Ashton puts himself in World Cup shop window
Two former England right-wings were on the field at Wembley, but while Marland Yarde’s career has faltered since his move from London Irish to Harlequins, Chris Ashton is flourishing for Saracens as he continues to score and create tries. He was 28 on Sunday and after 38 caps, should be at the peak of his international career, but he has not featured in Test rugby since last summer and only injuries would appear to give him a chance of featuring in the World Cup, even though the right-wing position is anything but nailed down. Ashton has been cast adrift by England mainly because of his perceived tendency to go wandering in defence, but in a World Cup squad of 31 he would offer finishing power against the weaker teams in a group including Wales and Australia that may come down to points difference. Ashton looked sharp and focused against Harlequins at Wembley on Saturday, scoring two tries, and with Saracens competing on two fronts going into the final straight of the season, he will be back in the shop window. Paul Rees
• Match report: Saracens 42-14 Harlequins
Home turf should ensure Newcastle survival
Newcastle Falcons play on a plastic pitch nowadays and it makes for a better spectacle at Kingston Park. But Newcastle are never the same side when they leave the north-east which is why, 20 years after being in the vanguard of professional clubs in England, they will struggle again next season. Saturday’s defeat at London Irish was a case in point. The Falcons were competitive until the final whistle but lost again and Dean Richards’ complaints about the referee Greg Garner were a bit of a smokescreen to cover his team’s failings against a side who have also had a modest season. Worcester should be promoted this season despite their recent blip in losing to Jersey and they have recruited heavily recently to help ensure they do not suffer the fate of London Welsh if they do go up. If they do, their encounters with Newcastle could be decisive. Newcastle have more attacking intent nowadays – backs such as Chris Harris and Sinoti Sinoti are a handful for any defence – but the Falcons need to improve if Richards is to justify his new three-year contract. Ian Malin
• Match report: London Irish 22-21 Newcastle
Leicester’s defence still up there with the best
Leicester and Exeter almost fought themselves to a standstill at Welford Road and one statistic stood out other than Freddie Burns’ immaculate goal-kicking of 20 points. Exeter must have known their afternoon was a losing cause when they went through 27 phases of attacking play in the first half and failed to force their way through a Leicester defence which is one of the best in the Premiership. As Richard Cockerill, Leicester’s director of rugby, said with a chuckle afterwards, his team may not have scored many tries this season (26 in the Premiership) – and only London Welsh (23) have scored fewer – but their defence is among the best. Tigers have conceded 33 tries in the Premiership this season, which is only matched by Bath. Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, admitted Welford Road remained just about the hardest place to play in the competition. “I’m delighted we have gained a losing bonus point and scored those two tries in the second half. We learned something from our afternoon,” was his parting shot. Rob Wildman
• Match report: Leicester 25-18 Exeter
North should make his health a priority
Everyone in rugby wishes George North well following his third concussion in seven weeks. Hopefully common-sense will prevail and he will take his time before returning to the field. Despite the looming European quarter-finals, the overwhelming priority has to be his long-term career. It is also easy to sympathise with Nathan Hughes, whose red card for making inadvertent contact with North’s head was distinctly harsh. Saints may well have gone on to win the game anyway but any realistic chance of Wasps holding on to their lead against the Premiership front-runners effectively disappeared with him. Dai Young will not want to face Toulon this Sunday without his forceful number eight. Robert Kitson
• Premiership match report: Northampton 52-30 Wasps
• North advised not to play again this season
Bath bank on returning England stars finding fluency to thwart Leinster
Bath’s decision not to play their England players who featured in the recent Six Nations means they will face Leinster on Saturday in the Champions Cup quarter-final in Dublin with a combination not used since the end of January. Bath have wobbled in the meantime, recovering from a run of three successive Premiership defeats with victories over Sale and London Welsh that showed little of the fluency that had taken them to second in the table and prompted a remarkable comeback in their European group. However their head coach, Mike Ford, decided that rested players, especially with a six-day turnaround, would be more useful than those weary in mind and body. Bath’s foundations remain in place, even without their first-choice props, and they will have a go at a Leinster side that have spluttered more than fired all season. Paul Rees
• Match report: London Welsh 14-29 Bath
Clever buying steers Sale towards Europe’s top table
Steve Diamond, the director of rugby, will not admit it – or at least not in public – but Sale are in with a sniff of a semi-final. More realistically, the side with a habit of buying well, are looking for a seat at Europe’s top table after comfortably beating Gloucester, a team who have spent a lot of money on getting to ninth in the league. Mike Averis
• Match report: Sale 23-6 Gloucester
