The men’s Six Nations might be over but another decisive period looms for the club game, on and off the field. After the self-imposed famine – never before has the top English professional league voluntarily gone into mid-season hibernation for eight weeks – the next aim is to deliver a springtime feast of Premiership rugby as appetising as the national team’s last two outings against Ireland and France.
With a run-in of six regular season rounds still to play and just a handful of points separating the seven clubs between second and eighth vying for a place in the top four, some tasty basic ingredients are already in place. But there is also a whole other dimension involved, neatly articulated this week by Harlequins’ progressive chief executive, Laurie Dalrymple. “We’re coming out of a really positive Six Nations,” said Dalrymple, before Quins’ big London “derby” against Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “From an English perspective if we don’t harness that feelgood factor and take it into the club game then we’ve dropped the ball.”
How many such fumbles have there been in the past 20-odd years, from financial meltdowns and Covid disruption to salary cap sagas and club v country score settling? How many other businesses, already faced with a shortfall in matchday income as a consequence of a slimmed down 10-club league, would respond by shutting up shop – the odd friendly apart – at the precise time of year its product is at its most nationally visible? “Rugby union is brilliant at killing itself,” was the pithy verdict delivered this week by Newcastle’s director of rugby, Steve Diamond.
Now would be a good time, then, for the sport to look up from its navel and commit to showing the very best of itself over the next 11 weeks. If the weather vaguely plays ball by firming the pitches up and encouraging teams to give it a major rip, some genuine treats should lie in store. About 60,000 fans are expected to attend Satur Sarries-Quins showdown, underlining once again that if club rugby is presented as fun and accessible then an audience will come to see it. Owen Farrell v Marcus Smith is only one of many delicious subplots.
Leaders Northampton saw their six-game unbeaten run in the Premiership come to a grinding halt as Bristol demolished them 52-21. Saints still top the table but their return after an eight-week break for the Six Nations went badly wrong.
The visitors could have no complaints about a first league defeat since November as Bristol lock Joe Batley and scrum-half Harry Randall scored in an early points burst. Kyle Sinckler, James Dun, Gabriel Ibitoye, Max Malins and Fred Davies all scored in the second half with AJ MacGinty adding six conversions and a penalty.
The Bears' victory kept them in with a fighting chance of reaching the play-offs, but it was a night to forget for Northampton, whose points came via two Ollie Sleightholme tries, a Jake Garside touchdown and three Fin Smith conversions. PA Media
Leicester 25-27 Gloucester
Stephen Varney's late try helped Gloucester get the better of Leicester for a second Friday night in a row as they secured a dramatic 27-25 victory, seven days after beating the Tigers in the Premiership Rugby Cup final.
Gloucester scored the game's first try after 29 minutes when Zach Mercer powered through. Santiago Carreras added the conversion and quickly extended the visitors' lead to 10-3 with a penalty. The Argentinian then found Chris Harris, who broke a tackle to score Gloucester's second try.
Tommy Reffell's try off the back of a driving maul cut the gap to 18-7 at half-time, and Leicester continued the fightback through Solomone Kata after the break. Jasper Wiese got a third score from the Tigers' rolling maul, before Jamie Shillcock burst clear and put Leicester in front.
It looked like the hosts had snatched a comeback victory but Italy scrum-half Varney collected Seb Blake's offload and ran 40 metres to set up Carreras for the match-winning conversion. PA Media
So let’s set to one side, for now, the continuing negotiations over the crucial new Professional Game Partnership deal – the latest deadline for finalising the Championship structure and the outlook for promotion and relegation etc is mid-April – and some clubs’ wince-inducing balance sheets. Instead, it is time to dig deep into the recesses of the memory to recall who was looking half decent when the music abruptly stopped in late January, not least Northampton, who were seven points ahead of the field after 12 rounds.
Three more wins from their last half-dozen fixtures, with a light dusting of bonus points, should be sufficient to keep the chasing pack at bay particularly once their international contingent are all back. The other three semi-final spots, though, will be decided by fleeting micro-moments and the freshness of certain important players. Will Bath, for example, welcome back a knackered Finn Russell or a revitalised matchwinner? Their next four opponents are Sale, Quins, Exeter and Saracens: they may well have to beat two of them – they have Sale and Sarries at home – to make the playoff cut.
Saracens, with some imminent big-name departures to distract them, must travel to Northampton, Bath and Bristol. In theory they should be top-four certainties but securing a home semi will require a serious upturn. Exeter? Their rebuild is progressing nicely but it is entirely possible they will have to beat Leicester away on the final day to make the playoffs. Before that they must deal with a freshly motivated Newcastle at Sandy Park, with Diamond adamant the bottom-placed Falcons will collect at least one victory in their remaining games. Not only are new contracts on the line but, if they win this weekend, Diamond has promised to dip into his own pocket for the squad to stay overnight and celebrate in Devon.
Sale? Last year they made the final but even four wins from their final six games may not be enough to gatecrash the top six. Perhaps the vital determining factor in the whole equation, though, are the mighty Quins. They have been working hard out in the Algarve and retain a handy mix of youth and experience. Players such as Oscar Beard have been exposed to the England environment and have returned with soaring confidence; Louis Lynagh is now a capped Test player with Italy and has yet to taste defeat in a blue jersey.
Smith, Danny Care, André Esterhuizen, Tyrone Green, Nick David, Cadan Murley … outscoring Quins is not going to be easy. Unless, of course, somebody like Saracens can shut them down at source as they did so splendidly in their 38-10 demolition job at the Stoop in November. Whether it is the outstanding Puma Juan Martín González, Scotland’s Andy Christie, Samoa’s Theo McFarland or the France-bound Billy Vunipola, Sarries have the back-row beef to stop anybody in their tracks.
Fri 22 Mar
Bristol Bears v Northampton (7.45pm)
Leicester Tigers v Gloucester (7.45pm)
Sat 23 Mar
Exeter v Newcastle Falcons (3pm)
Saracens v Harlequins (3.05pm)
Sun 24 Mar
Bath v Sale Sharks (3pm )
Fri 29 Mar
Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers (7.45pm)
Northampton v Saracens (7.45pm)
Sat 30 Mar
Gloucester v Bristol Bears (3pm)
Harlequins v Bath (3.05pm)
Sun 31 Mar
Sale v Exeter (3pm)
Sat 20 Apr
Saracens v Gloucester (3pm)
Northampton v Leicester (3.05pm)
Exeter v Bath (5.30pm)
Sun 21 Apr
Bristol v Newcastle (3pm)
Sale v Harlequins (3pm)
Fri 26 Apr
Bath v Saracens (7.45pm)
Sat 27 Apr
Leicester v Bristol (3pm(
Harlequins v Northampton (3.05pm)
Sun 28 Apr
Gloucester v Exeter (3pm)
Newcastle v Sale (3pm)
Fri 10 May
Newcastle v Bath (7.45pm)
Sale v Leicester (7.45pm)
Sat 11 May
Bristol v Saracens (3.05pm)
Northampton v Gloucester (3.05pm)
Exeter v Harlequins (5.30pm)
Sat 18 May
Bath v Northampton (3.05pm)
Gloucester v Newcastle (3.05pm)
Harlequins v Bristol (3.05pm)
Leicester v Exeter (3.05pm)
Saracens v Sale (3.05pm)
So stand by for some Tottenham fireworks, with the winning side my tip to join Northampton as home semi-finalists and, in doing so, assist with Dalrymple’s wish for the club game to win over more neutrals and to “raise all boats” commercially. “There is so much about this sport at club level that’s really positive. It’s about focusing in on some of the things we do exceptionally well and getting a growing audience behind that. If we don’t really deliver on our growing level of popularity and increased interest we’ll have wasted an opportunity,” he said. No pressure, lads.
