Aviva Premiership Round 16 Review - Northampton Charge On

Round 16 of the Aviva Premiership really did start with a bang as we witnessed one of the most physically brutal games that we have seen in this year’s campaign.

Underneath the Friday Night Lights at the The Rec two immense teams went head-to-head and battered each other. Going into the match Bath had a game plan, in fact they had two according to Mike Ford; although, neither came off, instead they were dominated by a Saracens XV who raised their game to another level, despite having to make a radical personnel re-shuffle just before kick-off.

Saracens played with assurance and confidence throughout; they slowed the breakdown and put in an almighty defensive shift, all-in-all they were in a different class to their opponents.

Bath will be bitterly disappointed to have lost the game; however, they did show endeavour themselves: their back row looked menacing as did Dave Attwood and against any other side in the Premiership (maybe Northampton excluded) they might have got more from the game.

Both remain firm favourites to be in the playoff mix in a few rounds time and if Bath are serious about winning the Aviva Premiership then they will need to go back to the drawing board to work out just how to beat their nemesis team. Final Score Bath 10 Saracens 23

Wasps had yet another difficult day at the office as they slipped to their fourth straight Aviva Premiership defeat against Sale at home on Saturday afternoon. It was a closely contested game from the first minute to the eightieth and, like the match at The Rec, was filled with huge hits.

Wasps will be ruing kicking away so much possession: Mark Cueto’s years of experience showed as he took the high balls all day long and made something of almost every single one. Danny Cipriani came on extremely early in the game due to a Nick Macleod injury and stamped his authority on the match, pulling the strings at 10 beautifully.  

For Wasps the intensity was there, the players worked themselves into the ground; however, they needed to be more clinical and hold on to the ball. Dai Youngs will need to go back to the drawing board in order to turn around this mid-season slump whilst his opposite DOR Steve Diamond will be a much happier man and will simply want his men to keep on building and quietly going about their business. Final Score Wasps 17 Sale Sharks 21

The game at Sandy Park certainly wouldn’t win the award for ‘Thriller of the Season’ but that won’t worry Rob Baxter, whose only concern was gaining that all-important win after losing their last five Aviva Premiership fixtures.

His team actually made quite light work of London Irish and, pleasingly for Stuart Lancaster, Tom Johnson had another really solid match reminding us all exactly why he is in the England mix.

For the Exiles it wasn't a performance to write home about: they spent the majority of the eighty minutes chasing the game, James O’Connor missed their only points scoring opportunities, and they will certainly want to push their first nil score-sheet of the season firmly out of their minds as quickly as possible. Final Score Exeter Chiefs 18 London Irish 0

Harlequins dealt Worcester yet another bitter blow as they ground-out a very hard-fought win at The Stoop.

Dean Ryan’s men raced to a 13-3 lead, and for other teams that probably would have been enough to seal the deal; however, Worcester don't yet have that winning mentality and they couldn't hold out. Sam Smith put in another quality shift on the wing and Worcester will certainly be pleased to have him within their ranks next season.

Of all of the Premiership Clubs Quins will be the happiest to see the RBS 6 Nations finish: their younger players are certainly taking on the challenge of the Aviva Premiership; although, the need for their playmakers to come back is getting stronger and stronger.

Worcester still have a lot of fight left in them. Dean Ryan summed it up perfectly when he said after the game “We've got to get a win and I don't care if it's the ugliest win I've ever seen.” Final Score Quins 21 Worcester 20

Phil Dowson celebrated his 200th appearance for the Saints in emphatic style as they ran out bonus-point winners over Gloucester at Franklin’s Gardens.

Gloucester were dealt a tough hand having to make three positional changes just before kick-off; however, it was the strength in depth of the Northampton squad that proved to be the undoing of the visitors.

Like Sale’s Cipriani, Northampton’s fly half Stephen Myler pulled the strings with expertise and kicked his side to a small half time lead.

Ben Foden returned back from injury on 50 minutes and looked particularly sharp, despite having spent 14 weeks on the side-lines.

When Nigel Davies summarised the game he used the phrase that any player hates to hear – "I'm disappointed in the team" and sadly it sums up Gloucester well at the moment.

In stark contrast, the Saints continue to march on and given the contingent that they have returning from international duty soon, a playoff place looks to be secured already. Final Score Northampton Saints 39 Gloucester Rugby 13

The final match of the weekend saw Newcastle welcome Leicester to the North East, which was also billed as ‘The Return of Manu’.

At face value the scoreline reads like a walkover, though, in actual fact, Newcastle competed hard throughout and deserved to get more from the match. The Tigers were rampant in their pursuit of the win, even 3 yellow cards couldn’t stop them from taking all 5 points on offer and Richard Cockerill should be pleased with his men.

Captain Ed Slater worked tirelessly; Manu Tuilagi was just finding his feet again and Vereniki Goneva was on fire.

Newcastle were gutsy, Scott Lawson’s determination to get over the try line epitomised their heart and they should look to take the positives away from the match regardless of the scoreline. Final Score Newcastle Falcons 18 Leicester Tigers 41

All-in-all Round 16 was an action packed round with tries galore and notable individual and team performances. The Aviva Premiership now takes a short break whilst the LV Cup and RBS 6 Nations take centre stage; though, do not fear, the action will return in a few weeks’ time on Friday 21^st March at Sixways.