Aviva Premiership Round 20 Review - Sarries and Saints Secure their Place

Round 20 of the Aviva Premiership provided us with an Easter treat that was more delicious than a family sized box of Cadbury's Creme Eggs as we were delighted by 339 points and 39 tries. Here is all of the Round 20 action…

During their pre-match interviews both Richard Cockerill and Conor O’Shea stated that their players’ intended to play some expansive rugby and they did just that. Underneath the Friday Night Lights in South West London the game was played at a ferocious pace with breaks made all over the field from both sides. 

Leicester were quickest off the mark thanks to the cool head of Toby Flood who stepped into the 10 shirt as if he had never been away and Ed Slater, who continued to  captain his side as if he had been doing it for years, not just a matter of weeks. 

 Harlequins' Nick Evans kept the home side in touch as he utilised his full box of tricks and the dynamic England duo of Danny Care and Mike Brown were on fire and proved to be the difference between the two sides. Final Score Harlequins 24 Leicester Tigers 20 

On Saturday London Wasps had the honour of calling Twickenham Stadium home for their huge ‘Stinger’ fixture with Gloucester. Underneath the blissful sunshine in South West London, Dai Young’s squad delivered the bonus point win that they so desperately needed in order to keep their European rugby hopes alive.

Once again Gloucester were forced into a late change due to Martyn Thomas' injury which resulted in a drastically reshuffled back line which included a rare appearance from Freddie Burns in the role of fly half. Charlie Sharples and Jonny May both ran some stunning lines and the men in Cherry and White played with intent and endeavour; however, their inability to dominate at the set piece and pacify Wasps’ large ball carriers meant that in the end the result slipped away from them as it has done on so many occasions this year.

Wasps fought hard for their victory: captain Chris Bell played a blinder – inspired by leading his team out at HQ for the first time – and the whole back row, including MOM Nathan Hughes, were all outstanding.

The result means that Gloucester now slip to ninth in the table whilst Wasps leap-frog Exeter into that much coveted 7th place position. Final Score London Wasps 38 Gloucester Rugby 30

On Saturday afternoon at Sandy Park Rob Baxter’s men had an afternoon that they will wish to forget and not repeat for a long, long time as they were blown away by the Sale Sharks.

The Sharks arrived in the West Country with the bit between their teeth after their lacklustre performance against Harlequins last Friday night. Over the course of eighty minutes the visitors scored no less than 8 tries and secured their place in Europe in style.

Exeter lost Captain Dean Mumm before the match after he failed a late fitness test on his shoulder and he was sorely missed. The Chiefs were never allowed into the game and their key individuals: Dave Ewers, Gareth Steenson and Damian Welch weren’t allowed to play to the best of their abilities due to the Sharks’ dominance.

For the visitors Mike Paterson was outstanding, Dwayne Peel was effervescent and another individual shone too – Danny Cipriani, and with Andy Farrell watching from the stands his performance will be done his England tour hopes the world of good. All-in-all it was as great weekend to be a Shark and a character building one if you are a Chief. Final Score Exeter Chiefs 12 Sale Sharks 55

At The Rec both teams had a huge amount to play for and boy did it show in the rugby on the pitch... the Worcester Warriors pushed the home side all the way in an attempt to keep their Aviva Premiership survival hopes alive; however, once again they didn’t quite finish the job.

What will be most upsetting for Dean Ryan’s men was the fact that it could have ended so differently had they secured the 13 points that they missed from place kicks. As usual Pennell oozed class and their inside centre Andy Symons had a stormer and whilst it is superb to see their fighting spirit you get the feeling that it is simply too little too late for Ryan's men.

For the home side their class act Nick Abendanon was as prolific as ever, Micky Young had a great day at scrum half and outside of him George Ford showed his full repertoire of tricks; though, as Mike Ford said after the game defensively they all should be been better.

The result and the achievement of a bonus point means that Bath now move up to third place in the table above the Leicester Tigers; although, neither are 100% guaranteed a playoff position just yet. Final Score Bath 32 Worcester Warriors 20

The Northampton Saints booked their ticket into the Aviva Premiership playoffs thanks to a five try display at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday afternoon against London Irish; but, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the home side.

Northampton chose to start with Kahn Fotuali'i at scrum half and it turned out to be a superb decision as he ignited the match and set an extremely quick tempo for the game. One of Saints' big men – perhaps even their biggest depending on what criteria you employ – Salesi Ma'afu thoroughly deserved his MOM award after he put in a gargantuan shift around the park.

For London Irish Tom Homer, Blair Cowen and Jebb Sinclair were all outstanding; though, it was Shane Geraghty who was their standout player as he relished captaining his current side against his former club. The match itself had many twists and turns... Saints raced to a healthy lead, then Irish scored twenty one unanswered points whilst the Saints were caught napping.

Unsurprisingly Jim Mallinder was annoyed; when the final whistle blew the Saints had done just enough and secured their Aviva Premiership home semi final. Final Score Northampton Saints 36 London Irish 21

The last match of the weekend was up at Kingston Park where the Newcastle Falcons had everything to play for against Saracens... if the Falcons had won then they would have been guaranteed survival for another year; though, it was not to be…

Mark McCall picked a side that showcased the depth in the Saracens squad due to the fact he had one eye on Clermont this week. Newcastle fielded a familiar squad with the exception of young Joel Hodgson who made his first Aviva Premiership start at fly half.

Joel certainly held his own throughout and for a team that had lost their last thirteen consecutive games Newcastle equipped themselves well from early on and pushed Saracens all the way. For the league leaders it was fantastic to see that Al Hargreaves, Alex Goode and Will Fraser were back on the field after their respective injuries and all put in great performances.

Saracens more experienced men in the half backs, Richard Wigglesworth and Charlie Hodgson, combined well to help secure what was a tough fought victory up North. After the game McCall hailed his squad's effort whilst Richards and his men have to wait a couple more weeks in order to try and secure their Premiership safety. Final Score Newcastle Falcons 18 Saracens 23

After all of that Easter action it is now time for another short European break... Round 20 has certainly sorted a few things at the very top of the table as both Saracens and Northampton safely secured their home playoff fixtures...

However, everything else remains unclear! The third and fourth playoff positions are by no means decided, in the middle, even though London Wasps now look to be front runners for that 7th place European playoff spot there is still a lot of rugby left to play and finally at the bottom of the table Worcester are clinging onto a tiny, tiny thread of hope!