Category: Rugby

Round 6 Match Report – Wasps @ Saracens on Sunday

Round Six saw two of the ‘Big Three’ from 16/17 go head-to-head as struggling Wasps traveled to Allainz Park to take on Saracens.

How did it go down?

Saracens started well against an injury depleted Wasps. Fullback Alex Goode entered the line and collected the ball from Marcelo Bosch in the sixth minute before weighting an intelligent kick for American Chris Wyles to go collect in the corner for the score. Five minutes later British & Irish Lion Jamie George cut a line from a quick tap to stroll through a Wasps defence that had switched off to put Saracens two tries up. Continue reading “Round 6 Match Report – Wasps @ Saracens on Sunday”

Round 6 Match Report – Leicester Tigers @ London Irish on Saturday

Leicester, who look to be establishing themselves as one of the better teams visited London Irish who despite only having one victory are confident that they will have the quality to stay up.

How did it go down?

Well it wasn’t the best of starts for London Irish as scrumhalf Sam Harrison danced around around a few sluggish looking forwards in the opening minutes to take The Tigers to within a few meters of the line, before Matt Toomua sent winger Nick Malouf over in the corner. The try was not converted but Ford soon slotted three consecutive penalties to put Leicester fourteen points up. Pressure built throughout the rest of the half, but London Irish responded with a lone penalty to ensure that they had some reward and the teams took it in 14-3 at the interval. Continue reading “Round 6 Match Report – Leicester Tigers @ London Irish on Saturday”

Round 6 Match Report – Sale @ Harlequins on Friday Night

Buoyed by a relatively strong start to the season Sale Sharks traveled to Harlequins, who were under pressure for a result having stumbled in the opening rounds.

How did it go down?

Harlequins have had a relatively disappointing start to the season so far and they looked determined to set that right during the opening stages of this Friday night match up. The scoring started in the 11th minute when Danny Care collected the ball from the base of a ruck and chipped into the corner, with the returning Tim Visser collecting to go over in what was a reassuring start for the hosts. Continue reading “Round 6 Match Report – Sale @ Harlequins on Friday Night”

Round 6 Preview – Non-televised Games

The non-televised games this week see Bath visit Worcester; Exeter take the long trip to Newcastle and Gloucester brave Northampton at Franklin Gardens.

Bath @ Worcester

Bath will travel to Worcester coming off of a strong win against the Chiefs. Bath, like Leicester, will be looking to build on their 9, 10, 12 axis after losing George Ford to the Tigers over the summer. Worcester are bottom of the league and while they’ll be desperate for a win to change that, they have been defeated in all previous outings this season. Continue reading “Round 6 Preview – Non-televised Games”

Round 6 Preview – Wasps @ Saracens on Sunday

On Sunday we get to watch the two favorites for the 2016/17 title go head-to-head in what will be a key indicator of how good these two are at this point in the season.

How are the teams getting on so far?

Saracens are 3rd in the league after a surprise loss to Bath in Round Two, aside from that it has been business as usual as they have recorded comfortable wins in all other match ups. A fifty-five point humbling of Northampton in the opening week and a 7-29 defeat of Newcastle in Newcastle are the highlights of their early results.

Wasps on the other hand have had a far shakier start to the season. Opening victories against Sale and Worcester have been followed by three defeats on the bounce, compared to four in the league for the entirety of last season. They’ve not performed to expectations so far and will be under pressure to put that right.

Continue reading “Round 6 Preview – Wasps @ Saracens on Sunday”

Round 6 Preview – Leicester Tigers @ London Irish on Saturday Afternoon

The Saturday afternoon game of Round Six will see newly promoted London Irish host Leicester Tigers at the Madejski Stadium.

How are the teams getting on so far?

London Irish grabbed a morale-boosting bonus point victory in the first game of the season at Harlequins, but have lost all their games since then and are currently one place away from bottom at eleventh.

Leicester, who started the season with defeats to Bath and Northampton respectively, have bounced back well recording consecutive victories against Gloucester, Harlequins and defending champions Exeter. They snuck into the playoffs at fourth last season and will be hopeful of a similar performance in 17/18.

Continue reading “Round 6 Preview – Leicester Tigers @ London Irish on Saturday Afternoon”

Round 6 Preview – Sale Sharks @ Harlequins on Friday Night

The opening game of Round Six sees seventh-placed Sale travel to Harlequins, who are sitting at a disappointing ninth.

How are the teams getting on so far?

Both sides will be unhappy to enter Round Six in the bottom half of the table. That being said, Sale have not done too badly having managed to score thirty-five points in a losing effort at Wasps. Their other two losses were a single point defeat at the hands of the increasingly formidable Newcastle Falcons, followed by an unsuccessful trip to the mighty Saracens. They will be feeling confident coming off a dominant 41-13 victory against Gloucester in Round Five.

Harlequins’ form has been eclectic. They’ve managed to lose to newly-promoted London Irish among others, but have chalked up victories against Wasps and Gloucester. While they are not being seriously discussed as relegation candidates they will need to show some consistency in order to challenge further up the table, which should be the minimum expectation for a team boasting multiple current England internationals. Continue reading “Round 6 Preview – Sale Sharks @ Harlequins on Friday Night”