Gallagher Premiership XV of the Week - Round 5
Saracens’ run of bonus point wins to start the season continued unabated in Round 5, as they dispatched Bath 50-27 at Allianz Park in a ruthless display of clinical attacking rugby.
Other notable results included Newcastle Falcons slipping to a third-straight home defeat, as Wasps snuck a narrow one-point win at Kingston Park, and Harlequins ending their away day woes, beating Gloucester 27-25 at Kingsholm.
Read on for our pick of the performers from a busy weekend of Gallagher Premiership action.
- Alex Goode, Saracens
The performance of the weekend, without a shadow of a doubt. Goode was lethal on the counter-attack against Bath and every time he got his hands on the ball, he seemed to make a break through the Bath defence. He teed up three tries for his teammates and crossed for one of his own, as well as covering the backfield well in defence. The only blemish on his game came when he kicked through for what would have been his second try, only to narrowly knock-on as he tried to regather the ball over the try-line.
- Nathan Earle, Harlequins
Earle was busy at Kingsholm, looking for plenty of work off of his wing, in addition to being the finisher in the wide channels that Quins need him to be. He bagged a brace as the Londoners snuck a narrow win, running in two long distance tries, the first of which was an opportunistic swoop on a Gloucester mistake, and the second finishing off a Joe Marchant break.
Liam Williams continued his impressive start to the season, securing himself a hat-trick at Allianz Park, as he feasted on the attacking masterclass put on by Goode.
- Will Hurrell, Bristol Bears
A robust performance from the former Leicester Tiger, who barrelled his way through the Northampton defence for two tries, as well as setting up Alapati Leiua for his late score, which won Bristol their second bonus point of the day. He consistently managed to find gaps or weak inside shoulders in the midfield and was unlucky to be on the losing side at Ashton Gate.
- Johnny Williams, Newcastle Falcons
A second strong showing from Williams in as many weeks, with the former London Irish man scooting over for two tries against Wasps and continuing to tie in defenders with his dual-threat as a runner and a distributor. It’s still early days in a Falcons jersey, but Williams looks as if he could provide the best of both worlds between Juan Pablo Socino and Maxime Mermoz, both of whom left the club in the summer.
- Sinoti Sinoti, Newcastle Falcons
The Samoan was particularly difficult to bring down at Kingston Park on Friday night, where he showcased his footwork and power to devastating effect against Wasps. He didn’t manage to cross the try-line himself, but his breaks brought big gains for Newcastle, as well as one unleashing Mark Wilson for his try in the first half.
That step 👀🔥
A brilliant try for @FalconsRugby made by the lightning-fast feet of @notz09 ⚡️
Catch all the highlights on Monday on @channel5_tv 📺 #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/yKFuWBJkjY
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) September 29, 2018
Taqele Naiyaravoro also impressed on the left wing, turning in a performance that will have Northampton fans salivating for more.
- Owen Farrell, Saracens
Guided Saracens around the Allianz Park pitch with aplomb and dissected the Bath defence with consummate skill. There were times when the game seemed to be going in slow-motion for Farrell, who sent runner after runner through holes in the Bath defence, as well as taking the odd gap himself, before turning playmaker at the second level.
- Cobus Reinach, Northampton Saints
A strong show of decision-making from the South African, who imposed a tempo on Northampton that the East Midlanders thrived on. Bristol’s attacking game may be built around tempo, too, but their defence struggled to stay organised with Reinach orchestrating things from half-back and it minimised the effectiveness of their usually impressive back-row trio.
- Joe Marler, Harlequins
Just days after announcing his international retirement, Marler looked rejuvenated for his club side. Maybe it was a burden lifted from his shoulders or maybe it was just a good game, but the loosehead was powerful and dynamic in the loose, effective at the contact area and squared off well against Fraser Balmain in the scrum.
- Harry Thacker, Bristol Bears
A flawless set-piece display from Jamie George came close but didn’t quite match the influence Thacker had in his game. The mobile hooker ran in a try after a John Afoa break and proved hard to contain for Northampton, as he repeatedly broke the line and kept phases alive with accurate offloading.
- Titi Lamositele, Saracens
With Vincent Koch and Juan Figallo unavailable, Lamositele really stepped up to the plate for Saracens. Apart from one troublesome early scrum, he dealt well with Jacques van Rooyen, whilst he was also busy in the loose, providing solid defence around the fringes and carrying strongly. He set up Williams for one of his three tries and was unlucky not to add to the scoresheet himself, when his try was ruled out due to crossing by Brad Barritt.
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Watch: The Rugby Pod discuss how players deal with retirement.
- Will Rowlands, Wasps
One of Rowlands’ best games in a Wasps jersey, with a dominant carrying performance befitting a man of his size. His teammates did an excellent job of putting him in the right spots, but the lock still had to run the lines and break the tackles himself. He made several important one-on-one tackles in Wasps’ multiple second half defensive stands, too.
- Jonny Hill, Exeter Chiefs
A typically reliable and polished showing from Hill, who contributed effectively at the set-piece and in the loose in equal measure. The lock softened up Worcester around the fringes with his carrying and kept the lineout ticking over well at Sandy Park. He also dominated the collision in a number of tackles on Worcester’s forwards.
- Dave Ewers, Exeter Chiefs
A timely reminder of what Ewers can bring to a game when he is fully fit, as the Zimbabwean grabbed two tries at Sandy Park and proved a colossus in defence. The blindside owned the gain-line on Saturday, both with and without the ball, and he brought front-foot ball for Exeter, as well as denying Worcester Warriors the same luxury.
- Lewis Ludlam, Northampton Saints
A mention for Chris Robshaw, who was impressive at Kingsholm, but Ludlam sneaks in ahead of him for his second appearance in this XV in as many weeks. The openside was again impressive at the breakdown and with ball in hand, showing that whilst he may not have the reputation or experience of some his back-row colleagues, he brings just as much impact on the pitch.
https://twitter.com/premrugby/status/1046330067482218496
- Mark Wilson, Newcastle Falcons
The change of number on his back has done nothing to change the workhorse nature and reliability of Wilson’s performances for Newcastle. He ran himself into the ground in defence, repelling Wasps’ carriers, as well as carrying with purpose. He showed good mobility, too, to keep up with Sinoti and be on hand to take the Samoan’s offload and canter over the try-line.
In other news: Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie discusses his international ambitions.
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments