With March just around the corner, the finishing line in the race for the Guinness Premiership is beginning to creep into view. After this weekend, though, it’s clear that there’s still a lot of rugby to be played before this season’s winners and losers are confirmed.
Even after the Christmas break it seemed as if Saracens were nailed on for a top two finish; but their form since then has been patchy to say the least, and they have now dropped down yet another place - to third - following a 9-0 defeat against Wasps at Adams Park.
Danny Cipriani, who announced last Friday that he has agreed to join Melbourne Reds, kicked all nine points to lift the hosts up to fourth in the league table. As the narrow scoreline suggests, it was a hard-fought Wasps win with very little to separate the two sides; but Saracens director of rugby, Brendan Venter, must be wondering how such a capitulation has occurred in such a short space of time.
Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers extended their lead at the top of the Premiership with a 33-11 victory against in-form Gloucester. The Tigers have now won their last five league matches and look unbeatable at Welford Road. This first-class performance at the weekend puts them five points clear at the top of the league - although they have played one game more than their rivals; but with the likes of Toby Flood and Lote Tuqiri entering the season’s most crucial period in top form, they must surely be regarded as favourites to retain the Guinness Premiership trophy.
Another team who also have high hopes of landing their hands on the league title are Northampton Saints; but they had the title hopes dashed with a surprise 13-6 defeat at the hands of Harlequins this weekend. Saints coach Jim Mallinder conceded that Quins had been the better side but rued the fact that the England players had been unavailable for the main training day in the build-up to the match. However, Mallinder refused to use this as an excuse and made it clear that the mistakes from Saturday will be rectified against Leicester next weekend.
Despite the loss, Northampton still managed to move up a place - to second - after the Saracens also suffered defeat; while that all-important win has lifted Harlequins up to seventh as they edge closer to safety.
At the other end of the table, the question everyone is asking this morning: “Can Leeds Carnegie make a great escape?” is a fair one to ask. Just weeks ago, the suggestion that Leeds had the potential to avoid the drop would have sounded rather far-fetched; but after the weekend, mission improbable has all of a sudden entered into the realms of possibility.
Leeds director of rugby, Andy Key, certainly believes his team can perform a miracle escape this season. Following his side’s 19-10 away win against Sale Sharks on Friday evening, Key expressed his delight with the result and the performance and called upon his squad to produce similar displays of attacking rugby from now until the end of the season. Keeping Ceiron Thomas fit will be particularly important – the fly-half scored 14 points for the visitors on Friday as Leeds closed the gap behind Worcester to just a single point.
Worcester lost their second consecutive league match against a resurgent Bath, 37-13, and continue to find themselves deep in the relegation mire with just two months of the season remaining. The visitors only fleetingly showed what they’re capable of at the Rec, and even took a shock lead through Willie Walker; but Bath were the better side by a considerable distance and eventually ran out comfortable winners to move up to sixth in the league table.
The weekend’s remaining match between Newcastle Falcons and London Irish proved a typically tight battle between two of the Premiership’s mid-table sides - and the 12-12 scoreline reflected the two clubs’ evenness on the day. Newcastle’s Jimmy Gopperth earned the Falcons their share of the points with four penalties, but the hosts probably should have won the match after dominating much of the game. London Irish head coach Toby Booth was understandably content with the result, and his side now lay level on points with Wasps in fifth place.
Such a thrilling weekend of Premiership action will be hard to follow, but this season is quickly establishing itself as one of the league’s most exciting in years.
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