Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 19
Round 19 of the Gallagher Premiership got underway in exhilarating fashion on Friday night, as relegation-embattled Leicester Tigers made their future prospects look a lot brighter with a 27-22 victory over bottom-placed Newcastle Falcons.
Worcester Warriors rubbed salt into Newcastle’s wounds, too, by picking up a bonus point win at home to Sale Sharks, leaving the side from the north-east seven points adrift with three games left to play. Bristol Bears took a big step towards securing their Premiership future also, beating Saracens, 23-21, at Ashton Gate.
We have compiled a XV of the top performers from a high-stakes weekend of Premiership rugby.
A classy and polished performance from Banahan, who was playing out of position due to the injury crisis currently going on in the Gloucester back line. He took care of his own responsibilities efficiently and was also on hand to aid two relatively inexperienced wings in the forms of Tom Seabrook and Henry Purdy. He just sees off Simon Hammersley, who was also impressive on Friday night.
- Vereniki Goneva, Newcastle Falcons
The Fijian wing got through a mountain of work on Friday evening, frequently popping up in midfield and as a one-out runner. He always had a step or a fend in his locker to help him beat the first defender and get Newcastle moving forward. The one time he got the space to make a big break, he ripped through the Leicester defence, before setting up Sonatane Takulua for a try.
- Elliot Daly, Wasps
The outside centre gave the Wasps faithful something to cheer in one of his last performances in the black and gold at Sandy Park. He was a dual-threat any time he managed to find space, capable of unleashing the wings outside of him or stepping inside or outside and breezing passed would-be tacklers. Those fans will be hoping Malakai Fekitoa can emulate performances such as this one from Daly.”
- Mark Atkinson, Gloucester
Not quite the fireworks of last week, when Atkinson collected a hat-trick, but the inside centre was a fine facilitator for Gloucester in their comeback at Kingsholm. His carries frequently drew and tied up multiple defenders, which allowed Danny Cipriani to loop around and turn the corner in the subsequent phase. He stepped in comfortably further out in the back line when Billy Twelvetrees moved inside, too.
- Josh Adams, Worcester Warriors
The Cardiff-bound Welshman did everything he could to ensure that Worcester again enjoy Premiership rugby next season by bagging a hat-trick at Sixways on Saturday afternoon. He was the lethal end product to a well-functioning back line for the Warriors and his three second half scores allowed Worcester to pull away from Sale and secure an emphatic bonus point victory.
- Danny Cipriani, Gloucester
Compelling cases were put forth by George Ford and Marcus Smith, but it was the Cipriani-orchestrated comeback at Kingsholm that won the day. The fly-half celebrated his recent contract extension with a showing that should now guarantee Gloucester playoff rugby at the end of the season and it was his ability to find, create and utilise space that allowed Gloucester to overturn a 17-0 deficit.
- Sonatane Takulua, Newcastle Falcons
A fine effort in defeat from Takulua, who was the heartbeat of Falcons in an intense and high-tempo affair with Leicester on Friday evening. The scrum-half was lively around the fringes and as a support-runner, as demonstrated by the try he finished off from a Goneva break. He kicked well at goal, too, and contributed a total of 17 of Newcastle’s 22 points, ensuring that they at least took a losing bonus point into the final three games of the season.
The South African compounded a tough couple of weeks for Kyle Sinckler by turning in a strong scrummaging performance at the Stoop. His carrying was also effective and he found some soft edges in Harlequins’ fringe defence, as the Londoners put a premium on their line-speed further out, in an attempt to cut off the space for Saints out wide.
- Harry Thacker, Bristol Bears
The Bristol lineout ran smoothly with Thacker pulling the strings and the diminutive hooker tormented the Saracens defence with his power in the contact and his eye for a gap. His carries kept Bristol moving forward, building tempo and momentum, and allowed Bristol to leave Ashton Gate with a priceless four points that, probably, erases any concerns about relegation. A yellow card tarnished the performance slightly, but it did not prove costly for the side from the West Country.
- Rodney Ah You, Newcastle Falcons
A couple of early errors aside, Ah You had a storming game on Friday night. His back and forth battle with Ellis Genge was as compelling as the match in general, and the physicality of his carries and tackles were key for Falcons. He was consistently able to get Newcastle over the gain-line in attack and repeatedly made momentum-shifting tackles in defence, leaving him unlucky to be on the losing side.
- Will Spencer, Leicester Tigers
Spencer brought plenty of physical edge to the encounter in the north-east, something which has been noticeably missing from Leicester’s game for much of this season. The lock was pivotal to Tigers winning those arm wrestles in the tight exchanges, and with Newcastle controlling both possession and territory, that was key to allowing Tigers to produce clutch turnovers and escape Kingston Park with the win.
- Franco Mostert, Gloucester
It wasn’t quite the offensive performance we all know Mostert is capable of, but his work in defence and at the set-piece was excellent at Kingsholm and allowed the Cherry and Whites to turn the tables on Bath, who were rampant early. His physicality close to the ruck denied Bath the front-foot ball they were excelling with early in the game and he helped make the set-piece a reliable foundation for Gloucester to launch their attacking play from in the second half.
- Jamie Gibson, Northampton Saints
Gibson carried well for Saints at the Stoop, providing them with quick ball to run on to and negate the line-speed that a set Harlequins defence can bring. In conjunction with Teimana Harrison, Gibson helped Northampton shade the physical battle up front against the likes of Alex Dombrandt and Chris Robshaw.
- Sam Lewis, Worcester Warriors
A strong performance across the board from Lewis, who was busy throughout at Sixways. His influence was felt as a ball-carrier, in the defensive line and as a breakdown operator, both clearing out and slowing down Sale’s ball. He was at the heart of many of Worcester’s best attacking moments, laying the foundations for the back line to shine.
- Guy Thompson, Leicester Tigers
Two tries in the second half from Thompson proved critical to Leicester picking up four points at Kingston Park and could potentially be decisive in their battle against relegation. Away from the try line, Thompson was also ruthlessly efficient for Tigers, spoiling Newcastle’s ball at the breakdown, tackling manfully and constantly bringing energy to Leicester in attack and defence. Wasps’ Nathan Hughes deserves a mention for his excellent showing against Exeter, but Thompson’s showing could save his club from relegation, just tipping the scales his way.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments