Week 5: Roundup
Tight Five Team of the Week Round 5!
SALE SHARKS 28 - 22 HARLEQUINS
MOTM: Raffi Quirke
Top Performers: Curry, JL Du Preez
Top Performers: Green, Care
Summary
Sale snapped their 3 game winless streak on Friday night, in doing so, they gave Harlequins their first loss of the season. After mounting serious pressure in the first half the Sharks went into the break up 17-14, however, a Luke Northmore try 10 seconds into the second half threatened to kill all the momentum that Sale had built in the first half. After 3 missed penalties from Kieran Wilkinson, Tom Curtis gave the Sharks a 1 point lead with 4 minutes to go. Raffi Quirke capped off his man of the match performance with a last-minute try to secure the Sharks an important 4 points.
Sharks
This Sale performance was a huge improvement on their last three weeks, both in attack and defence. From the jump Sale looked fired up for this contest, from the get go the Sharks were attacking the Quins tryline. However, for all of their collision dominance, their composure in the Red Zone was an issue. After being unable to capitalize on constant Red Zone possession, Raffi Quirke finally scored the opener after Kieran Wilkinson sent Cobus Wiese through a hole who brilliantly offloaded for Quirke to finish. Raffi Quirke led this attack all game, the man of the match was constantly pushing the pace and testing the defence around the ruck. For much of the second half, it looked as if Sale’s inability to take advantage of their early dominance would come back to bite them. However, with open play attacking chances not being finished, Sale reverted to their set piece and maul to find some success. When it came down to it, Sale won the key moments in this game. Whilst there was much to work on in their open play attacking sets, the set piece and execution late allowed the Sharks to score enough to win this game.
In defence, this was by far the Sharks most spirited performance of the year. Raffi Quirke mentioned after the game that “it was the best physicality we’ve had all season”. Alex Sanderson has his team fired up from minute one, relishing the return of defensive leader Tom Curry and the ever influential Du Preez twins leading the way physically. Their controlled aggression in the contact area continued to force those Quins forwards runners backwards, forcing their backs to play off slow ruck ball. The Sharks attacked the breakdown well and shunted the Quins forwards backwards which didn’t allow Quins to settle into their free flowing attacking sets. Now, whilst the majority of their defence was excellent, a couple of individual mistakes almost cost them this game. The aforementioned mistakes were on show with the Danny Care and Luke Northmore tries. Overall, this defence was very good against arguably the most dangerous attacking side in the league, the return of Tom Curry was no coincidence.
Harlequins
Harlequins’ attack looked clunky for most of this game. Whilst Sale’s defence was immensely physical, there were one too many uncharacteristic errors from Quins. They weren’t able to build phases to break Sale open because the pack couldn’t get any go forward. Their composure in their own half when in possession was also an issue, too many penalties conceded and unforced errors kept putting them under pressure and forcing them to defend. As Sale began to dominate the collision area and not allow Harlequins’ forwards to punch through the gainline (As they normally do so well), Care and Smith couldn’t get the quick ball they crave. Thus, they were pressured into some poor kicking and errors as they tried to force the ball wide too early. However, we still saw the incredible danger that this attack possesses with tries coming from absolutely nowhere. Quins were the second best side for most of the contest but their ability to score from anywhere on the pitch in seconds will always have this team in games, it just wasn’t to be on this occasion.
In defence, Quins absorbed the early onslaught from the Sharks forcing them into early errors. It was clear that the game plan was to chop tackle the big Sale ball runners in order to stop their momentum and give themselves turnover opportunities. However, the defence turned out to , once again, be their achilles heel in this loss. The Sale forwards were far more physical than Quins’, thus, they continued to get over the gainline, putting their defence on the back foot. As well as not being able to win the battle in the tight, their defence got stretched at times. There were holes for Sale to punch through in midfield with Wilkinson pulling the strings and exploiting them. Raffi Quirke constantly sniping and running support lines had a big effect, sucking in players closer to the ruck leaving those spaces out wide.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 13 - 5 BRISTOL BEARS
MOTM: Greg Peterson
Top Performers: George McGuigan, Callum Chick, Mateo Carreras
Top Performers: Kyle Sinckler, Harry Randall
Summary
Newcastle added further misery to Bristol’s poor start to the season, improving their strong start to the season with an 8 point win. In a cagey affair, Newcastle broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a short-range Callum Chick try coming after a period of sustained pressure. With points at a minimum, Harry Randall’s quick tap penalty sparked a magical try for the Bears to open their scoring for the afternoon. Two late Brett Connon penalties eventually sealed the win for the home side who move into 6th place on the ladder and demote Bristol to 12th.
Newcastle
Newcastle’s attack is by no means full of flair, but once again we saw how it was effective in its own way. The Falcons set their stall out early by turning down multiple easy shots at goal, instead, they looked to park themselves in Bristol’s 22 and slowly grind down a defence that has had it’s struggles to start the season. With constant carriers taking the ball into contact at pace, Newcastle’s attacking structure was to use those big forwards to punch holes in the Bristol defence. However, whilst they were applying pressure well and forcing Bristol into giving away penalties, their execution in the Red Zone was a sight for sore eyes. A RZ efficiency of 0.58 underlined the numbers of errors the Falcons had in Bristol’s 22. Nevertheless, this sustained pressure finally reaped it’s reward just before the half-time siren as Callum Chick scored with a pick and go close to the line. With that being Newcastle’s only try of the contest, they needed two late Brett Connon penalties to seal this match.
In defence, Newcastle were once again excellent. Their pack laid down a marker from minute 1 with some big shots planted on the Bears forwards. As Bristol looked to be more direct in their attack, Newcastle needed to front up and not give Bristol the front foot ball they crave. With their defence in the tight working well, they backed it up with excellent defence in the wide channels. As Bristol looked to play expansive rugby, the Falcons contained the Bears wide threats admirably. Mike Brown was excellent in these situations, making key defensive decisions to put an end to any potential Bristol threats. The one sleight on the Falcons defence will be the mental lapses, Harry Randall took full advantage of these individual mistakes with three line breaks, including one leading to Bristol’s only try.
Bears
Bristol’s attack to start the season has been underwhelming to say the least. Their intentions early on were promising, instead of forcing the ball wide early, the Bears attacked in the tight with forwards crashing into the defence to bust through the gainline. Whilst early errors meant they couldn’t turn these attacks into points, this looked like a great blueprint for Bristol to win this game. However, the Bears didn’t stick to this plan for long but instead reverted back to their old ways. As the Bears moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other with lots of out the back passes, the unforced errors started to mount up. The wide attacks were far too easy for Newcastle to defend against, dummy runners did not commit defenders and the ball playing was far too depp making it easy for the Falcons backs to settle in to drift defence. The one shining light in Bristol’s attack was once again Harry Randall. The nifty number 9 threatened around the ruck all game, picking out Newcastle forwards to beat one on one, his sharp penalty tap created Bristol’s only points of the game.
Throughout this contest Bristol’s defence was much improved, conceding 13 points to any Premiership side is no mean feat. The Bears goal line defence was impressive, they forced Newcastle into errors and absorbed the pressure well. Although Bristol defended well for the majority of the game, Pat Lam’s side lost this game through their ill discipline. With 19 penalties conceded, the Bears continuously put themselves under unnecessary pressure and provided Newcastle with constant attacking opportunities. With Newcastle’s 65% territory along with Bristol’s penalty count, conceding only 13 points is testament to the defensive resilience the Bears showed.
WASPS RUGBY 23 - 27 EXETER CHIEFS
MOTM: Sam Simmonds
Top Performers: Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Brad Shields, Tom Willis
Top Performers: Cordero, Cowan-Dickie, Ewers
Summary
An entertaining yet unusual game between Wasps and Exeter. Exeter handed Wasps their first home loss of the season in Coventry. Both sides tested each other outside early on with varying degrees of success in what seemed like a trial and error approach to the match. As the game wore on, Wasps’ persistence wore off and Exeter’s ascendancy was gradually clearer by the final whistle.
Wasps
Wasps have truly shown that they are going to be a tough side to beat at home. They’ve shown that they are a real thorn in the side for their visitors as they stick into games and are so good at punishing mistakes. Their set-piece was once again very strong and conducive to important penalties, especially as the game wore on. Tactically, Wasps attack very flat at the line with forwards running hard off Jacob Umaga. Exeter defenders were forced to make decisions and unsurprisingly Wasps beat 33 Exeters despite only making 4 clean breaks. They also got over the gain line 57% and this all shows the positive attacking sets that Wasps play. In my opinion, they are much stronger with Jimmy Gopperth playing at 12 to give more playmaking threat in the midfield. However, this team is completely orchestrated by Dan Robson from the base of the ruck. 62% of their attack came from 9 and its Robson’s ability to make a semi-dart and pick the right runner that helps Wasps’ forwards make half-breaks. Whilst this has been a positive all season and was once again against it also highlights an area for concern for Wasps. Despite Wasps possessing an electric scoring ability from broken-play, they really struggled to convert these dominant attacking stats into any real pressure and especially tries.
Despite their attacking notoriety, Wasps’ winning chances have been largely dependent on their work on the defensive end. Wasps have been very good in defence, dominating collisions and making the breakdown a real constant contest. They had an 89% tackle success rate with just 42% of possession of the ball. They got through a lot of work in the tight and made 6 turnovers. In fact, their back row made 70 of the 251 team tackles, exemplifying the outstanding and resilient defensive effort that Wasps put on display. However, they could not hold Exeter out for long enough, and predictably, if you give Exeter too many go’s you’ll crack. Defensively, their biggest flaw was their ill-discipline which was mainly a consequence of Exeter’s relentless pressure in the Wasps 22. Exeter amounted a whopping 53 phases in the Wasps Red Zone, so credit really must be given to Wasps for their goal line D. Overall, it didn’t feel as though they lost this game on the defensive end because they kept in striking distance and if they had managed a bit more success offensively they could have come away with the win.
Chiefs
Exeter are back to winning ways but they’ve shown that this season will have a match larger learning curve, as they have a lot of quality but still a lot of work-ons. In attack, they looked relentless for much of this game but it was their own unforced errors that kept them squandering well-constructed opportunities. Their Red Zone composure was not good enough, but credit must also be given to Wasps’ goal-line defence.
In open play, Exeter’s attacking sets were well structured, very deep and with lots of out the back plays but with lots of running options. They can do this because of their ability to retain the ball so well. However, at times, especially at the beginning of this game, their desire to go lateral early was shunned by Wasps’ line speed. To enact this game plan it is imperative that they first get good go-forward to keep the opposition’s defensive line honest. Once they did get the go-forward they were so effective at going out the back because they retain the ball at the ruck effectively and pounce on any defensive lapse in the process. The Slade try being a perfect example of how their ruck retention, even in sticky situations, turns disorganized play into an attacking opportunity. Despite their errors, their offloading throughout the game was class. They keep the ball alive when they can and they always have plenty of support runners.
On the other side of the ball is where Exeter are still far away from their typical best. They have looked questionable at times on the defensive end this season and this game was no different. Individual decision-making on defensive reads has been sub-par and they have made some tactical errors too. They allow themselves to get stretched a bit too much and their one-on-one tackling has suffered greatly, with just a 77% tackle success rate. Not up to the high standards that Rob Baxter has typically kept this side. Nonetheless, it must be said that their ability to scramble and avoid conceding tries is still second to none. Despite their poor defensive success rate they only allowed Wasps 4 clean breaks and a 1.00 RZ efficiency. Their discipline was similarly exceptional giving just 12 penalties away in the whole game, with X of them coming from scrum time.
WORCESTER WARRIORS 3 - 48 LEICESTER TIGERS
MOTM:
Top Performers:
Top Performers: Genge, Van Staden, Ford, Potter, Nadolo
Summary
Leicester continued their scintillating form and put Worcester through their paces very comfortably. Leicester’s powerful ball-carrying and Worcester’s wavering defence proved too much at Sixways. The clinical accuracy that Leicester displayed in both attack and defence is what is quickly making them one of the toughest teams to beat and serious contenders. Worcester’s promising start to the season is already and rapidly fading. The injury to Owen Williams a fortnight ago seems to have harmed their fluidity and structure. They’ll be back at the drawing board after being beaten in every facet of the game by an in-form Tigers side.
Warriors
Worcester were beaten by the better side quite comfortably, however, they could not be faulted for their effort. Offensively they could not find the go-forward nor creativity to get past Leicester’s line speed, resorting to kicking away 64% of their own possession. Their inability to keep hold of possession and put pressure on the Tigers defence was what ultimately cost them. Not having Willi Heinz and Owen Williams to orchestrate their offensive ranks has hurt Worcester’s ability to play in the right areas.
As Worcester could not hold possession effectively, they gave the Tigers too many chances. The Warriors struggled to exit their own half, making them vulnerable to Leicester’s defensive and offensive pressure. Most of Leicester’s attack was launched off of set-piece or structured opportunities well within Worcester’s half. As the Tigers were parked in Worcester’s territory for most of the match, the Warriors defence could not absorb 80 minutes of Leicester go-forward.
Tigers
The Tigers attack was built around their ball carriers making strong carries. Their combination between dynamic ball-carriers, a varied kicking game and their set-piece domination made their attack virtually unstoppable for Worcester. Not only did the Tigers get constant gainline success and incredible 68% of the time, but Ford’s kicking game kept Worcester’s defensive line honest, especially at the beginning of the game. Ford combined a series of short grubbers and chips, cross-field kicks and deep kicks down the middle making sure that every time Worcester tried to blitz the Tigers they’d be marched back. Potter led most of the kick chases effectively but also Nadolo on the other wing caused havoc getting on the end of a few kicks and offloading effectively. Subsequently, Worcester’s inability to halt Leicester’s tigers early made them relish a game played almost entirely on the front foot. In fact, the only thing that stopped Leicester from piling more points was their own inaccuracy in the Red Zone. The only question for Leicester’s attack is can they be as effective when they are met physically and do not have such constant gainline success - something that has not happened yet this season bar the Saracens game.
Defensively, Leicester put very little pressure on at the ruck and instead focused on quick line speed and dominating collisions. They did this to great effect against Worcester making 92% of their tackles, and conceding just 4 clean breaks. Rather than challenging the breakdown for turnover, they focused more on generating mistakes from their opposition or running them out of options. This was spearheaded by their Red Zone defence, which was outstanding. Worcester made 41 phases inside the Tigers RZ but had nothing to show for it. The Tigers’ togetherness, communication and organisational speed around the ruck was really polished and it led Worcester to run out of ideas on many occasions. Furthermore, their set-piece was squeaky clean, 100% from both scrum and lineout, giving them security in their exits and tactical kicking situations.
BATH RUGBY 17 - 71 SARACENS
MOTM: Max Malins
Top Performers: None
Top Performers: Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell
Summary
It is difficult to paint a picture that shows any glimpse of positivity for Bath. There are no silver linings for Stuart Hooper’s side, and if anything, the score is less of a reflection of how this game went because they were never in it. Saracens outplayed them in every facet of the game, physically, tactically, desire and most glaringly, skill. Bath have talked about coming into the season and being ‘brave’ and unleashing a free-flowing attack but they have seemingly forgotten that there are important stepping stones that need to be met before you can play flamboyant rugby. Saracens, on the other hand, do not need to be taught this lesson as they are so accurate, motivated and functional in taking teams apart. The beauty of Saracens is that they dismantle teams in the same way when they win a 12-9 slog or, as in this case, a 17-71 massacre.
Bath
Bath made too many mistakes, and their inability to string together phases consistently is what makes them so vulnerable. Bath have discussed playing attacking rugby, but to do so you must first lay a platform, getting quality ball to your playmakers and putting the opposition defence under pressure. Bath hardly tried to do this to Saracens, aimlessly carrying without any real intent and their ruck retention was so average because of it. There was no vision and purpose in their attack and that’s what made them eventually make errors. Despite their tactical dilemma, this team has a lot of talent, and it showed at times. They still managed 11 clean breaks and beat 26 Saracens defenders, however, this makes it all the more worrying that an ‘attacking’ side like Bath with all those breaks only converted 3 of those opportunities into tries. They had 1 phase less than Sarries in the Red Zone yet scored 54 points less. This stat really highlights their principal issue: they can’t score off structured attacking sets. The carries look aimless and individualistic, they make far too many errors and anytime they do make a break they are vulnerable to a turnover because their ruck retention is bang average.
On the other side of the ball, the story is even darker. Bath continued their terrible tackle success rate with just 81% of tackles made. Their defence looks somewhat fine until teams start piling pressure on them, and they eventually succumb giving away soft tries. You wonder if there's a lack of effort and resilience at times. As Saracens had the same tackle success rate, the same number of defenders beaten and a similar number of clean breaks conceded in this match. Yet the North Londoners scramble defence and counter-rucking when under pressure was decisive and effective. Billy Vunipola covering 30 metres in a broken play before chopping a galloping Jonathan Joseph in his tracks demonstrates both the skill and effort that their opposition had, eventually resulting in a Saracens penalty soon after.
Alongside Bath’s poor defence they also had poor discipline and a nightmare at the set-piece. One of the sacrosanct pillars of simple rugby is stay disciplined and win your set-piece, Bath managed neither against the side notorious for punishing sinners. Bath gave away 17 penalties, 6 of which in attack, a real coach and momentum killer. Lastly, their set-piece, if you’re sensitive to grim imagery look away now, Bath only won 33% of their own scrum and 79% of their line-out. I won’t delve further, I struggle to envision any team winning a game with that kind of inefficiency at their own set-piece.
Saracens
Saracens attack was everything that Bath’s was not. Direct, purposeful and with lots of support runners to clean out the next ruck. Their attacking sets were so good, Farrell and Co plan their attack in advance, with everyone knowing what will happen five phases onwards. Their ball retention at the ruck is second to none. Not only do they not give their opponents a sniff of a turnover, Bath only managed three throughout the match, but their ruck speed is also so quick that their attack thrives off of it. In addition to their quick ruck speed, they have lots of support runners picking great angles with intent. They also have both the kicking game as well as the runners to punish teams once they are on the back foot. Sarries did exactly that, they battered their way forward and then all of their tries were a consequence of either a well-constructed attack or as a result of their water-tight defence. Their red zone efficiency was off the charts, though some of that can be attributed to Bath’s porous defence, and overall their ability to win the small battles over the park cannot be represented in statistics but is clear to anyone watching this beast operate.
In fact, despite scoring 10 tries and registering 71 points Saracens were typically destructive on the defensive end. They are the masters of making their defensive structure their first point of attack and they make opposition sides doubt themselves and fret into panic. From there, Sarries' tails point up and they relish on errors made by their opposition. Saracens’ defence did exactly that to Bath. Shunning Bath backwards, absorbing their attack easily (especially inside their own 22) and challenging the breakdown effectively. They do this by defending the ruck extremely well, their communication is quality and they all fulfil their various roles to a tee. Their discipline was not perfect as they were forced to scramble a number of times. However, their scramble was excellent and conceding penalties becomes less of an issue when you’re up 45 at the break and your set-piece and goal-line defence is impenetrable.
LONDON IRISH 25 - 25 GLOUCESTER
MOTM: Ben Morgan
Top Performers: Ollie Hassell-Collins, Issac Curtis-Harris, Curtis Rona
Top Performers: Val Rapava-Ruskin, Freddie Clarke, Chris Harris
Summary
The Brentford Community Stadium has an aura about it, yet again we saw another high scoring, tight affair. This draw is now the second of London Irish’s season, both of which were at the BC Stadium. In the Exiles search for their first win of the season, they put together a dominant first half with 80% possession and quadrupled the carry count of their opposition. However, unforced errors and ill-discipline in their own half saw only an 8 point halftime lead for all their efforts. The story of this game was the Exiles inability to capitalise on the possession and territorial dominance, whilst Gloucester took the chances they were given.
Irish
Irish’s attack in this game was a mixed bag. Early on, it looked very sharp with forwards carrying at pace and recycling the ball well throughout sustained periods of attack. As there were multiple options around the ball and dummy runners were selling their lines well, Gloucester’s defence was constantly being asked questions. The Creevy and Curtis-Harris tries early came as a result of the continued pressure the Exiles were able to build. London Irish had 183 carries in the contest, gaining 601 metres and 49 defenders beaten! On the flip side, for a team with the amount of possession and territory that Irish had, they needed to put this game to bed early. Compounding errors around the Red Zone throughout the match kept Gloucester in the game, particularly when Gloucester took the half chances they got. The disallowed Ben Loader try from a simple forward pass in the first half compared to the Rees-Zammit 90 metre intercept try in the second half was the difference, Irish couldn’t take full advantage of their dominance and Gloucester pounced when they were given the chance.
The old adage of ‘Attack is the best form of defence’ rung true for the Exiles in this contest. With 80% possession in the first half and 60% in the match, there weren’t many occasions in which London Irish were forced to defend against multiple phases. Instead, they were made to defend against broken play which they did well for the majority of the match. None of Gloucester’s 3 tries in this game came through breaking down the Irish defence or individual defensive errors or even attacking brilliance from the Cherry & Whites. Instead, two tries came from the potent Gloucester maul and the last came from a 90-metre Rees-Zammit interception. After the first 30 minutes, London Irish’s ill-discipline in their own half gifted Gloucester unearned opportunities throughout the match. Two Adam Hastings penalties from near halfway and two more that gave Gloucester maul opportunities from short-range accounted for 18 Gloucester points. Whilst the maul defence will need to be improved, this defensive performance was very solid overall and wasn’t what ultimately cost them their first win of the season.
Gloucester
This Gloucester attacking performance didn’t encompass the typical ‘joue’ style of play we have been used to. It was clear from the jump that Gloucester didn’t want to play out of their own half, Ben Meehan’s box kicking was instead put into action. With only 40% of possession, the Cherry and Whites didn’t really build any strong attacking sets. Instead, they defended for the majority of the match and took chances given to them to keep them in the contest. As the second half came around, Gloucester started to introduce their powerful maul game. Over recent weeks, the men from the South West have used their maul as a serious weapon, this game was no different. Two Ben Morgan tries directly from the maul were the attacking highlights for Gloucester in this contest. The important Rees-Zammit intercept try was the only other notable attacking feature.
We’re beginning to see a shift in style from Gloucester. Over recent seasons, the Cherry and Whites have played expansive rugby but in doing so sacrificed their defence. However, George Skivington’s men are turning a corner in this aspect. After a monster defensive performance last week, particularly in the tight, we saw another impressive display. Now on the surface conceding 25 points wouldn’t normally please defensive coaches, but considering the amount of possession and territory London Irish amassed, 25 points is a great effort. The sustained attacks London Irish mounted throughout were met well with good defence for the most part, their scramble D, in particular, kept them in this game. Between the back five of the scrum, a monstrous 97 tackles were made, not to mention Chris Harris’ 19 tackles in midfield. For a game in which they were dominated, their effort and scramble in defence was excellent once again.