Worcester overcome Falcons in basement battle

Worcester claimed a vital first win of the season in a fixture that is likely to have great bearing on the relegation battle. They saw off Newcastle Falcons 11-9 at Sixways and ended a strange run of drawing at home in consecutive matches.

The home side led at the end of the first half after a Newcastle penalty was cancelled out through a Tom Heathcote three-pointer and an unconverted Wynand Olivier try, which was the result of a Newcastle error well-punished. The second half continued with the scrappy handling theme of the first, Ryan Lamb extending the lead from the tee, and the Warrioirs’ brave defence limited their visitors to kicks for goal. The Falcons were only able to add six further points to their tally, which wasn’t enough to steal the game.

The win means that Bristol now lie 7 points adrift already. With these two sides showing that they have the mettle and the nous to win games at this level, it is looking stark for the new boys.

Coventrians continue to dazzle

The perfect start continued for Wasps, as they put forward a devestating second half display to see off struggling Quins. The Londoners, who have endured a bizarre and unfulfilling start to the season, dropped to eleventh as they went down 47-18.

The opening 40 was promising for the visitors, as they dominated the ball and position on the park, however had nothing to show for it. The hosts ran in four tries, and the bonus point, from four visits to the Harlequins 22 within 32 minutes. The visitors grabbed a brace through Jamie Roberts and James Chisholm before the break, which deservedly brought them back into contention, but afterwards Wasps kept up with their devastating strike rate, going over three more times.

The result reflected Harlequins’ current state of being also-rans and off the pace, and perhaps showed last weekend’s result as an anomaly rather than promise. Wasps, on the other hand, are just beginning a journey where, come the end of the season, anything less than a Premiership title would be a disappointment.

Kingsholm curse for Cherry and Whites

Three home games, three defeats. That’s the unwanted headline Gloucester will be reading as they succumbed to hot West-Country rivals Bath. Soggy conditions put any chance of an attractive game to the sword, with only a couple of late tries to the visitors stopping it being a single figure scoreline, as they won 15-6.

A dull 40 minutes followed the kick off, a period which yielded a solitary James Hook penalty. A drop goal after the restart pulled the visitors level, but the hosts put over another penalty kick. Anthony Watson and Matt Banahan grabbed a try each in the last twenty minutes to earn Todd Blackadder’s men another win.

Bath will be pleased with their response to last week’s loss, proving they have a personality that was missing last season. The Cherry and Whites need to find some consistency sharpish to avoid another season of mediocrity.

Saints break Exeter, Sharks sneak in, Business as usual for Champions

Harry Mallinder slotted two penalties very late on to steer Saints to a well-earned 20-19 victory over Exeter. A nerve-tingling contest saw the travelling team build up a thirteen point lead, but Northampton came back with George North magnificently scoring and setting up a try, before penalties ultimately decided the match. With two wins and three losses each, both sides are a little shy of where they would like to be, but a string of results could change that fairly quickly.

Sale stunned the Tigers, as they racked up a bonus point 34-30 win. A breathless first half-hour treated the crowd to five tries, as the home side never let Leicester have the control they need. A remarkable effort kept them at arms length for long enough to see the victory through. The win lifts the Sharks into the top half and gives them confidence to punch above their weight once more.

Saracens racked up 39 points and kept Bristol scoreless at Ashton Gate. The hosts started well enough, but will need to find a way to compete for longer, especially now they have some more winnable games in sight.

Ospreys and Ulster in tight encounter

Ulster, like Wasps in the premiership, made it five from five and cemented their position as the team to beat in the league. For the second week in a row, they played one of their main rivals and came out on top, this time ousting Ospreys 9-7.

This result was all the more impressive as, having dominated large swathes of the Glasgow game, they were bettered in the opening exchanges by the Welsh side and were forced to display a different aspect to their game. A converted Nicky Smith try put Ospreys ahead, prior to Paddy Jackson kicking a first penalty and shifting the swing of the match to his side. The Northern Irish then dictated play, but could not show so much on the scoreboard. A second half penalty reduced the deficit to a point, and Jackson then got his third, and match-winning, kick late on to oust the Ospreys.

Ulster look the only side to really step up to the mark so far this season (honourable mentions to Blues, Munster and Leinster), and will hope to carry their form into Europe now that we have entered October. Ospreys must be licking their wounds, as early season hope has wilted somewhat.

Leinster force first loss on Blues

Cardiff went down for the first time this season, despite leading by ten points at one stage, as Leinster beat them 16-13 at Arms Park. The loss was even more galling as they had an opportunity to level the scores late on.

Gareth Anscombe was the primary difference in the first half, kicking penalties, scoring a try out of nothing, and converting aforementioned try to build a comfortable lead. The nous of the Dubliners got them back in the game after the interval, with Rhys Ruddock grabbing a try and Johnny Sexton using his boot to claim the lead.mBlues had an opportunity to tie the scores with the clock ticking down, but tried to go for the try, where they failed.

Leinster go into next week’s game against Irish rivals Munster on a high, where Blues will have to show steel in how they bounce back to a loss.

Connacht finally win, Glasgow see off Dragons’ fight, Munster score a lot, Scarlets power on

Connacht got themselves a bonus point win over an Edinburgh side in turmoil to claw their way back into the season. Two tries to one in each half was enough to see the West Coast Irishmen to a 28-15 victory. Edinburgh need their new coach to forge an identity, whilst Connacht need to press on and use this as a springboard.

Glasgow held off a spirited Dragons side to claim a much needed 26-17 win in Newport. A strong first half nearly came unstuck as the hosts pulled their way back into the game, but a moment of magic (see try of the week) eked a win for the visitors.

Munster scored a lot of points in their win against Zebre, 49 to be precise, with the Italians getting only 5 of their own. Seven tries propelled Munster to a victory putting them second in the table, and left the Italians languishing bottom.

Treviso let a first half lead slip as they lost 22-6 at home to Scarlets. The Welsh region took a while to get going, but scored three second half tries to move on up the league. A testing Welsh Derby awaits as they face Newport next.

South Africa end miserable run, Argentina stay within 20 points of ABs

The Springboks ended what has been an horrific streak of three losses, as they overturned a 10-3 half-time deficit, to win 18-10. The hosts looked very nervy before the break, with Scott Sio running a try through for the visitors and leaving South Africa staring at an ignominious defeat. However, the reinstated Morne Steyn kicked his team to glory and lifted them to second in the Rugby Championship. Next up is a match against New Zealand, where they will have to show more, and for the Wallabies a fixture at Twickenham against the Pumas.

Argentina became the first side in this year’s competition to stay within 20 points of the All Blacks, as they lost 36-17. Late yellow cards for the visitors allowed Argentina to cross for a couple of tries and make the scoreboard presentable. New Zealand will now have an opportunity to break the record of most consecutive test wins, should they win their next two games.

Top 14 continues unpredictability

Clermont jumped to the top of a topsy turvy Top 14 when they beat Castres 29-19 on Saturday. England exile, David Strettle, bagged one of the three tries for the hosts as other results allowed them to end the weekend looking pretty.

Toulon thrashed fellow title hopefuls Montpellier 28-6 on the South Coast. Leigh Halfpenny starred as he kicked three penalties and converted two of his side’s three tries. They will now look to back up such a big result after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Bordeaux and Pau played out a scintillating match at the home of the latter. Ian Madigan looked at home as he bagged 15 points from the boot and guided his team to a 30-28 away victory.

In other results, champions Racing lost yet again, this time to Brive 25-16, and Bayonne and Lyon played out a 22-all draw. Toulouse comfortably defeated basement club Grenoble 31-3, and Stade Francais returned to form with a 31-26 win over high flying La Rochelle.

Try of the weekend

Now, I know there were some genuinely good tries this weekend, but a prop side-stepping and dashing 25 metres genuinely fascinates me. Alex Allan, you had me reminiscing of the rare occasions my prop team mates did something genuinely unexpected.

We’ll keep an eye out for a video from that Glasgow game and post it here if we can find one.

Hero of the weekend

The French league system. I am fully aware there are problems with it, and it is not perfect, but having had 7 games, there are only 14 points that separate top from bottom. There are fewer teams in the Premiership and Pro12, and fewer games played, however 22 points and 19 points divide top from bottom in each league respectively. The competition is more fierce, and the fact that there is a smaller gap between top and second tier, makes survival more attainable. Probably worth a blog in itself at some point, but feel free to discuss.

Villain of the weekend

Blues’ decision-making. You have a man in the sin-bin, you are three points down and you have a kickable penalty. At this stage in the season, you have to take the draw and keep clocking up points, particularly when it would have robbed one of your main rivals of two points themselves.

By Joe Large

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images