Depleted Saints go close
The Saints were without several key players on Friday night but came out firing in the first half. Tries from Tom Pearson and George Hendy gave them an early lead before Bristol came back. As was pointed out on commentary, it seemed like the Bears players arrived 20 minutes late along with most of their fans who got stuck in traffic. Once Ashton Gate was rocking, the Bears got going and the game was never the same after it. Northampton narrowly missed out on a losing bonus point but can go into the Premiership cup feeling positive about being able to climb the table when the Premiership returns.
Falcons brought back down to earth
This was the only game of the weekend completely unaffected by the absence of England players. However, there were plenty of internationals on show. The standouts were the five players who will be joining Wales for the Autumn Nations series; the Welsh halfback duo, Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe, dominated and showed a clear gap in quality between the two sides. After finishing 9th and 10th these sides improved in the summer but Gloucester investing more in important positions is why they are much more competitive with the top teams. As for Newcastle, they will be targeting home games for the rest of the season but will be disappointed by the lack of competitiveness in their away games this season.
Sale still Struggling
After getting soundly beaten by Northampton last week, Sale needed a response - they did not produce one. In fact, the scoreline was almost identical. They lost 47-17 last week and 40-13 this week. Bath and Northampton are two top quality teams but Sale were a top side last season as well so standards must be higher than they have been so far this year. Bath made yet another statement and continue to prove themselves to be genuine contenders this season.
Tigers still roaring
Michael Cheika continues to make a difference for Leicester. Another close win shows a lot of strength and ability to manage the big moments which is to be expected when you can finish a game with a halfback combination of Ben Youngs and Handre Pollard. As for Saracens, disappointment with a home defeat is natural but given the number of players that are away so they will be back after this month. Leicester are a well-built squad so were able to cope well with players being missing.
Chiefs still without a win
The Cheifs will now have to wait for another month to get their first Premiership win of the season having missed their first six opportunities to do so. Rob Baxter has hinted that they have money to spend on a recruit to boost their squad so one can only hope they'll use this month to sign someone who can play at 9 or 10; preferably 10. The Chiefs fought hard in the first half and were leading at the break but barely fired a shot in the second half, leading to a comfortable victory for Harlequins.
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