Aviva Premiership Round 15: 5 things we learned

1. Try, try, try again

There was hardly a single passage of play that was easy on the eye as the Tigers beat Irish 12-6 at the Madejski on Sunday. It was a game between a side already well on their way to planning for next season, and one that has been gutted by injuries and international call-ups for the majority of this one. The Tigers may have won, but their inability to get even close to scoring a try – Irish always looked the more likely of the two to cross the whitewash – is a real worry, no matter how much Richard Cockerill claims otherwise. They are without playmakers the likes of Owen Williams and Anthony Allen, and the rather large hole where Manu Tuilagi should be, is one they have never managed to fill. With Freddie Burns likely to miss a few weeks’ action after sustaining a concussion, their options at fly-half are third choice scrum-half David Mélé, 36 year-old Fijian centre Seremaia Bai or fullback Tommy Bell, signed earlier this season as emergency cover from Jersey. Without a recognised playmaker or an experienced attack coach, the try drought could go on for some time – especially when you consider that in the next few rounds they play the resurgent Sale and Newcastle, and visit Allianz Park, where they lost 45-0 last season. Their pack will only get them so far, and it would be a real surprise to see them challenging for silverware this year.

2. Saints a cut above chasing pack

Northampton’s impressive win over Bath at the Rec has given them noticeable breathing room ahead of the chasing pack. They sit nine points clear of the West Country side at the summit of the table now, and now look more than likely to secure a home semi-final. Bath, however, have dropped down into the ever-clustered group of sides fighting for the remaining three spots, which now includes six different clubs – and that’s discounting Gloucester and Harlequins, who are mathematically still in the hunt. Just four points separate Bath in second with Wasps in seventh, with Saracens, Exeter, Sale and Leicester all in between. It is going to be a phenomenally close race and at this stage, it’s impossible to pick three from those six to qualify. As noted above, the Tigers are unlikely to win the league with their issues right now, but they are still, somehow, right in the hunt, and while Bath and Saracens have spent most of the season in the top four, the likes of Exeter, Sale and Wasps have all shown strong form in the new year to leave themselves right in the mix.

3. Young guns ready to step up

One of the most intriguing elements of the Six Nations is seeing younger players step up into the starting line-ups when first choice international players are away. This weekend it was the turn of a handful of young centres to impress. Elliot Daly, who sees plenty of first team action on a regular basis anyway, was probably the standout performer of the weekend, dragging Wasps almost single-handedly to a draw at Newcastle, showing great pace to score one try and plenty of guile to set up another two. Henry Slade, Sam Hill and Jack Nowell, all regulars themselves this year, have gelled immeasurably well as a partnership in Exeter’s midfield and again impressed at the Stoop, while Tom Stephenson was the best centre on a field that included internationals Kyle Eastmond and George Pisi, not to mention you-know-who in the Bath 13 shirt. The midfield has long been a sore spot for England, and it is still the least settled area of the team. At least there are plenty of options open to Lancaster; he now just needs to decide which ones to use.

4. Something must change at scrum time

There was a period in the second half of London Irish’s game against Leicester when six minutes passed as the scrum was reset at least four times after consistent collapsing. The referee Wayne Barnes, to be fair to him, was doing his best to police it but it was an ugly blight on what was an already dire game. Had the action been more thrilling, the fans would have lost six minutes of genuine entertainment as 16 giant men did their best to win a penalty from the referee. And that could be where the solution lies. If some, or all, scrum offences were downgraded from a penalty to a free-kick, the set-piece would become once again a means of restarting play, rather than a means to win easy penalties, as it was for the Tigers on Sunday. It would mean teams would make an effort to get the ball in and out as soon as possible, rather than leave it in there for lengthy periods of time in an effort to win the penalty. It would surely lead to more open games, and while teams that use the scrum as a great weapon for scoring points would be aggrieved, it would certainly lead to a more entertaining spectacle.

5. A change in attitude

It is a good time to be a Sale fan. Flying higher than most people predicted in the Premiership, they are right in the hunt for a play-off place. Danny Cipriani and Dan Braid, two of their most important – and in the latter’s case coveted elsewhere – players have signed new contracts. Sale are a club who have become accustomed to seeing a high turnover in players year on year, so to see those two re-sign, under undoubted interest from other parties, is a real boon to Steve Diamond’s project. If they continue the success of this season, then others will surely follow suit, and being the only club in the North of England, they should find themselves with the pick of the local talent. Similarly, London Irish are clearly getting their act together. Bob Casey is the club’s Operations Director and admitted when interviewed at the weekend that the club had been taking strides backwards, and they were now looking to address that both on and off the pitch. With new backers beginning to make their mark and several high profile signings and a new coach on the way next year, they will surely put up more of a fight than they have this campaign.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images