Aviva Premiership: Northampton Saints tame Leicester Tigers
Although it was only the opening weekend of the Aviva Premiership season, Northampton Saints’ 27-19 victory over Leicester Tigers provided a stark warning sign for the reigning champions – and the rest of the league.
If anything, the scoreline flattened the Tigers, who scored two late tries through Scott Hamilton, and looked distinctly second best for the majority of the 80 minutes.
Powerful Saints’ prop Soana Tonga'uiha crossed the line twice for Jim Mallinder’s side, while debutant Tom Wood produced a man of the match performance at Franklin’s Gardens.
Elsewhere, last season’s relegation candidates Sale Sharks recorded a hugely-encouraging 35-18 home win over Newcastle Falcons on Friday night.
Sale fly-half Nick Macleod kicked 22 of the club’s points, as Newcastle struggled to contend with the No. 10. On the evidence of this particular performance, the Falcons may have overtaken Exeter Chiefs as the favourites for the drop.
Newly-promoted Exeter produced arguably the stand-out performance of the weekend after beating Gloucester 22-10 on their Premiership debut. The club’s fly-half Gareth Steenson was in clinical form, while Mark Foster grabbed the home side’s sole try.
It’s London Irish who are top of the pile after the opening weekend, though, following a 33-16 win over Saracens at Twickenham. In the first of a double-header at HQ, the Exiles stunned their opponents in front of a 75,000 crowd, by scoring three second-half tries.
Irish, who were tipped by many to break into the play-offs this season, deservedly racked up a bonus-point victory and will now look to make it two in two with a win over Bath on Saturday.
The huge crowd at Twickenham had already been treated to one thriller, and they certainly got their money’s worth with the follow up match between London Wasps and Harlequins.
A late Mark van Gisbergen penalty salvaged a 29-29 draw for Wasps in a tight and tense encounter in West London, with the match descending into a personal battle between Van Gisbergen and Quins’ Nick Evans. Both fly-halves kicked 19-points apiece as the two clubs came away from HQ with two points each.
And finally, Leeds Carnegie’s long-suffering fans would have been praying for a decent start following last season’s horror show. However, they were to experience that familiar sinking feeling as Andy Key’s men slipped to a 32-16 home defeat to Bath.
It was an impressive showing from Steve Meehan’s side at Headingley, as they bid to retain their top-four status for yet another season.
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