Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 17
Round 17, or ‘Derby Week’ as it could have been more accurately called, did not disappoint in the Gallagher Premiership this past weekend.
Northampton Saints sealed bragging rights over local rivals Leicester Tigers, downing them 29-15 at Welford Road, whilst Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors picked up what could prove to be four crucial points each in their wins over Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears respectively.
We have run the rule over all the action and put our XV of the week together below.
The full-back was one of the few Quins players not to concede a penalty at the Olympic Stadium, where the side from Twickenham coughed up an eye-watering 17 indiscretions in total. Brown was his usual ultra-reliable self at the back dealing with Saracens’ kicking game and he found joy more than once on the counter-attack. It was a clean performance and one that the watching Eddie Jones will have taken note of.
- Tom Collins, Northampton Saints
Collins had a hand in all three of Northampton’s tries on Friday evening, finishing two off himself as well as setting up teammate Cobus Reinach for Saints’ other score. He demonstrated his pace, footwork and awareness in a comprehensive attacking performance in the first half, before delivering defensively after the interval and keeping Jonny May relatively quiet.
- Rory Hutchinson, Northampton Saints
Another masterclass in the 13 jersey from Hutchinson, who is one of, if not the most in-form player in the Premiership at the moment. Just as he has done in recent weeks, he mixed up his game superbly at Welford Road, combining a dangerous running threat with an ability to link up the midfield with the duo of Collins and Taqele Naiyaravoro on the outside. His array of passing on the gain-line was a difference-maker for Northampton.
A similar story to Hutchinson here, with Atkinson shining in Gloucester’s win over Wasps courtesy of the versatility of his play in the midfield. He tested and exposed the Wasps defence multiple times as a carrier, as well as consistently being able to facilitate play outside of him with a good passing game on or close to the gain-line. Both he and Hutchinson have excelled in these dual roles this season and their presences in the centres have allowed their sides to play with multiple dimensions.
- Sinoti Sinoti, Newcastle Falcons
The Samoan brought a constant source of metres and territorial advantage on the left wing for Newcastle, whilst also making himself known at the contact area and in defence. In a tight game at St James’ Park, Sinoti delivered the little moments of excellence that allowed Newcastle to relieve pressure and get into positions from which the boot of Sonatane Takulua could punish Sale.
- Danny Cipriani, Gloucester
Nods to both Dan Biggar and Marcus Smith, who were very effective in their respective games, but it was another exemplary showing from Cipriani in the art of playmaking. His deft hands, defence-splitting passes and multiple involvements in the same phases were all too much for his former side to deal with as he guided Gloucester to 3rd in the table and pushed Wasps down into the bottom five.
- Cobus Reinach, Northampton Saints
An honourable mention for Takulua, whose unerring boot was pivotal for Newcastle in their win over Sale, but for overall performance, we have Reinach just shading it. The South African brought tempo, support-running and an unfailing awareness of where the space on the pitch was to Northampton’s effort at Welford Road. When the focus switched from attack to defence in the second half, he was also reliable positionally and as a cover defender.
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The prop helped give Exeter a dominance at the scrum and smelled blood in the water after Henry Thomas had to leave the game early with injury. A penalty try from an Exeter scrum in the second half was the peak of the set-piece dominance exhibited by the side from the south-west. Hepburn also contributed significantly to denying Bath front-foot ball around the fringes.
George fitted seamlessly back into the Saracens XV after his productive Six Nations with England. He connected on all 19 of his lineouts and really stood up as a carrier. He ran a number of incisive lines that the Quins defence struggled to read and hold the hooker to minimal ground on without committing multiple defenders.
- Paul Hill, Northampton Saints
A strong showing from the tighthead, who is beginning to back up the early promise he showed when Jones made him a regular feature in the Australian’s early England matchday squads. He went well against former England U20 teammate Ellis Genge in the scrum at Welford Road and also offered plenty of enthusiasm and power as a ball-carrier, helping to lay the foundation for Northampton’s exciting back line to cut open the Leicester defence.
- Will Skelton, Saracens
A gargantuan performance from the appropriately-sized Australian second row. Skelton’s two tries proved pivotal for Saracens at the Olympic Stadium, whilst his carrying constantly put his side on the front-foot. Harlequins’ line-speed was effective at restricting space out wide for Saracens, but defensively they struggled to limit Saracens close to the ruck and that effort was spearheaded by Skelton.
- Chris Vui, Bristol Bears
Mentions are due for the work rate of both Alex Moon and Andrew Davidson this weekend, with the duo important cogs in their sides’ wins. Vui may have ended up on the losing side at Ashton Gate, but his carrying constantly tormented the Worcester defence, whilst his work at the lineout was another source of continuity and positive rugby for Bristol.
- Ted Hill, Worcester Warriors
The flanker’s early try was indicative of his game. He powered through the tackles of three Bristol forwards and used his leg drive to propel himself over the try line. The combination of his power and his footwork going in contact meant that he was regularly able to get Worcester over the gain-line and get the rest of his team moving onto the ball and able to build momentum and tempo.
- John Hardie, Newcastle Falcons
The Scottish international was pivotal in the repeated defensive stands that Newcastle had to make against Sale on Saturday afternoon. He had notable success going low and chopping carriers, before springing back to his feet and being ready to repel the next phase of attack. When he wasn’t tackling, he was spoiling any kind of tempo Sale were hoping to get at the breakdown.
- Ben Morgan, Gloucester
A strong game with ball-in-hand from Morgan, who put down a marker against England rival Nathan Hughes at Kingsholm. He offered the Cherry and Whites a physical presence close to the ruck, but he was also comfortable and effective further out, both as a carrier and as a playmaker linking with the midfield and back three.
Watch: The Rugby Pod discuss what went wrong for England in the Calcutta Cup match
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments