Aviva Premiership Round 3: 5 things we learned

1. Statement made

One result quite obviously dominated the weekend – Bath’s 45-0 hammering of the Tigers. Any side with realistic play-off ambitions needs to win their home games but to completely annihilate one of your rivals in that manner is almost unheard of (except, perhaps, the week before when Saracens beat Harlequins). Bath were sublime, relentlessly physical at the set-piece and contact areas, and beautifully flowing when the ball made it into the backs. George Ford put in one of his most complete performance yet, and certainly nudged himself back in front of Freddie Burns in the England pecking order. As for the Tigers, it was a shambolic performance and one that you just don’t expect from them. Yes, they had several injuries and their problems were compounded before kick-off when Allen and Tuilagi withdrew, but they still had enough top class players on show for that result to be a shock. It will be an unimaginably tough week in training for them.

2. Irish eyes almost smiling

London Irish were 25 seconds away from making it two wins over Saracens in a row, a result which would have sent almost as many shockwaves around as Bath’s riotous win. The Exiles are looking good this season, and although they may have been lucky to beat Newcastle, losing bonus points against Harlequins and Saracens tell you they can live with the big boys. Their strategy against Saracens was perfect, pinning them back with intelligent kicking from new signing Chris Noakes and Premiership veteran Shane Geraghty, who seems to be undergoing quite a resurgence this season. In Alex Lewington they have a pocket rocket, a young, hungry player who seems made to score tries. The pack has held up well too, and expect them to cause a few more unexpected bloody noses before the season is out.

3. To the letter of the law

There were a few decisions over the weekend that didn’t sit quite right. Two concerned the tackling process, and both came in Friday night’s West Country thriller. Ian Whitten was first yellow carded for taking the man out in the air when challenging for a high ball. To the letter of the law, it was a yellow card, but all Whitten was doing was competing for the ball – if he’d jumped a little higher, it would have been a 50/50 contest with Sharples and both men probably would have landed safely. What is the right call here? It’s very difficult to say. Whitten jumped to challenge for the ball, which he is entitled to do, but if players increasingly get yellow-carded for it will we see them taking more care? Is that right, or should it just be another risk to what is undeniably a physical game – in the same way that anyone can dislocate a shoulder making a tackle? Matt Kvesic’s yellow card was even more farcical – Waldrom was lifted but then hit the ground horizontally and very softly. Again the law might have pointed to a yellow card, but a bit of common sense needs to be applied – it clearly wasn’t a dangerous tackle.

4. 151 and counting

London Welsh conceded 46 points at the weekend, to take their total for the season to 151. They have shipped 20 tries already, which is just under a third of what Newcastle, who achieved survival, conceded last season. Something has to change, and fast, if they are to have any chance of surviving. Against Sale there were so many missed tackles that by the end the Sharks were scoring tries with comedic ease, defenders swotted away like flies as they crossed the line over and over again. An additional worry this weekend, as against Exeter, was that they failed to score a try themselves. Newcastle stayed up last season by being slightly less bad than Worcester, who were eventually relegated, and it looks like something similar could happen this year – these two look some way poorer than the other ten sides in the league, and it’s tough to see them beating anyone other than each other at the moment. It could come down to who wins the two fixtures between them, along with who can manage the most losing bonus points.

5. Answering your critics

Harlequins were dire last weekend – there’s no denying that. It was great to see, then, the old Quins back this week, attacking at will and scoring some great tries as they narrowly overcame London rivals Wasps at the Stoop. Chris Robshaw answered his critics and reminded everyone just why he has been England captain and a stalwart of the Lancaster regime for quite so long with a performance that smacked of someone who wanted to prove a point – not that he really needed to. Lancaster will have been greatly enthused by the response of his captain after a tough week, and also happy that the performances of other players (Will Fraser and James Haskell) was what spurred Robshaw on.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images