Premiership: Five things we’ve learned as the east Midlands rise again
The east Midlands are on the rugby rise again and more clubs than ever are competing for European places, here are five things we learned from this weekend’s Premiership action.
The east Midlands heartlands are back
The east Midlands duo of Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints now occupy the top two Premiership spots. The pair have had mixed seasons recently but both sides have managed to find their way over the winning line at the beginning of this campaign.
The Tigers overcame Saracens, who this week announced a takeover deal which would see existing majority owner Nigel Wray become a minority stakeholder, with a penalty try to win 13-12. Saints held on in the second half to beat London Irish 23-21.
They’ll face tough games in harsher conditions in weeks to come, as well as competing in Europe, but it appears the traditional rugby heartlands of England are back at the forefront of the domestic game. The fiery east Mids derby takes place on 30 October. Mark those diaries.
Contentious officiating
Blaming referees for losses is the go-to for many fans, but this week they may have a point. Multiple games saw contentious issues ignored by officials at key moments during matches.
Bath were hard done by officials, with former Premiership fly-half Andy Goode saying on Twitter that you’ve “got to feel for Bath”, and that the officials caused a “14 point swing”.
There were also disputable red card calls in Saints’ game as a tackle that resulted in a sending off last season was not given this year, and in Gloucester’s match where a kick to the face went unpunished despite a similar accidental incident resulting in a red card in recent weeks.
Saracens could also have felt aggrieved, with a key piece of foul play being ignored before their opposition went on to score, and win. Time to sharpen up.
It’s going to be close
The cliche of every year being tougher than the one before rings true again this season. The league is just three games in and the battle for the top four and European places already feels more hotly contested than in recent campaigns.
Top-four qualification come the end of the season will be fascinating, with at least six or seven sides in with a realistic shout of making it.
The European places are equally difficult to gauge, with many sides likely to use Champions Cup qualification as a litmus test of progress in their camp. Newcastle’s 18-14 win over Wasps went against the bookies this week, and Worcester’s 31-23 loss to Gloucester went against the form book.
Throw in Exeter, Bristol and Saracens being in the current bottom five and this season may be the most unpredictable yet.
Rocky starts
Two of last year’s top four currently reside in the bottom quartet of teams in the table: Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears have gotten off to rotten starts this year.
The Chiefs went down to Leicester and Northampton in their opening two games while the Bears lost to Saracens and Wasps. This weekend, however, the duo got back to winning ways as the Bears toppled Bath 25-20 in a West Country derby and Exeter overcame Sale 15-25 up in the North.
Pat Lam, Bristol’s head honcho, and Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, have both been touted for future roles with England and are used to consistently winning in the Premiership. How the two fare next weekend, with Exeter at home to Worcester and Bristol traveling to Harlequins, will show whether their slow start was just a blip.
Lucky number… 14
Next season the Premiership expands from 13 teams to 14, matching the French league in the number of sides competing.
This means one of the Championship outfits, who are not currently a Premiership stakeholder club, will be promoted into the top flight. Favourites for that promotion spot are Cornish Pirates and London’s Ealing Trailfinders.
The two clashed yesterday in Penzence and the Pirates won a tight affair 15-12. The result might just be seen as another game but when the season edges towards its conclusion, these two will be fighting for the chance to go up, earn European rugby and cement themselves as a Premiership team.
The two sides play out the return fixture in January, and by March the Premiership will know who its 14th team will be.
The east Midlands are on the rugby rise again and more clubs than ever are competing for Europe, here are five things we learned from this weekend’s Premiership action.
The east Midlands are on the rugby rise again and more clubs than ever are competing for Europe, here are five things we learned from this weekend’s Premiership action.