The 12th week of Gallagher Premiership fixtures took place this last weekend and were the second round of derby games this season. On Friday night, Leicester humbled Northampton and Sale waltzed past Newcastle. On Saturday, Harlequins won a big victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Bristol beat Exeter in a game so mad I don't know how to describe it. The climax of the weekend came in the west country as Bath beat Gloucester once again. Here are the big headlines from those games.
Saints score zero
Friday night at Franklin's Gardens saw the Saints' worst nightmares come to life. They scored zero points for the first time in over a decade and for the first time at home in the Gallagher Premiership history. Things went wrong from the start with 3 tries in the opening quarter of the game. Things only improved slightly in the second half as the break slowed Leicester's momentum. However, Northampton were unable to make any progress and were deserved losers. This game does perhaps highlight the issue with having derby games take place a week after the Six Nations finishes. The likes of Fin Smith and Henry Pollock were playing just 6 days after finishing their international campaign in Cardiff - Pollock was lively when he came off the bench but Smith started and was not good. He seemed to be suffering from the classic Six Nations hangover and could really do with a week to regroup. Although, I'm not sure if Northampton can afford that given that this defeat has put them 15 points behind Leicester who are currently in the playoffs.
Sale get business done
Friday nights in Newcastle are not for the timid. Luckily for Sale, that accusation could not possibly apply to them. Newcastle made life awkward for Sale in what was a messy encounter throughout. As much as Newcastle made things challenging, the physical dominance of the Sharks and their tactical advantage(George Ford) meant that they were able to manage the game to a point that victory was never really in doubt. This win leaves Sanderson's men in a strong position for the playoffs which are coming up very quickly now.
Benson's boot to the rescue
Before Saturday, Harlequins had never managed an away win against Saracens in the last thirteen years. There was also uproar about the decision to rest Marcus Smith who did make an appearance on a rugby pitch in Miami with the Sharks whilst on holiday. In his place Jarrod Evans started and things did not go well. Saracens were underwhelming in the first half but still went into the break with the lead. Things didn't get any better until Benson came on. He made some impressive long-distance penalty kicks under high pressure and completely changed the dynamic of the game. With Evans perhaps heading to France in the summer, Benson is doing well to put himself forward as Smith's backup. This was an historic victory for the West-Londoners who can still cling to a bit of hope that their season is not completely over.
Can anyone catch a kick-off?
Bristol and Exeter played what was one of the most insane games of rugby that I have seen in a while. It took almost a dozen kick-offs for either team to actually cleanly gather one then exit competently. Within the first ten minutes, both teams were into double digits in points and things only got crazier from there. Bristol suffered a red card roughly half way through the game but it didn't seem to make any difference as Bristol maintained a clear gap between the teams. Unfortunately for Exeter, this kind of game suits the Bears more than any other team in English rugby. For Bristol, Harry Byrne looks fully settled in and the side are reaping the rewards in attack.
Bath still superior
This was a potential banana skin for Bath, and looked tricky at times, but the table-toppers ended up winning comfortably. After a mixed Six Nations performance, Fin Russell returned to Bath in top form and dominated proceedings. Gloucester showed plenty of positives but ultimately came up short in terms of physicality.
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