Best of the weekend: Sarries, Bath, Glasgow & Munster head for the finals

Sarries storm the Gardens; Leicester humiliated at the Rec again

It might be the start of blockbuster season at the cinemas, but there were bucket loads of big hits flying in at Franklins Gardens in the first of the weekend’s semi-finals too, as Northampton hosted Saracens in a repeat of the 2014 final. It was a game that was dominated and defined by brutal physicality, but it was not without quality either – and that was clear early on when David Strettle spotted space in behind as fullback Ashee Tuala received treatment and chipped in behind for Duncan Taylor to brilliantly beat Lee Dickson to the ball and pop up a return pass for the winger to touch down. Saints responded quickly with a brutal forward effort which saw Mako Vunipola sin-binned and a penalty try awarded to the hosts.

The East-Midlanders then began to dominate possession but they were met by a ridiculously aggressive Sarries defence, typified by that man Jacques Burger. He may look like the result of Picasso coming back from a few too many beers and opening his paint box, but Burger always seems to bring out the best on the biggest stage. A pair of is hits on wingers Jamie Elliot and Ken Pisi were so perfect in terms of technique and power that they were almost works of art themselves, and it was this kind of defence that kept the 2011 champions in the game. Tom Wood and Jamie George exchanged tries but it was the boot of Owen Farrell – who reminded us of his credentials with an accurate and measured display – that proved to be the difference as the Wolf Pack scrapped their way to a 24-29 win – an away victory in the playoffs for only the sixth time in the competition’s history.

Further West and it was another story of defence – although you wouldn’t think it in a 47 – 10 demolition. The surprising fact behind this score is that the losers, Leicester, actually dominated possession and territory for 60 minutes, but were met by a defence which – although it may not have had the raw physicality of Saracens’ – was just as disciplined and ruthless, having a knack of turning the ball over at the right time. In truth of course, the Tigers must take some of the blame for their gross inefficiency – it almost summed up their year that, despite a superb forward effort that saw them rule the breakdown and set piece, they only managed one bundled score from Tom Youngs, and that was with two Bath players in the sin bin. Contrast that to the phenomenal work of the Bath attack, which in the first half got the ball into the Leicester 22 on three occasions and resulted in three tries, with a stunning Kyle Eastmond effort sandwiched between two Matt Banahan scores.

It meant the score was 21 – 10 at half time – and it stayed that way for over half of the second period, as Leicester huffed and puffed but gained nothing for the efforts of their pack, with Freddie Burns and Tommy Bell missing 12 points from the tee. And then, after 62 minutes, Bath struck and struck hard, opening the floodgates in the last quarter to beat the 45 points they put on Leicester in their last humiliation at the Rec. They ran in four more scores of high quality, with Banahan completing his hat-trick and further finishes coming from George Ford, Anthony Watson and the 72 year old Peter Stringer. This season could not end soon enough for Leicester – Bath, quite rightly, don’t want it to end.

Premiership Star Man: George Ford

Glasgow make it two in a row as Ospreys fall agonisingly short

It doesn’t seem that long ago that there were some who were questioning the existence of Glasgow Warriors. Poor crowds and poor rugby with no trophies isn’t really a recipe for success, but they are a very different beast now, producing a superb comeback against Ulster to book their place in a second successive PRO12 Final – an achievement which cannot be underestimated, particularly given the nature of their win against the Irish province. In truth, the visitors were the better side in a bruising contest, dominating possession and the set piece, but they were never really able to give themselves the lead they deserved against a dogged and determined Glasgow defence, with only Chris Henry managing to breach their line to take a 14 – 9 lead into the closing five minutes. But, from there, Glasgow finally looked like the side which has been unstoppable for much of the year, and Finn Russell threw a stunning 25-metre pass out to DTH Van Der Merwe and converted nervelessly from the sidelines to claim a famous win for the Warriors and stun the Ulstermen.

Over in Limerick, Munster were themselves squeaking to the narrowest of wins – and they did it the hard way too, a disallowed try in the last play of the game by the Ospreys to send them through. Owens had failed to spot a pretty clear knock-on by Rhys Webb in the build-up and, as Josh Matavesi went over with the clock in the red, there was a real danger of gross injustice. However, Owens checked the replay and made the right call – although Munster shouldn’t have been in that position after scoring three fine tries through Simon Zebo, Dennis Hurley and Paddy Butler to lead 21 – 8 after 50 minutes. However, Jeff Hasler’s superb individual effort – added to Rhys Webb’s earlier cheeky intercept – made for a tense finish, but this was one that the Thomond Park faithful were not prepared to lose.

Pro 12 Star Man: Paddy Butler

Gloucester secure Champions Cup playoff final spot

The Cherry and Whites ensured that they will be the ones contesting Bordeaux Begles for a place at Europe’s top table next year as they came out on top 40 – 32 against Connacht, but only after the Irish province had forced them to extra time and, at various points, looked like winning the game. In fact, they thought they had the game won with regular time up, but Bill Meakes stepped his way over following a dodgy penalty decision from Roman Poite to level the game.

Then they took the lead in extra time through Matt Healy’s second score. But Gloucester, roared on by the Kingsholm faithful, were not to be denied as Darren Dawidiuk bundled his way over and the Johnny May started and finished an absolute worldy of a try to make the game safe at 40-32 and book a showdown at Sixways next week.

Bayonne relegated on dramatic final day

With Clermont and Toulon occupying the top two places and the playoff spots all pretty clear, the main interest for the neutral was to be found in the relegation dog fight. It was to be heartbreak for Bayonne, who did everything they possibly could with a bonus point win over La Rochelle, but they were let down by other results – in particular Grenoble, who claimed a losing bonus point against Lyon to avoid the drop by a single point, having a worse points difference that the team below them. An even closer shave was on the cards for Castres, who stayed up only because they won more games than Bayonne, despite finishing on the same amount of points.

Elsewhere, Lional Beauxis missed a last minute conversion that would have given Bordeaux Begles the win over his old club Toulon and, in doing so, cost them a guaranteed Champions Cup spot. They’ll now play Gloucester in the playoff next week.

Top 14 Star Man: Drew Mitchell

Lions smash Cheetahs to continue play-off push

The Lions outlined once again their unlikely play-off credentials with a brilliant 40-17 win over the Cheetahs. The men from Johannesburg now sit just two points behind conference leaders the Stormers, who themselves put in a powerful performance to beat the Rebels 31-15 – but they will have been disappointed with their inability to get the bonus point. The Bulls dropped away with a 20-34 loss to the Chiefs, who look to have unearthed the latest Kiwi superstar fly-half in the shape of 19 year old Damien McKenzie.

Elsewhere the Sharks ended their miserable run of losses with an ugly 21-14 win over the Reds, while the Hurricanes continued their insatiable form with a regulation 29-5 win over the Blues. The Highlanders comfortably defeated the Western Force 23-3, and the Waratahs beat the Crusaders 32-22 in a repeat of last year’s final.

Super Rugby star man: Damien McKenzie

Try of the Week: It has to be Johnny May‘s effort against Connacht, where he started and finished an 80 metre kick off return. It’s sometimes said that May resembles a headless chicken but if he doesn’t know where he’s going, then the opposition sure as hell don’t either. Wonderfully elusive running and offloading.

Le superbe essai de Johnny May contre le Connacht by Le-Rugbynistere

Hero of the Week: I’m going to cop out and give it to two people, both equally deserving. Firstly, Finn Russell for serious cajones in chucking that big pass and nailing a bigger kick to give Warriors the win, and secondly to Jacques Burger, who once again demonstrated that he is prepared to put his face where most won’t put their feet.

By Mike Cooper (@RuckedOver)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images