Aviva Premiership Round 21 Review - Take Your Positions

Round 21, the sharp end of proceedings, the business end of the season... whatever you wish to call it, this weekend the Aviva Premiership got serious and some tumultuous matches occurred as a result.

The action started underneath the Friday Night Lights at The Rec with a gladiatorial battle between Bath Rugby and the Northampton Saints that was filled with drama from minute one to minute eighty one.

The game was eye-wateringly physical; the defensive intensity was up there with the level that we see in Test Match Rugby and both teams should be immensely proud of their efforts. The moments of attacking magic that penetrated each side’s brutal defence were provided by the fly halves.

George Ford’s sublime individual try enthralled us all whilst Stephen Myler showed his full box of tricks with a stunning offload to put in the young Tom Elliot.

Amongst all of the brutality, though, there was the small matter of the ‘hooker/no hooker, 14/15 men’ puzzle to decipher and in the end Nathan Catt showed a huge amount of character and heart as he stepped in to play Hooker for his side instead of reducing them to 14 men and uncontested scrums. The immense effort that he showed epitomised the desire of both teams and a draw was a fitting score for what was a truly gutsy game of Premiership Rugby.

Final Score: Bath Rugby 19 Northampton Saints 19 

On Saturday at Adams Park the London Wasps hosted Newcastle Falcons and the crowd were treated to an 82 point thriller courtesy of 11 tries!

Newcastle were quickest out of the blocks in both halves and Dai Youngs will certainly wish to sort out his side's tendency to let teams go ahead before they play their best rugby quickly. Throughout the game Newcastle's wingers Sinoti Sinoti and Noah Cato proved to be difficult for Wasps to handle and Joel Hodgson had a near-on faultless day at the office.

However, the home side really took it to Wasps up front and in the back row. Will Helu scored what could be a very strong contender for try of the season and eventually the experience of Wasps proved too much for Dean Richard’s side.

Wasps had a nervous wait to find out if their bonus point victory was enough to secure them the European playoff spot and reliable on Harlequins to do a job at Sandy Park, thankfully they did and Wasps will now head to France to take on Stade Francais in their quest for European Rugby next year.

Final Score: London Wasps 44 Newcastle Falcons 38

Kingsholm has seen its fair share of disappointing displays this season; however, things ended on a high this weekend in front of almost 15,000 fans as Gloucester held on to secure a hard-fought win over London Irish.

Neither side has consistently delivered form that befits their on-paper potential, though, both did deliver in Round 21. The game was a swinger in terms of the score line with Gloucester going 17-5 up before Irish pulled back to 27-25.

Shane Monahan and Marland Yarde both scored hat tricks and Freddie Burns signed off his tenure at Gloucester with a reminder of how well he can play. An ankle injury to Billy Twelvetrees will need to be quickly assessed and treated if he is to take part next weekend and then be on the plane for England's Summer Tour. Equally, Charlie Sharples’ dead leg may give Stuart Lancaster cause for concern.

In the hours after the game it came to light that Mike Tindall looks set to retire from rugby and the match against Worcester at Sixways next weekend is likely to be his last in the Aviva Premiership.

Final Score: Gloucester Rugby 38 London Irish 30

The AJ Bell Stadium also enjoyed one of its largest crowds of the year as over 10,000 fans watched the Sale Sharks take on the Leicester Tigers. Leicester needed a bonus point win to guarantee their playoff position and they secured it with relative ease pushing aside a Sharks side that didn’t really get their teeth into the match.

The Tigers’ End of Season award winners were all in fine form: Logovi'i Mulipola, Jamie Gibson and Owen Williams showcased their talents, although Owen will be less than happy with his kicking percentage off the tee.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for Sale, though, as after the break they did wake up with Mike Paterson, departing prop Henry Thomas and Johnny Leota all crossing to make the score look much more respectable.

On the whole it was the visitors’ day – they secured their playoff position for the tenth year in a row and can relax in Round 22 before the real work starts again the week after.  

Final Score: Sale Sharks 22 Leicester Tigers 42

At Allianz Park Saracens dealt Worcester the killer blow that confirmed their relegation from the Aviva Premiership and they did so with some force.

The question of whether Mark McCall was going to rest all of his key men was answered on Friday lunchtime when he announced a near full strength squad for the match, and, from that point onwards, you felt that it was always going to go Saracens’ way.

Dean Ryan’s men showed tenacity and character throughout, as they have done all season; however, Saracens were simply too strong and too powerful. Jackson Wray will rejoice in his hat trick of tries for a long time to come and the try scoring machine that is Chris Ashton added another two to his tally.

Casting an eye over the Warriors I make no apologies for singling out Chris Pennell once again as he oozed class and the Aviva Premiership will be a poorer place without him.

After the game Dean Ryan spoke candidly: "What happened to this club had to happen, there aren’t many clubs that would have the balls to take the drastic change that was needed and we are going to try and grow a proper rugby club. There are some big players in that changing room and being in the Championship is going to hurt egos and test humility but it’s a drive to make sure we come back to this level and grow”.

Final Score: Saracens 44 Worcester Warriors 20

The final game of the weekend was by far the most dramatic, as the Exeter Chiefs welcomed Harlequins to Sandy Park and the result was a blockbuster. 

The home side had a lot of making up to do after their Round 20 ‘Sale Slump’, whilst Harlequins had their playoff destiny in their own hands. Quins were dealt a huge blow before kick-off, though, when Mike Brown and Sam Smith were both ruled out due to injuries. The loss of the two men did make a difference, Brown in particular; however, Harlequins are made of strong stuff and boy did it show.

On the other side of the field, Dean Mumm added a lot of the stability that Exeter have been missing and scrum half Dave Lewis lead from 9 brilliantly.  Exeter certainly buried the demons of Round 20; although, they will be bitterly disappointed to not have hung onto the match and kept their European hopes alive.

Harlequins’ never-say-die attitude was simply outstanding coming back from 23-5 down to win the match. Man of the Match Dave Ward continued to showcase his very large box of talents; whilst Robshaw, Easter and Evans all used their years of experience to drive their team to the narrowest of victories.

The result means that next weekend at The Stoop it is a winner takes all match between the home side and Bath Rugby for that final knockout position.

Final Score: Harlequins 30 Exeter Chiefs 29

So there you have it, Round 21 was befitting of a gloriously sunny May Bank Holiday weekend, at times it has a certain Super 15 feel to it such was the flow of tries. Now that the action is over there is only one unknown left, which team will secure that final playoff place? Will it be Bath or will it be Harlequins? Only time will tell...