before their next league fixture against Exeter on Saturday.
Tags: