Aviva Premiership: Round 7 Review - A Festive Feast

Round 7 of the Aviva Premiership contained a very 'Big Game' at Twickenham Stadium, vital victories for London Irish and Bath Rugby and at the Ricoh Arena Saracens maintained their unbeaten record.

As the calendar year comes to a close we are edging ever closer to Eddie Jones announcing his first EPS squad and across the country individuals are continuing to put their hands up for International selection. The talent available to England's new head coach is extensive and he has a lot of decisions to make over the coming few weeks. For now let's park those decisions and dive into the festive Round 7 action.

The Boxing Day rugby started at the Madjeski Stadium where London Irish hosted the Northampton Saints. It had been 3 years, 2 months and 20 days since London Irish had beaten the Northampton Saints however on Saturday afternoon they did so through a combination of grit, determination and sensible rugby. In the centres academy member Johnny Williams again excelled, the 19-year-old continues to spark the Exiles' back line and is making the twelve jersey his own. Sean Maitland looked comfortable at full-back enjoying any space that Northampton gave him and for the opening half it was all about the Exiles. Just prior to, and after half-time, the Saints started to launch their counter and the result was three consecutive tries however Irish weren’t ready to give up just yet. Tom Coventry’s men rode out a period with Aseli Tikoirotuma in the sin bin and then launched their final charge. After Jamie Gibson was given yellow card the Saints chose to go into their final scrummage a man short, the result was a powerful shove from the Exiles' pack and then a penalty try. The seven pointer took the match and also lifted the Exiles off the bottom of the table, the perfect Christmas present for all involved at the club. Full Time - London Irish 25-23 Northampton Saints

The second Boxing Day match was played at Sandy Park and once again the conditions were testing with the wind howling across the pitch. That said both the Exeter Chiefs and the Sale Sharks managed it well and delivered an enthralling game. Both sides were evenly matched for sixty of the eighty minutes before the Chiefs capitalised on a spot of loose play from the Sharks and had the experience to push on from there. Of the seven tries the pick of the bunch were the Sharks' Number 8 Josh Beaumont stretching his long limbs from just beyond half-way, Chiefs' Will Chudley sniping away for a double and then James Short's 68th minute score that swung the balance of the game. Sale's squad is a young one and one that will learn from the defeat, although the result will be frustrating Mike Haley continues to excel from full-back and Sam James is now looking very comfortable with life in the Aviva Premiership. Full Time - Exeter Chiefs 33-17 Sale Sharks

In the final Boxing Day game the Newcastle Falcons started strongly against the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road however couldn't maintain their form for the duration. Dean Richards' side were wholly competitive early on however as their Director of Rugby said they lost their patience and their ill discipline again proved to be a challenge. The match was riddled with groundings/non-groundings; Freddie Burns' pinpoint crossfield kick to Telusa Veainu was said to have been spilled over the line however Veainu atoned with a score off the next play. Matthew Tait was also deemed to drop the ball over the line and at half-time the scoreboard read 10-10. However in the second half Peter Betham found his way through and Laurence Pearce added a second for the home side. Overall Leicester's day was dominated by missed opportunities and wasn't their prettiest of the season. The home side could have had a bonus point with the last play of the game however again they misfired and settled for the victory instead. Full Time - Leicester Tigers 22-10 Newcastle Falcons

Prior to the season commencing four points for Bath Rugby against the Worcester Warriors was considered to be a given however after the start of the year that Bath have had had Sunday’s Premiership victory was a significant one. Mike Ford had held firm and rotated his squad giving Rhys Priestland his first club debut at 10 and changing 9 of his starting XV to the one that played against Wasps in the Champions Cup. The Warriors were wholly competitive throughout, we expect nothing less of them now, however certain areas let them down in particular their scrummage. The match was far from a vintage affair, instead penalties were the order of the day, expect for Horacio Agulla's first-class finish in the far left-hand corner of The Rec. Overall Bath's cohesion going forwards remains far from where it was however for them Sunday's match was all about the victory. For the visitors coming away with something in their pocket was vital and as Dean Ryan rightly said following 'a point here at the end of the year will probably look a lot bigger than it does now'. Full Time - Bath Rugby 21-14 Worcester Warriors

In Coventry Wasps hosted Saracens at the Ricoh Arena and the visitors squeezed the home side, as they have done to every other team in their path this season. Wasps were made to pay after taking their eye off the ball mid-way through the second-half and couldn't get themselves back into the match. Owen Farrell's 21-points won't go unnoticed by Eddie Jones nor will the work of Maro Itoje who made Joe Launchbury's life difficult at the lineout. Although Wasps did gain a late consolation score, thanks to Frank Halai, they'll be disappointed that both Saracens' tries came off their own loose play. Following the game Dai Young wasn't shy about coming forwards regarding Saracens' game plan saying 'It is boring, make no bones about it… but it's very effective and very difficult to beat.' The Director of Rugby has a point however boring or otherwise Mark McCall's side continue on as the only unbeaten side in this year's domestic competition.  Full Time - Wasps 16-26 Saracens

The final match of the weekend was in front of 70,718 people at Twickenham Stadium  where Harlequins hosted Gloucester Rugby and it more than lived up to its 'Big Game' title. Just where do you start with a game that contained 10 tries in total and finished 39-39? Well it would be remiss of me not to mention Rob Cook's sensational solo try on 67 minutes - one of the best individual scores that we've seen this season however his score was just one of six in the second-half. Credit must go to the home side for what Conor O'Shea calls their 'mental durability' to get themselves back and draw the match from eight-points down with a little over ten minutes to go. Gloucester Rugby's day was bitter sweet, the tries that they scored were some of their best of the year including Henry Trinder's double after so long out however his injury and their inability to keep maintain their final lead will frustrate. If you've got a free 80 minutes then I suggest that you view this one in full for there is so much to take in; Matt Kvesic's individual performance at openside will turn heads especially given he was directly opposing Chris Robshaw. James Hook delivered his best eighty of some time and for Harlequins Danny Care had a captain's day at the office leading by example and Jamie Roberts' impact on his Premiership debut was impressive and adds so much to Harlequins going forwards. Full Time Harlequins 39-39 Gloucester Rugby