Exeter still on the up, Wasps feel the noise, Scarlets in nod to Super Rugby and Leigh Halfpenny provides good news for Lions and Richard CockerillThe Premiership semi-final victory over Saracens was another coaching triumph for Rob Baxter and his management team at Sandy Park. It was not so much revenge for last year’s defeat in the final at Twickenham as confirmation that the Chiefs have improved since then, learning from each new experience in their remarkable rise this decade. Saracens have become the most proficient team in Europe at attacking from set pieces, able to create space out wide and score tries, a quality that helped them defeat Munster and Clermont Auvergne in the latter stages of the European...
If the forthcoming final comes anywhere close to matching the level of entertainment in these matches then supporters are guaranteed a cracking gameAssuming both teams can still walk after two truly epic Premiership semi-finals, the English club season is set for a ripper of a Twickenham finale. If the showdown between Exeter Chiefs and Wasps is even half as thrilling as Saturday’s twin peaks it will be a rare treat, even if the significant shoulder injury that has ruled Billy Vunipola out of the Lions tour has now cast a cloud over the latter stages of the domestic season.On paper it will look pretty routine to anyone who missed the games in favour of, say, attending a society wedding: the...
It was as if everything Exeter had been working on for nine months had been distilled into one breezy May afternoon as they ended Saracens’ dream of a ‘double double’With Exeter hosting the Devon county show and the European champions on the same day, this was always going to be a rare weekend in the west. There was probably a similar amount of prime beef on display at both venues and, rugby-wise, the winning rosette ended up pinned on the most popular of local rumps. The Chiefs are going back to Twickenham and this may yet prove the most significant 80 minutes in their history. Related: Exeter into Premiership final as Sam Simmonds stuns Saracens with late try Continue reading...
Wasps and Exeter are the neutrals’ favourites, Leicester the underdogs, while Saracens need to maintain their intensityThere’s always that horrible, sceptical feeling when considering sides high on flair. Wasps have earned the right for us to wish them well as they chase down a first title since the era of Lawrence Dallaglio. Their attack is truly something to behold, layers of runners at any given time, most of whom, certainly among the backs, are capable of taking a turn as playmaker whenever required. It’s incredibly hard to defend against. They’ve averaged more than four tries a game but they’ve also conceded nearly three and more than anyone else in the top seven. Memories of Leinster in Dublin last month still...
Defeat of Clermont in European Champions Cup owed as much to team ethos as individual flair – Mark McCall’s side pulled together when going got toughChris Ashton stumbled slightly when he was asked why he was leaving Saracens for Toulon at the end of the season. The most direct of runners took a circuitous route as he pondered the answer to a question which was inviting him to explain why he was swapping the dominant club in Europe for the one they had supplanted and which was on its third head coach of the campaign.Ashton, like David Strettle two years ago, is not so much leaving Saracens as England, frustrated at his international isolation and two long bans in the...