Gloucester top at the end of regular season
Gloucester overcame Bath 8-6 on the last day of the Guinness Premiership to clinch top spot at the end of the regular season. James Simpson-Daniel was sublime, with one of the tries of the year and picked up the Man of the Match award.
Unfortunately for the Cherry and Whites, it’s not actually the end of the season - they now face Leicester in the semi-finals and then the winner of Wasps or Bath if they make the final.
Wasps snatched second place with a bonus point victory over Leeds, and that secures the London side an all-important semi-final.
Leicester snuck into the top four at the eleventh hour with a last-minute victory over Harlequins to set up a showdown with Gloucester. Sale was the most disappointing team at the weekend, seemingly devoid of ambition in a 17-7 home defeat to London Irish.
The debate about the value of the knockout stages has been fairly quiet over the last couple of seasons. It seems to me the first opportunity to reduce the number of matches in a congested end-of-season schedule, but on the other hand, the next two rounds of matches should be incredible occasions.
What do people think? Presumably Wasps fans are in favour, whilst Gloucester fans might not be so keen?
Last chance for Premiership playoff places
In a way it’s a shame that Gloucester and Bath are already guaranteed a semi-final berth - their showdown this weekend would have taken on much more importance.
As it is, Wasps and Sale have it all to play for, the former taking on lowly Leeds and almost assured of a place, the latter taking on London Irish at Edgeley Park.
Harlequins and Leicester are the only other teams with an outside chance of climbing into the last four - they play each other on Saturday and will need other results to go their way.
Leicester’s defeat to Newcastle, and then Wasps bonus point victory over the same team has slightly taken the sting out of the tail of the playoff race. Gloucester, Bath, Wasps and Sale should make it, and set up a fascinating knockout finale.
The final is on 31st May at Twickenham - end of season specialists Wasps, and consistently strong Gloucester are currently joint favourites (9/4 with Paddy Power).
Guinness Premiership review
Last weekend in the Guinness Premiership saw the top two, Gloucester and Bath, open up some breathing space as two other big guns, Leicester and Wasps, faltered.
On Saturday, a Bath team in fantastic form met a Saracens team deflated and depleted from the previous week’s Heineken cup exploits and the result was never in doubt. Bath ran in nine tries with Barkley scoring 31 points, Bath running out winners by 66 – 21. The manner in which Bath played, rather than the big result will be of great concern to their title rivals but it is yet to be seen whether this crop of players have the “big game mentality” required to win a Premiership final.
In the only match with nothing in particular riding on it Worcester beat Bristol 22 – 21 at what will be the last match for Bristol at the Memorial Stadium for two years as they move to Rodney Gardens in Newport while their stadium is redeveloped.
One of the big benefits of a play-off structure with relegation is that almost every match has significance all the way until the end of the season. However it is strange that one of the clubs with seemingly little left to play for - Newcastle - managed to beat a team needing to fight for every point to qualify for the play-offs – Leicester.
Newcastle resisted a tough late fight back from the tigers to win 28-25 and severely impact on Leicester’s hopes of a playoff place. This will also be further ammunition for any anti-Loffreda elements within and outside the Leicester camp with rumours that a certain Mr White might be keen on a job in the midlands.
Also on Saturday Sale took a big stride towards a playoff berth by defeating Harlequins 23 – 16 at the Stoop. Sale are now third and you would back them to beat London Irish at home to secure a play off place whereas Harlequins must now defeat Leicester at Welford Road to stand a chance of making the Twickenham final.
Gloucester defeated an uncharacteristically sloppy Wasps at Adams Park 25 – 17 to put themselves in a great position for a home semi final in the playoffs. They now just need a bonus point from their match against Bath on Saturday to guarantee a home tie. Wasps on the other hand need to refocus and find the necessary determination to win their remaining two matches, against Newcastle tomorrow and Leeds on Saturday to get themselves back on track.
Just in case anyone should forget about the rugby London Irish are capable of, they scored seven tries to defeat Leeds 43 – 20. There was no Heineken hangover for the Exiles as they walked over the already-relegated northerners.
After Wednesday’s match between Wasps and Newcastle it will be clear what each of Sale, Harlequins, Wasps and Leicester need to do to earn the final two playoff places. I am very excited, I hope you all are too.
By Jon Hobbs
Premiership playoff race hots up - Guinness Premiership report
After a jam-packed fixture schedule last week, the top 6 clubs are still all in contention for the precious four play-off places with (in most cases) two matches to go. The relegation of Leeds, which has seemed inevitable for a while, was also confirmed.
Last Tuesday, four of the “big six” were in action with Bath and Wasps stealing a march on Leicester and Sale respectively. Leicester did however take a depleted team to The Rec to lose 26 – 12 whereas Sale gave it all they had against Wasps at Adams Park and were better value than the 29 – 19 score line suggested.
On Saturday, Harlequins lost ground on the other contenders by going down 13 – 6 away to London Irish. Irish dominated possession and territory and thoroughly deserved their win but Harlequins defended heroically for large periods of the game and were great value for their losing bonus point. Ugo Monye, fulfilling a role at outside centre was particularly forceful with his tackling.
Comfortable wins for Leicester and Gloucester, against Bristol and Leeds respectively helped their playoff aspirations whilst Bath sneaked through against Worcester to remain in with a chance of a home semi final.
On Sunday Wasps and Sale kept up their charge with victories over Saracens and Newcastle. Sale racked up 53 points against a woeful Newcastle side who managed just one try and 10 points in total. Wasps managed a first half bonus point and resisted a late Sarries fight back to take that match 40 – 29, away from home.
All eyes are on European competition this weekend but now there is a clear path to glory at the end of the domestic season, which team is your money on?
The remaining fixtures for the top six are as follows:
Gloucester: Wasps (a); Bath (h)
Bath: Saracens (h); Gloucester (a)
Wasps: Gloucester (h); Newcastle (a); Leeds (h)
Harlequins: Sale (h); Leicester (a)
Sale: Harlequins (a); London Irish (h)
Leicester: Newcastle (a); Harlequins (h)
Guinness Premiership Report - 31st March 2008
Another weekend in the Guinness Premiership, another set of tense matches culminating in a tighter top table than at an incestuous wedding.
On Friday night Sale did wonders for their play-off aspirations by defeating Bath at home 22 – 6. A try by Oriol Ripol and 17 points from the boot of Charlie Hodgson resulted in Sale cementing fifth spot and Bath losing their grip on the number one slot.
On Saturday Wasps turned the tables on Leicester by avenging their cup loss, beating the Tigers at Welford Road 24 – 19. Wasps managed to recreate their defensive form of last season to frustrate the midlanders. A dominant forwards display coupled with excellent scores from Waters (2) and Cipriani sealed the victory which leaves Leicester in a precarious 4th and Wasps still with it all to do in 6th.
The biggest shock of the weekend was saved for Worcester who beat Gloucester for the first time in their history by 17 – 14 at Sixways. Worcester have beaten Sale, Leicester and Gloucester recently and look set to finish the season strongly, while Gloucester were lucky to return to the top of the table with their losing bonus point.
A try-less encounter at the Stoop was memorable for a ridiculous late charge by De Wet Barry on Mathew Tait that saw both men leave the field – Barry with a red card and Tait with injury. Harlequins ran out winners 14 – 9 thanks to four Jarvis penalties and a Care drop goal. Dean Richards is calling for Danny Care to tour to NZ this summer and on current form he is easily one of the top three scrum-halves in the country.
In one of the less meaningful matches of the weekend London Irish beat Bristol 28 – 8 with tries from Hewat, Mapusua and Mackie. Irish have their more important match next weekend against Perpignan in the Heineken Cup while Bristol are looking to build for next season.
Saracens thrashed Leeds 66 – 7, scoring ten tries and converting eight. There have been very few trouncings of this nature in the Premiership this season highlighting the competitive nature of the competition. Still, every now and again a bit of a multi-try demolition provides some good entertainment.
By Jon Hobbs
Easter Weekend Guinness Premiership Review
With the EDF Anglo-Welsh Cup taking the attention of three English sides, there was a reduced fixture list in the Premiership this weekend. This allowed Bath and Harlequins the chance to steal a march on their top of the table rivals and they took the opportunity gladly.
On Friday night teams at the lower end of the table were in action as Leeds took on Newcastle at Headingley. Leeds kept a flicker of the hope of survival alive by beating Newcastle 16-15, with Lee Blackett scoring the fastest try in Premiership history after 8.2 seconds. Leeds are now 10 points behind Worcester so will still need to win at least two or three more matches from their last five to have any chance of staying up but while it’s still mathematically possible they will carry on fighting. Newcastle’s season is going from bad to worse - after the dismissal of John Fletcher they have lost two from two matches.
On Saturday while Leicester and the Ospreys were sealing their final berths in the EDF cup, Bath took on London Irish at the Recreation Ground. Bath ran out winners by 19 -16 and claimed the top spot in the Premiership in the process. After a mid-season run of form, Irish are now struggling to make a play-off spot.
On Sunday, Harlequins put in another strong performance to see off Bristol with a bonus point away victory 28 – 15. Quins are now right in the play-off mix in fourth place, only 5 points away form the leaders Bath. Bristol have cemented their reputation as a strong premiership club and are gaining experience every time they play but they need to bolster their squad again if they are to challenge for Heineken Cup rugby next season.
Looking forward to the coming weekend there are a couple of excellent fixtures that catch the eye. On Friday night, Sale play Bath at home and on Saturday there is the Leicester v Wasps rematch which the Londoners will be desperate to win after falling short to the Tigers in the cup last weekend. There are now seven realistic contenders for the four play-off places and every match is a must-win for the challengers.
By Jon Hobbs
Guinness Premiership Report
Another weekend in the Guinness Premiership, another cracking series of close fought matches hurtling towards the sun-soaked end of season finale at HQ.
The weekend began with absurdly high winds at Kingston Park, snapping a post and making playing a game of rugby as hard as justifying another Balshaw cap. Wasps and Newcastle will have to work another match into a hectic spring to get this one played.
A different kind of drama was on show at Sale, with the Sharks losing out to Worcester by 15 – 22. A try from Kai Horstmann was the difference between the two sides in the end. Worcester have now developed enough of a cushion over Leeds to relax a little and allow their talented backs to express themselves.
On Saturday Harlequins maintained their good form and Gloucester maintained their mid-season shakes in an interesting clash at the Stoop. Simpson-Daniel was his classy best throughout as he created a try for Anthony Allen and scored one himself. Willie Walker struggled to come to terms with the difficult kicking conditions and that proved the difference.
Leicester upped the pressure on Gloucester by gaining maximum points in their clash against Leeds, winning 34 -21. Leeds will continue to put everything into all their remaining matches but will now struggle to catch Worcester and look likely to return to first division action next season (and get a big parachute payment and come straight back up the following season).
Also on Saturday London Irish beat Saracens 27 – 24. After a good start to the season Saracens have lost form in 2008, losing 5 of their last seven matches. It seems their unwelcome reputation of annual underachievers is coming to the fore this season too. Irish are timing their run to the playoffs this season better than before and should be making those above them a mite edgy.
Sunday’s west country derby was won by Bath, as they beat Bristol 19-9 at Ashton Gate. As avid readers will have noted I once again got the result wrong. Excellent. Another notable performance came from Olly Barkley, managing the game from fly-half in Butch James’ absence. He’ll be miffed not to have been called up for England duties for the latter stages of the Six Nations.
by Jon Hobbs
Guinness Premiership Report 26/02/08
While most peoples’ eyes and ears were transfixed by the weekend’s Six Nations results, the Premiership continues to build towards a dramatic end of season.
On Friday night, relegation battlers Worcester were unlucky to only come away with a losing bonus point as they took London Irish to the wire, the match ending 11-12 in Irish’s favour. Interestingly, Irish’s winning points came from a penalty after Drew Hickey, the Worcester back row, argued with referee Rob Debney. Mike Ruddock has claimed “he’ll be hit in the pocket for that”!
All Saturday’s matches were close but the upset came from Sale Sharks who managed an away win at fortress Welford Road, the home of Leicester Tigers. A 79th minute Chabal try was the difference as Sale ran out 14-11 winners. That’s two defeats on the trot for Leicester and the chasing pack are sniffing blood.
Wasps sneaked a win without the help of their International stars, a nerveless Dave Walder conversion of an injury time Mark McMillan try sealed their home win against Bristol 32-30. Bristol will be upset at the loss of a potential away 5 pointer but will be consoled by the fact they scored two losing bonus points.
Gloucester also came from behind to defeat Newcastle at home by 28-20. Newcastle boss John Fletcher has joined the chorus of voices calling for Simpson-Daniel to be given another shot at an England jersey, saying, “How the hell that kid isn’t playing international rugby I’ll never know”. Gloucester have stretched their lead over Leicester to 5 points, giving them plenty of breathing space and an eye on a home play-off quarter-final.
On Sunday Bath kept the pressure on Leicester with a bonus point away win against Leeds, 15- 34. Olly Barkley’s end of season move to Gloucester hasn’t dampened his ambition to earn some silverware with Bath as he starred against the premiership basement team. It could be more to do with trying to earn an England recall mind you…
Sunday’s televised game was an engaging contest between Saracens and Harlequins. Thanks largely to the 8, 9 axis of Tom Guest and Danny Care, Quins managed to defeat their London rivals 15 – 6 at Vicarage Road. Never mind trying to get back in the England set up, Andy Gomarsall will have a job on his hands to get back into the Quins team.
The pick of the matches this weekend is the west country derby between Bristol and Bath. My money is on Bristol to sneak it…but I lost every bet I tried on the six nations so expect Bath to win by a country mile.
by Jon Hobbs
Premiership race is thrown wide open
Anyone thinking that the Guinness Premiership would be a bit lacklustre sandwiched in the middle of the Six Nations was proven wrong this weekend with some fantastic rugby being played throughout the country. Some players had points to prove, others had scores to settle and some just looked like they were enjoying their club rugby a lot more than their international efforts.
The weekend began as expected with Sale dominating Leeds from start to finish to record a 29-3 victory at home. Their only disappointment was not finishing off enough of the opportunities created to secure a bonus point. It’s good to see Chris Bell back on the score sheet – the form he was showing last season saw him talked about as a possible England centre.
On Saturday, those lucky enough to be at the Rec will have seen one of the matches of the season between Bath and Wasps. A scintillating solo effort from Andrew Higgins helped Bath to an early lead. Wasps only managed to stay in touch through a Danny Cipriani special – a delicate chip over the first line of defence followed by a burst of pace to re-gather then excellent control to stay on his feet and round the cover to score under the posts.
The second half began with a flurry of points from Wasps – Josh Lewsey and James Haskell providing the power, Dom Waldouck and David Doherty providing the delicate touches. Wasps kept their lead for the rest of the second half and although Bath managed to score a 4-try bonus point of their own they couldn’t get back in touch. Wasps closed out the victory 42-34.
Also on Saturday, Harlequins managed to keep in touch with the play-off hopefuls by beating Worcester 36-15, scoring 5 tries in the process to secure their bonus point. If Leeds manage to win their game in hand they will be only 1 or 2 points behind Worcester and the relegation dog fight could go to the wire. I still think Worcester will pull through.
Sunday saw three underdogs win against the odds, the biggest shock being Bristol beating Gloucester 29-26 at home. Gloucester welcomed their international boys back into the fold with Vainikolo, Balshaw, Narraway and Paterson all starting but it wasn’t enough to overcome the determined Bristol team.
Newcastle sent Saracens packing with a close fought victory over the Londoners, the final score being 16-14. Two of England’s men, Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson were responsible for all the Newcastle points. The play-offs could still involve any team from one to ten in the league and after this weekend’s results it is getting ever more difficult to predict.
The final match of the weekend was another absorbing affair between London Irish and Leicester. Reasoned opinion was that despite London Irish’s impressive home record and Heineken Cup form, Leicester would be too strong for them. However, commanding performances from Kennedy, Geraghty and Hewat coupled with an immaculate kicking display from Eoghan Hickey saw the home team through. Some uncharacteristic misses from Andy Goode denied Leicester even a losing bonus point as Irish won 22-13 which ensured Gloucester stay top of the league.
On the evidence of this weekend, the Premiership is heading for another quality end of season run-in with the top of the table stuttering and the chasing pack finding their form.
By Jon Hobbs
Guinness Premiership Round-up - 29/01/08
With the completion of the Heineken Cup group stages comes the recommencement of the stop-start Guinness Premiership campaign. With the excitement of the World Cup, Heineken Cup and Six Nations, it seems like the Premiership hasn’t really captured people’s imagination like it was supposed to, considering the influx of foreign stars. Would you, avid reader, agree?
The saving grace of the competition may be that all teams should have something to fight for come the end of the season, be it the title, a Heineken cup spot or survival.
Two teams with their eyes firmly fixed on the play-offs faced off against each other on Friday night in a game which promised tries aplenty but failed to deliver. Sale began the match against Harlequins with all their usual power and poise but allowed a mediocre Quins team back into the match late on in the first half through indiscipline. Jarvis, the Harlequins 10, seemed to have lost the ability to catch at the beginning of the fixture but regained his composure to guide his side to a losing bonus point as Sale won 20-13.
Saturday brought about an excellent win for Worcester over Bristol, 25 – 5. The Kiwi triple signing of Rawlinson, Gear and Tuitupou has now had time to bed in and the results are coming. With a 6 nations break that allows Worcester players to recover from their mid-season knocks, rather than pick up more on international duty, February and March could see the Warriors make a dent in the seven points they have to make up on Bristol to climb a place in the league.
Two other matches on Saturday saw Leicester thrash Newcastle (41 – 14) and Gloucester edge out Wasps (18 – 17). Newcastle now have a fit, settled squad and cannot keep losing against the big boys of the Premiership in this manner. Wading in on the Jonny debate, if Mr Wilkinson can’t get a backline including Flood, Noon and Tait firing against Leicester, what hope is there of those same players causing damage against any Six Nations opponents? Jumping straight back onto the proverbial fence, he will have the best of the Leicester pack to work behind so that could make a difference!
Wasps’ season is slipping away. Having allowed Gloucester a healthy lead they did well to claw the points back but threw away their opportunities to win it at the end. It could be that one barren season will spur them on to win more silverware next year, creating the “dynasty” that their players and coaches routinely talk of.
Sunday offered up two ding-dong battles involving Saracens v Bath and Leeds v London Irish. Bath lost track on Gloucester and allowed Leicester to skip ahead of them by capitulating to Saracens 26-20. A Brent “speedy legs” Russell brace and Glen Jackson’s reliable boot was enough to see off the west country men.
Leeds put up another spirited fight but ended up second best again, this time to a London Irish side who hadn’t won away all season in the Premiership. Irish scored four tries and ran out winners by 26 – 24. Putting this result alongside Worcester’s excellent win against Bristol means Leeds are now 6 points adrift at the bottom of the league and will need to fight for every point if they have any chance of staying up.
And just like that, the Premiership shuts down for another fortnight…
By Jon Hobbs
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