Round 21 of the Aviva Premiership saw victories for Exeter Chiefs, Sale Sharks, Bath, Northampton Saints, Gloucester and Leicester Tigers. Here are my Top 5 Talking Points after Round 21.
5 Talking Points after Round 21 of the Aviva Premiership
1: Salvi Signs for Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs have pulled off a major coup with the signing of Leicester Tigers player Julian Salvi. The Australian openside flanker has signed a two year deal with the Chiefs and will join current Tigers player Geoff Parling at Sandy Park next season.
This is a sensational signing for the Chiefs as Salvi has been one of the best players in the Aviva Premiership for the last number of seasons. Salvi will be a massive loss to Leicester as he has arguably been their best player this year and has been key to their recent return to form.
Speaking about his move to Exeter Salvi said: “Exeter is a club on the rise and you can see from their results and performances this season, they are a formidable outfit within the Premiership and Europe. What they have achieved since coming out of the Championship has been outstanding and each year they continue to improve.”
2: Bath Secure Home Playoff Semi Final with Victory at Quins
Mike Ford’s Bath side sewed up 2nd place and a home semi-final after a one point victory against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop. The win came courtesy of a superb second half from Bath with tries coming from Horacio Agulla and Leroy Houston.
Like so often this season for Bath, George Ford was instrumental in everything his team created. His influence is growing with every game and England fans should be excited by the player he is becoming ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Bath will back themselves against any opposition at home and likewise not many teams will fancy the prospect of travelling to face a red hot Rec. They have only lost once at home in the Aviva Premiership this season and will expect to keep it that way this weekend when Gloucester visit.
3: Playoff Watch: Leicester Tigers roar is back while Exeter Chiefs stun Saracens at Allianz Park
Leicester produced a stunning display to gain a five point victory over Wasps in front of a record breaking crowd of 32,019 at the Ricoh Arena. Adam Thompstone’s try with nine minutes remaining proved to be the key score but the Tigers hero was Julian Salvi. His huge hit in the game’s final play on James Haskell was earth shattering.
Exeter Chiefs shocked the entire Premiership after their stunning away win over Saracens. However it was no shock that it was Thomas Waldrom got the winning try with ten minutes remaining. All three teams vying for the two remaining playoff places are separated by one solitary point thanks the Exeter’s win.
This weekend is D Day for the Chiefs, Saracens and the Tigers. Exeter welcome Sale Sharks to Sandy Park. Saracens travel to London Welsh while Leicester welcome Northampton Saints to Welford Road in the game of the weekend.
4: Four in the Running for Director of Rugby of the Season Award
The Guinness Director of Rugby of the Season Award nominees have been announced and it is no surprise who the candidates are. Jim Mallinder (Northampton Saints), Mike Ford (Bath), Dai Young (Wasps) and Rob Baxter (Exeter Chiefs).
All four have obviously done superb jobs this season but in my opinion the award should go to either Young or Baxter. Dai Young has done an incredibly well in bringing Wasps so close to the playoffs and making the team genuine contenders for the top 4 again.
At the start of the season it looked like Exeter Chiefs were unlikely to challenge the top players in the Premiership but Rob Baxter has done a sensational job revitalising them this term. Either one of them would be worth winners of the prestigious award.
5: Game of the Weekend: Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
This is the most intriguing game involving any of the three teams vying for the final two playoff places. Northampton have nothing to play for in this game while a Leicester win would guarantee them a playoff semi-final place for the 11th consecutive year.
Despite this being a dead rubber from the Saints point of view, they will want to finish their league season on a high note. There is no question that they will want to see off such a successful playoff team like Leicester and will be hoping to add to their recent good record against the Tigers.
Leicester’s future is clear going into the game. Win and they are in the playoffs, lose and their faith is depends on other team’s results. One of the striking images from the win at Wasps was how emotional Leicester’s Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill got at the end of the game. Few would be surprised to see any more if his side get a win this weekend.
