Review - Gallagher PREM Round 4

Champions Bath lost for the first in Round 4 of the Gallagher PREM, and it came in a repeat of last season’s final away to Leicester Tigers who laid down a marker for going one better this season.

Former England captain Lewis Moody, an ex-player for both clubs, attended and the fans gave him a warm welcome after he was recently diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

Elsewhere, Saracens showed that they have no intention of missing the play-offs as their latest product showed the world what he can offer.

Here’s how ATR saw the action.

Gloucester 34-49 Bristol Bears

A good old west country derby, but the fact that Bristol scored a record amount of points show where Gloucester’s problems lie and their lack of organisation in defence was there for all to see when Fitz Harding waltzed through for his try. Otherwise, Gloucester played some excellent rugby and did so without two of their main drivers in Seb Atkinson and Tomos Williams.

Centre is definitely their strength with Will Joseph and Max Llewellyn pairing well, though that is all well and good when you have a 6-2 bench split, and lose both your starting wings in the first half. To add injury to insult, they also lost replacement wing Josiah Edwards-Giraud late on.

For Bristol, it was a significant win. If they want to improve on their semifinal finish from last season, then they need to win these sort of matches on the road. Hooker Gabriel Oghre was a livewire, and his two tries from rolling maul shows that director of rugby Pat Lam is adding new layers to the team.

Flyhalf Sam Worsley was excellent on his first start with a try and six conversions, and he was helped by the Bears big names – Steven Luatua, Bill Mata, and Benhard Janse van Rensburg – stepping up.

Newcastle Red Bulls 19-36 Northampton Saints

Better from the Red Bulls, but little there to warm the soul as winter approaches. There appears a problem maintaining their intensity, and Amanaki Lelei Mafi's showing was one of the few bright spots.

Avoiding going 14-0 down would be a start. They should be concerned that they failed to score in the last 20 minutes, and that they only had 31 percent possession in the last 10 minutes, despite chasing something from the game.

Saints looked good, especially scrumhalf Alex Mitchell and flyhalf Fin Smith, who have barely missed a beat. Tommy Freeman enjoyed the spaces to attack from fullback, but he failed to deal with a high ball before Oliver Spencer’s try.

Then there is Alex Coles, who returned to the second row, without any change in his performance, and his barnstorming late try was well deserved. He should be in the England squad this November.

Leicester Tigers 22-21 Bath

If you’re going to juggle a key playmaking role, it definitely helps that one of them kicks a late winning penalty. That’s exactly how it played out for Tigers’ new head coach Geoff Parling. After juggling James O’Connor, Billy Searle, and Orlando Bailey this season, he started O’Connor and then brought Searle off the bench. It paid dividends after Searle knocked over the winning kick.

Overall, it was a very Tigers performance. Two tries from picks, and another from a rolling maul. Then add in props Joe Heyes and Nicky Smith, who won four penalties and three free kicks at the set piece, and it helped force Bath into conceding five penalties in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Bath appeared to have pinched the win with Finn Russell’s late penalty before Thomas du Toit’s clothesline tackle on Searle. Cameron Redpath’s performance certainly gave them some cheer. It has been a few years since he burst onto the international scene, and while Sione Tuipulotu is ahead of him for Scotland, he showed Bath what he offers with strong running, good decision making and a nose for the tryline.

Saracens 65-14 Sale Sharks

Noah Caluori was the headline act with five tries, and while Sam Warburton’s call to get him in the England squad is premature, fans will be very excited to see how he develops. He carried for 233 metres from 18 carries with seven linebreaks and 18 defenders beaten. The secret is out, and it will be indicative to see how other teams handle him because Sale didn’t make a particularly good fist of it.

Tom Willis also impressed and then stole the headlines shortly after fulltime when Saracens announced he would be off to France at the end of the season, a move that effectively ends his England career as of now. It will be interesting to hear why England’s first choice number eight opted for the move two years out from what would be his maiden World Cup.

He wasn’t among the try scorers, but he produced another powerful performance, beating nine defenders, making 18 carries, and three turnovers.

Sale Sharks started well and scored two well worked tries through Bevan Rodd and Rob du Preez to stay in contention at halftime. Tom O’Flaherty’s clumsy yellow card was unfortunate, but Luke Cown Dickie’s high shot on Willis was just lazy technique. They were two of the 11 penalties that Sale conceded and gave Saracens an easy platform to attack from.

Exeter Chiefs 38-0 Harlequins

Welcome to Devon Tom Hooper and Len Ikitau, the weather may be awful for the next few months, but you’ll have a warm welcome. Both started at Sandy Park, and by the time they took their leave together on 66 minutes, the Chiefs fans and Director of Rugby Rob Baxter were pleased with their efforts on a filthy day. Hooper made 14 carries and six tackles, while Ikitau made eight carries, five tackles, and set up Henry Slade for the second of the Chiefs five tries.

Slade showed that it wasn’t all about the new boys. His crosskick set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for the opening try, scored two himself, and landed five conversions and a penalty from the tee. His place in the England training squad is merited, and while Ollie Lawrence is the first choice outside centre, Steve Borthwick has someone ready to step in.

Harlequins couldn’t get to grips with the wet and windy conditions. Marcus Smith kicked straight to touch and slipped over while kicking a penalty, Chandler Cunningham-South went off injured, Cadan Murley and Harry Browne were sin-binned, and the back three were unable to deal with the barrage of high balls that Stephen Varney and Harvey Skinner rained down.

Last weekend’s win over Saracens was impressive, but there are still underlying issues related to Danny Wilson’s departure on the season’s eve.