Rafters goes three of five

Premiership round seventeen results

Friday, February 17

Bristol Bears (11) host Newcastle Falcons (9)

Rafters’ Prediction: Falcons best Bristol by ten.

Result: Rafters couldn’t have been more wrong on this call, and is left wondering what happened to the Newcastle team that beat Sale in round thirteen and soundly stomped the Chiefs in round fifteen. Where ever they went, they didn’t show up in Bristol on Friday night. The win lifts the Bears from the bottom of the table to ninth place, leapfrogging both Newcastle and Bath who slip to tenth and eleventh respectively .

Bristol Bears 30
Newcastle Falcons 12

Gloucester Rugby (5) host Harlequins (6)

Rafters’ Prediction:  Gloucester by ten and a bonus point.

Result: Harlequins extends their losing streak to five and continues their descent down the table. Rafters was thinking about calling this one the most exciting match of the weekend but the Saints/Sale match put an end to that notion.

Both teams cycled the ball quickly when needed and played physical defense, and the Quins did not look like the weary team Rafters described in last weeks prediction. In the end, it came down to an early second half missed conversion. The loss drops Harlequins to seventh and Gloucester moves up one to  forth.

Gloucester Rugby 28
Harlequins 26

Saturday, February 18

Bath Rugby (10) host London Irish (7)

Rafters’ Prediction: Bonus point win to Irish.

Result: London Irish continue a steady climb from the cellar of Premiership standings. At the end of round seven the points differential had them at twelfth in the rankings below Wasps and Newcastle. Since a heartbreaking loss to Harlequins in November, the Exiles have been on a mission, winning five of their last seven, and until this weekend, they were the only team to beat the Saracens. London Irish are two points back from playoff contention, and Bath’s poor performance drops them to eleventh.

Bath Rugby 10
London Irish 25

Northampton Saints (4) host Sale Sharks (2)

Rafters’ Prediction: Northampton wins a close one at home.

Result: It didn’t look all that close to begin with though the final score might indicate otherwise. In a seventeen point comeback, the Saints, the team with the most obnoxious fight song in the Premiership, continue to prove themselves a contender.

A score with less than four minutes remaining put them in the lead for the first time, and they held on to earn a bonus point win over Sale. Despite the loss, Sale easily held onto second place, seven points out of first and twelve points ahead of Northampton who moved into third.

Unfortunately, the real story of the Game is the future of Sale’s Manu Tuilangi. Some media outlets in the UK are predicting a disciplinary hearing and a possible four to five game ban for the elbow he threw into the neck and jaw of Tommy Freeman early in the match against Northampton.

Such a decision would put an end to any possibility of his return to the Six Nations for England in 2023. There is no doubt that it was a clear red card offense, and Tuilangin knew it.

Ironically, commentators attributed the hit to a zeal to prove his worth to England coach Steve Borthwick rather than malicious, which is likely the case. But Tuilangi’s poor choice likely cost Sale the game, and will surely cost him much more.

Northampton Saints 38
Sale Sharks 34

Sunday, February 19

Leicester Tigers (8) host Saracens (1)

Rafters’ Prediction: Saracens take the win on the road.

Result: The Saracens surely felt the loss of their international stars their second loss of the season. With a seven point lead in the standings over second-place Sale and a comfortable nineteen point lead over the next contender.

Saracens’ second stringers played the tigers tough, but could not over come Exeter’s stingy defense despite maintaining around seventy percent of possession in the second half.

Leicester Tigers 24
Saracens 18

Exeter Chiefs (3) - Bye

Afters

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Fine Print

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