Exeter produced one of the biggest shocks in Round 1 with a narrow victory over Leicester at Welford Road
The opening weekend was full of surprises, with upsets at Welford Road and Twickenham. All the sides showed signs of rustiness with handling errors and missed kicks proving costly for some teams. However, the good news is that this year in the Premiership it will be just as exciting as last season even without a host of International players at the World Cup in New Zealand. There are some promising new signings throughout the league and this year will be a great season for young players to show their talents without senior players taking starting positions.
London Irish 24 Harlequins 29
Harlequins are missing very few players and looked confident playing against an average-looking London Irish side. Two tries from Topsy Ojo could not keep the Irish in the lead as Ugo Monye and James Johnston scored for Harlequins. Nicky Evans showed once again how he can control a game and he added 19 points to the tally. Tom Homer slotted a penalty late on for London Irish; the kick salvaged a loosing bonus point. Harlequins could push themselves up the table this season during the World Cup period and challenge for the top six or higher. The Harlequins defence will have to be much stronger to beat the top four contenders, but the Londoners will be proud to have started with a good win against London Irish.
Saracens 15 Wasps 10
Last season’s Premiership champions were looking to get off to a great start against a much changed Wasps side. However, the London Wasps had other ideas as they outscored Sarries by two tries to none. The young Owen Farrell slotted the first points in the match and Nicky Robinson made a solid debut for Wasps trading penalties with the 19 year old fly-half. After a clever break from Riki Flutey, quick hands put in debutant Christian Wade for his first try in Wasps colours. Charlie Hodgson came on to try and grind out the win for Saracens and added another two penalties to the tally. The Wasps forwards won a turnover in the Saracens’ half and gave Tom Varndell half a chance to break down the left wing. Varndell took his chance well and dived over for Wasps’ second try. It was an untidy match for both sides with plenty of handling errors all over the park and some untidy set piece ball. It was a positive showing for the new signings in the London Wasps side, if they improve their scrumaging and eliminate their handling errors Wasps could get themselves back into the European qualification positions.
Leicester 28 Exeter 30
Unfortunately, Matthew Tait missed out on making his debut for the Tigers with an injury. Exeter took less than a minute to score their first try of the season with Sireli Naqelevuki touching down following poor Leicester defence. The Tigers responded with a powerful charge from Thomas Waldrom resulting in a try. Waldrom once again featured as he chipped through for Niall Morris to gather and score. After several phases after 25 minutes Exeter scored their second try after a great effort from the Chiefs’ pack. Before half-time, the Chiefs added two penalties via the boot of Ignacio Mieres. Exeter held an impressive 23-15 lead at half-time. Billy Twelvetrees knocked over a penalty following a high tackle on George Chuter. Exeter scored try from nothing with Matt Jess taking advantage of some questionable defence. Twelvetrees added a penalty. Waldrom once again kicked ahead for Nail Morris collecting for his second score. Gareth Steenson missed a few attempts at goal and the young George Ford pushed a drop goal attempt wide. Ford’s inexperience cost Leicester the match, Toby Flood would have been the go to man in that situation, however, Ford will learn from the experience. It was an interesting game, perhaps Leicester will really struggle without their International stars. Exeter has shown once again that there are a side that should never be underestimated. The Chiefs may be looking for a mid-table performance this season and who would doubt them following that performance.
Newcastle 9 Bath 22
Newcastle started off at home against a strong Bath side knowing that every point will be vital this season. It is likely that the Falcons will be in an intense struggle at the bottom of the league with the likes of Sale and Worcester. Bath never looked like they were going to let the lead go after Matt Carraro went over for Bath’s first try. The Falcons responded with 3 penalties from the reliable boot of Jimmy Goppeth. Sam Vesty added a drop goal in the second-half to secure the win which took his tally to 17 points in the game. Ian McGeechan’s team looked dangerous; they won at a difficult venue, many teams struggle on the trip up north. Bath will be a side in the mix for the top four this season and when Stephen Donald finally joins them they will be a real threat for the rest of the competition.
Worcester 17 Sale 12
Worcester Warriors were welcomed back into the Aviva Premiership by an enthusiastic Sixways crowd and treated their loyal supporters to a confident win. The forwards looked impressive in the scrum and Miles Benjamin beat several Sale defenders on his way to his first try back in the Premiership. Nick MacLeod added all the points for the Sharks, but Sale never really got going in attack. The overwhelming bulk in the Worcester pack earned the West Country side a match-winning try. Andy Goode made two penalties count as he helped guide Worcester to their first victory of the season. The set-up at Sixways has never been in doubt; however, the team looks to be well balanced with the youth of Benjamin and the experience of Goode at fly-half and Craig Gillies in the second-row.
Northampton 26 Gloucester 24
The beaten semi-finalists in last year’s tournament squared up at Franklins Gardens and both teams tried to play expansive rugby. Phil Dowson was tremendous in the loose offloading and tackling like a man possessed. Stephen Myler kicked his goals and controlled the game well. Gloucester showed that their backs are dangerous, with more match practice the Cherry and Whites could be an impressive force to contend with. After early penalties, Myler outpaced Peter Buxton and offloaded to Dowson for Saints’ first try. Soon after, the Northampton Saints’ full-back Greig Tonks took far too long to clear a kick and Jonny May charged it down and kicked ahead to score Gloucester’s first try. After some intense pressure from the home side, they forced a scrum and from the resulting free-kick, Martin Roberts went quickly in front of the referees mark and scored a try on his debut. Gloucester’s attempt was nearly threatened by Peter Buxton’s yellow card after some illegal play at the ruck, however, that only cost Gloucester 3 points. Freddie Burns came on for Tim Taylor and missed his first attempt; however, he kicked a penalty from 40 metres to narrow the scores. From a set-piece move Lesley Vainikolo barged through Ryan Lamb’s feeble attempt at a tackle and passed the ball onto May who linked up with Charlie Sharples who finished off a simple try. Burns made a horrific attempt at the simple conversion, which would ultimately cost Gloucester the match. Burns thought he had made amends after he slotted a fantastic drop goal, however a moment of madness from Will James lead to Gloucester being penalised. James punched a Northampton player at the ruck and gave former Gloucester player Ryan Lamb an easy shot at goal. Lamb made no mistake and slotted the winning kick on his debut.
Stand out players from Round 1:
Phil Dowson- Northampton- was impressive in open-play and was a powerful defensive presence. He took his try well and led his forwards with authority.
Nicky Evans- Harlequins- the former All Black was a key member of Harlequins’ side and contributed 19 points to the total. He showed his composure and ability to dictate play. He could be a good outside bet for the top point scorer this season.
Tom Varndell- Wasps- looked quick on his way to his try, if he starts looking for more ball in field he could be a real attacking force for a new looking Wasps team.
Thomas Waldrom- Leicester- even though the Tigers lost to Exeter Waldrom looked strong as he barged over for his try and he showed his creativity by kicking ahead for Morris’ two tries.
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