Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 16
It was an exhilarating weekend of rugby in the Gallagher Premiership, as relegation-embattled sides Newcastle Falcons and Bristol Bears both secured invaluable wins in the final minutes of their respective games.
Worcester Warriors didn’t give up too much ground, either, securing two bonus points at home to Exeter Chiefs, whilst Leicester Tigers will now be warily looking over their shoulder, having fallen to a 32-5 defeat to Sale Sharks.
We have rounded up the top 15 performers from a dramatic weekend of club rugby.
- Santiago Cordero, Exeter Chiefs
A tough call that could have easily gone to Simon Hammersley, but the Argentine, who picked up a brace of tries, just nabs it. Cordero got Exeter off to an electric start with his two first half tries and whilst he was consistently able to slalom his way through would-be Worcester tacklers, he was still aware enough of his support make the crucial passes beyond the gain-line, including one for Tom O’Flaherty’s second half try.
- Tom O’Flaherty, Exeter Chiefs
Bryce Heem and Denny Solomona were both close and certainly deserve due praise for their efforts. O’Flaherty was in fine form at Sixways and was justly rewarded with a second half try after having done so much of the hard work breaking the gain-line and chasing kicks in Exeter’s solid first half. He, Cordero and Olly Woodburn were on the same page throughout on Saturday afternoon and O’Flaherty’s development provides another intriguing option alongside the likes of Jack Nowell, Alex Cuthbert and, next season, Stuart Hogg.
- Piers O’Conor, Bristol Bears
O’Conor was influential in Bristol’s second half fightback against Northampton, setting up Harry Randall for his try and then going over for one of his own in the last minute of the contest, giving Ian Madigan the opportunity to win the game from the tee. His footwork saw him dance through the Northampton defence on multiple occasions and he continues to make strides with his defensive reads in the 13 channel.
Whilst Danny Cipriani draws understandable and deserved praise, Atkinson’s work outside the fly-half has been critical to Gloucester and the same was true on Sunday afternoon at the Stoop. He orchestrated thins well outside of Cipriani, mixing up his role as a carrier and a distributor, whilst he helped deny Quins the usual gains they are able to work through the midfield. The quickness of his hands on the gain-line was also impressive.
The Australian international was borderline unplayable at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday and it’s a match-up that his countryman Luke Morahan will be glad he doesn’t have to face every week. Saints may have ended up on the losing side but Naiyaravoro was a monstrous force with ball in hand, consistently beating his man through a combination of speed, power and footwork, and he showed surprising agility with an acrobatic finish for his try.
In a tightly-contested affair, Priestland kicked all 18 of Bath’s points in their crucial win over Saracens at the Rec. The Welshman helped his side execute a smart territorial and possession-based game plan and missed just one of his seven kicks at goal, showing that accuracy in that area can still be pivotal in winning club games.
- Sonatane Takulua, Newcastle Falcons
A pivotal performance in a crucial win for Falcons, who cut the deficit at the bottom of the table with their second win in as many weeks. The scrum-half was accurate with the boot from the tee, as well as being on hand as a support runner to keep alive Newcastle’s attacking opportunities. His ability with ball in hand kept the Wasps defence honest around the fringes, too, creating space for his teammates to exploit.
https://twitter.com/premrugby/status/1104676338580025344
- Valery Morozov, Sale Sharks
The big Russian was a key component in an effective performance from Sale’s pack on Friday night. He put the pressure on young Leicester tighthead Joe Heyes and managed to pick up a try on a pick and a go close to the line. It was an impressive showing from a man still acclimatising to the Premiership and he could quickly become a fan favourite if he continues to turn in shifts like this one.
https://twitter.com/premrugby/status/1104339770384236545
- George McGuigan, Newcastle Falcons
McGuigan ran an efficient Newcastle lineout at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, something which helped give Falcons the platform for their win. He was busy in defence, helping repel periods of prolonged Wasps possession and he was an effective ball-handler close to the gain-line, linking play with fellow forwards and helping shift the point of contact.
- John Afoa, Bristol Bears
Bristol have been guilty at times this season of underperforming at the set-piece on the road, but nothing could have been further from the truth at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday. Afoa helped Bristol turn the screw on Northampton at the scrum and lineout, and the former was a source of multiple penalties against Saints, who finished the game with an eye-watering 20 infringements. Even at 35 years of age, Afoa is still getting it done at the fulcrum of the scrum.
- Franco Mostert, Gloucester
The South African continues to stand out in an impressive debut season in the competition. He brings a mix of power and speed, particularly defensively, that is rare to find in the second row. He was potent at stopping Quins’ forward carriers at the Stoop and wasn’t afraid to fan out from the contact area and have to make tackles in space. On the other side of the ball, he managed to make the hard yards with ball in hand that Quins just couldn’t match.
- Chris Vui, Bristol Bears
Vui ruled the skies in Northampton on Saturday, helping Bristol’s ball security at the lineout and gave them a foundation from which to attack. He made himself known in the loose, too, breaking the gain-line several times and getting his side moving forward, whilst he made multiple dominant one-on-one tackles in defence.
- Elliott Stooke, Bath
To beat Saracens, you often need to match their physicality and Stooke was a major component in Bath’s bid to do that on Friday night. The lock-turned-flanker punctured the Saracens defence with heavy duty carries close to the ruck and both he and Zach Mercer were able to have joy where the tight five were finding themselves stymied. With that front-foot ball, Bath were able to control possession, territory and ultimately the opportunities to kick at the posts that won them the game.
- Ben Curry, Sale Sharks
Another fine performance in the absence of his brother, who was on England duty, with Curry again showing his predatory ability at the contact area. He also carried and tackled strongly, but it was his work at the breakdown which shone through the most, complementing the duo of Jono Ross and Josh Beaumont alongside him in the back row.
- Nemani Nagusa, Newcastle Falcons
Nagusa was a first half replacement for the injured Will Welch and the Fijian certainly delivered impact. He burrowed over for a first half try, a big break with ball in hand set up Takulua’s try and it was his carry in the final minute of the game that brought Newcastle a penalty and the win. Put simply, good things happened for Falcons when this man got his hands on the ball.
Watch: Eddie Jones speaks to the press after England’s victory over Italy
Comments on RugbyPass
More useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
22 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
1 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
22 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to commentsWhere has our good friend Pecos gone!? Similar place to the Crusaders D, the abyss.
4 Go to commentsNice piece Nick. I haven’t seen much of the brumbies this year so will keep my powder dry on charlie, but clearly has the speed and footwork to be damaging in space. Similar to Samu, I’d worry about the size of our pack if the likes of Mcreight and Cale were in the b/row together. Maybe Cale could play a similar finisher role like Samu did for Rennie’s wallabies. Has Cale leapfrogged wilson in your eyes? He obviously has the lineout, but harry probably better (although not great) in the physical stuff and also has great hands in the loose. You’d have to say mcreight and valetini are shoe-ins at 7/8, so the question becomes who matches best with them at 6 and on the bench. I don’t know if he has a high enough ceiling, but id love to see wright given a shot based on how much bad luck he has had with injuries. He may also fit that no-nonsense graft/work rate irish approach…? If schmidt wants size and a 4/6 tweener then I’d probably pick Uru. On the bench I’d have no idea, Wilson if you want to give valetini a rest, and maybe hanigan/wright/uru as 6 replacements.
21 Go to commentsWho the heck is Billy Fulton?
13 Go to commentsCale has all the potential no doubt. So has Harry Wilson except for his dumb arse coach over the last few years who told him just to run at brick walls all the time. Valentini would be devastating at 6. As he was until some idiot thought oh yeah, move our best player to another position. Not mentioning any flightless or thank you names of course. I very much dislike claiming one player is the saviour, because injuries are so prevalent in the game these days as the players are bigger and faster, so the discussion should be who are at least the best two players in one position. For me it’s Harry Wilson and Cale at 8 at the moment with Valentini or Hooper from the Brumbies at 6. Great options. Seru Uru should be in the reserves too. A game changer.
21 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a card waiting to happen, Cane has been out with injury as well as playing in Japan, I think they’ll go with in-Japan-but-still-the-man Savea. Samisoni Taukeaho will be Captain after 2027, so he might get some Captain minutes against an Italy or Japan.
13 Go to commentsDissapointed that after 7 years Crusaders could not have found a coach that believed their system and improved on it. What was he expecting?
6 Go to comments