Saints march on
Saints continued their magnificent home form on Friday night with a decisive victory over Sale Sharks. The game was over by half time with the score at 40-10 to Northampton. It was an attacking masterclass in which all tries came from the backs. The second half was much closer, leading to a final score of 47-17. This was a much needed win for the Saints given that they will be without many of their stars next week against Bristol due to international commitments. Bristol will only be losing two players to England so will have an edge in that fixture so Northampton will be delighted to have earned a cushion with a big win this week.
The wait is finally over!
It has been far, far too long since the Falcons last tasted victory but they finally managed to do just that on Friday. It was a close game in the end due to a late try from Exeter fullback, Josh Hodge. But Newcastle were not to be denied and closed the game out to win 24-18. This was not a high quality game which will be a source of frustration for the Chiefs who remain without a win this season. After disappointing performances against Leicester and Sale, this win could help Newcastle kick on this season. As for Exeter, they remain 9th due to bonus points keeping them above Newcastle but are still without a win and are suffering similar problems each week so the pressure is mounting on the director of rugby, Rob Baxter to get his young squad firing. Luckily, they will soon get an international break so they can recalibrate in preparation for the remainder of the season.
Saracens still ruthless
Saracens were behind almost all game, including when the clock turned red but were able to snatch victory with the final kick thanks to an Alex Lozowski penalty. They were without several key players including Ben Earl and Reece Burke which lead to a reshuffle in the backs. Luckily, Saracens have experienced players such as Alex Goode and Elliot Daly to call upon so the problems were mitigated. Bristol played an incredible brand of attacking rugby as you would expect but Saracens were able to stay in the game all the way. In true Saracens style, they struck when it mattered most; an undisciplined attempt to win the ball by Ibitoye was all it took for Saracens to snatch the game. Steve Borthwick attended the game and was no doubt very entertained, as were the rest of the crowd inside Ashton Gate - although they were probably disappointed by the ending.
Isgro arrives in style
The Twickenham stoop witnessed a nail-biting game for the second week in a row as Harlequins narrowly lost 26-24 to Bath due to a late try. The inability to close out a game they were leading will frustrate Quins fans but a silver lining in the cloudis the arrival of Argentinian winger, Isgro. He was world 7's player of the year and was a splash signing for Harlequins. Unfortunately, the Argentinian was unavailable for the first few games but he made an impact at the first opportunity, scoring twice on debut. Marcus Smith was clearly keen to use his strengths as there were several cross-field kicks to Isgro's wing in the first half which resulted in one of his two tries. As for Bath, they are cementing themselves as true contenders for this season's Premiership title and dramatic wins like this can only help their cause.
Gloucester wilt once again
For the second week in a row, Gloucester were winning at half time but lost after 80 minutes had been played. After a strong first half the visitors were 19-8 up but they were unable to protect their lead and lost 29-26 at Welford Road. This collapse was far less dramatic than last week's against Bath but it was still a frustrating ending despite the positives. Amongst those positives was a hat-trick for Max Llewellyn who will now have his sights set on a place in the Wales starting XV. As for Leicester, they just about managed to avoid a poor defeat and showed the toughness you'd expect from a Michael Cheika team. At times it was far too easy for Gloucester to cut open their defence, even without Gareth Anscombe pulling the strings. There is much to work on for both sides but each can take away significant positives from Sunday.
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