Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 14
Gloucester were the story of Round 14 of the Gallagher Premiership season, as they continued their recent good run of form, knocking off Saracens just a week after doing the same to Exeter Chiefs.
A young Northampton Saints side showed that you can win with kids as they held serve at home in a narrow and exciting victory over Bath, whilst Harlequins and Bristol Bears entertained in a high-scoring affair, with Paul Gustard’s charges taking the win and solidifying their spot inside the top four.
We have rounded up the top performers from the round in this weekend’s XV of the week below.
- Charles Piutau, Bristol Bears
Piutau was a constant threat for Bristol at the Stoop and though Quins were the more clinical of the two sides and in control of the game for the most part, the full-back gave Bristol a puncher’s chance. He slalomed through Quins’ defence on multiple occasions, as well as proving to be a creative option in the wider channels, linking well with Alapati Leiua and Luke Daniels.
- Alex Cuthbert, Exeter Chiefs
The Welshman was pushed very close by Zach Kibirige, who scored two excellent tries in the Sandy Park encounter, but Cuthbert just edges it on overall impact. Exeter were dangerous in the wide channels on Saturday and that was typified by Cuthbert’s powerful breaks, effective offloading and confidence to take on his man.
- Rory Hutchinson, Northampton Saints
Hutchinson’s second appearance in as many weeks and this one might be even more impressive given the performances stacked at the position this week by the likes of Billy Twelvetrees, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Marchant and Juan de Jongh. Hutchinson was again a potent dual-threat in that 13 channel, gouging Bath with big carries and then having the technique and composure to pull off difficult passes whilst moving at high speed.
- Mark Atkinson, Gloucester
The inside centre was a constant threat in attack, mixing up his game as a direct runner or distributor outside of Danny Cipriani. It was that variety which troubled the Saracens defence and allowed Atkinson to create space for others around him, whether through a clever pass on the gain-line or by tying in defenders as a carrier.
Howe grabbed the match-winning try with less than a minute to go at Sixways, but he was also a threat whenever he got his hands on the ball. It was an error-strewn match and yet Howe was one of the saving graces, always looking dangerous to expose Leicester’s defence in the wide channels and showed good footwork and power to move back inside and avoid Tigers ushering him into touch.
- Marcus Smith, Harlequins
Statistically, Smith’s showing won’t match up to that of James Grayson or Callum Sheedy, both of whom had very good games, but there was a lethality to Smith’s play that set him apart. He grabbed a try, but it was the feints and dummies that Bristol were buying defensively that allowed the fly-half to create space for his teammates and put them in positions to score.
- Alex Mitchell, Northampton Saints
A statement performance from Mitchell, who showed that he has what it takes not only to cover for Cobus Reinach but also to push the South African for his spot. He made a number of breaks around the fringes, was regularly the first man supporting other Northampton carriers and helped his side play at a tempo that made them a struggle for Bath to defend against.
The loosehead helped deliver scrum dominance for Leicester in the first half of their game with Worcester. Some of the angles looked questionable but he clearly had the referee onside, who was judging the Argentine to be winning the contest with Nic Schonert.
- Jack Singleton, Worcester Warriors
Singleton’s lineout work was accurate against Leicester and he delivered plenty of work in the loose as both a ball-carrier and in his contributions at the contact area. His handling work was also impressive, with the hooker able to keep phases alive with accurate passes on the gain-line and neat offloads, one of which helped set Worcester up for their decisive late try.
- Paul Hill, Northampton Saints
Hill dealt well with the potent scrummaging ability of Nathan Catt and came out on top of the contest multiple times. He brought the carrying grunt up front that kept Northampton moving forward and he was a busy man in defence and at the contact area for the 62 minutes he was on the pitch.
- Ben Glynn, Harlequins
A strong showing from Glynn against his former team, which was epitomised by his snaffling of a Bristol knock-on and galloping away to set Marchant free to go over for a Harlequins try. He was a potent carrying option at the Stoop, defended physically and was part of a smooth-running lineout.
- Ed Slater, Gloucester
The Englishman continues to form a strong partnership with Franco Mostert in the Gloucester engine room, and he played with an energy and physicality that surpassed that of Saracens on Friday evening. His carrying was pivotal to the Cherry and Whites in their bid to break the gain-line and get the Saracens defence retreating, rather than being set and able to utilise their usual line-speed.
- Jono Ross, Sale Sharks
Ross provided his side with a dominance at the gain-line, offering both powerful carries and impactful tackles in defence. He was making a nuisance of himself at the contact area, too, slowing down Wasps’ ball and providing clean presentation for Faf de Klerk to work with. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was effective.
- Jaco Kriel, Gloucester
There were plenty of flashes of what Kriel can bring to Gloucester and the Premiership in his side’s win over Saracens, where he was influential at the breakdown and in the loose as a ball-handler. He was able to help deliver quick enough ball for the Cherry and Whites to tame Saracens’ usually potent line-speed, whilst he exploited gaps that the defence showed him as a carrier, too.
- Ben Morgan, Gloucester
Morgan grabbed two tries in Gloucester’s win over Saracens, the first through cleverly identifying the undefended base of the post and the second on a similar close-range drive. His ability to make ground on the pick and go and as a one-out runner really helped Gloucester build momentum and challenge the usually watertight Saracens defence. He helped shut down Saracens offensively, too, making a number of dominant tackles on the gain-line.
Watch: Eddie Jones faces the press after England’s 21-13 loss to Wales in Cardiff
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
6 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
6 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
6 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
6 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to comments