Premiership Round 16 Team of the Week: Leicester Tigers trio star in huge win over Sale Sharks

By Charlie Elliott

Round 16 of the Premiership saw plenty of changes to both the table and the optimism of some fans, as now the race for the top four is heating up. 

Leicester Tigers produced a stunning second-half performance to beat Sale Sharks 44-24 at Welford Road and all but secure their spot in the top four, with real hopes of a home semi-final. 

It leaves Sale on the brink, and with a huge game against Bristol Bears coming up for them, they may drop out of the top four completely. 

Gloucester slipped up against Harlequins, taking their destiny effectively out of their own hands. 

Overall, it was an interesting weekend with a mix of teams with all to play for, alongside teams experimenting as a result of knowing their fate already for this season. 

Here is Charlie Elliott’s Team of the Week from an entertaining weekend. 

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15 Marcus Smith (Harlequins) 

Marcus Smith actually played at his native fly-half position in Quins’ 38-19 win over Gloucester, but gets into this team at fullback given that there were a couple of number tens who stood out and Smith has previously played at 15. 

Following a tough season, the recent British and Irish Lions call-up looked revitalised following the news on Thursday that he would be a part of the travelling squad to Australia. 

He did the basics to an extremely high level in this game, continually disrupting the defence and making the right decisions at the right time. 

A player renowned for his flashiness and individual quality, he showed another side to his game against the Cherry and Whites. 

14 Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester Tigers) 

Hassell-Collins got himself a brace of tries in Tigers’ massive 44-34 home win over Sale Sharks, which all but secures their status in the top four and could even mean a home semi-final. 

The winger had his best moment when he caught a Handre Pollard crossfield kick on the halfway line, took on George Ford with ease and slid over the line. 

At that time, Tigers were 10 points down, and that try halved the deficit, swinging the momentum right in the favour of Michael Cheika‘s side. 

13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears) 

Yes, Janse van Rensburg did get an early yellow for a bad tackle, but aside from that, he was outstanding in Bristol’s 36-14 win over Bath. 

He set the tone early on with a crunching tackle, which was a statement of intent that the Bears were going to do all that they could to put an end to their poor recent form, which they did. 

On the ball, he provided a beautiful pass for Rich Lane to finish off, which came during a typical Pat Lam free-flowing attacking move. 

12 Paul Brown-Bampoe (Exeter Chiefs) 

Okay, Brown-Bampoe is out of position here and was actually on the wing, but no 12s hugely stood out, and there were a few good performances on the wing, so he slots in slightly out of position here. 

Chiefs may have won 42-14 against Northampton Saints, but given that Saints put out a second-string team, the result looks less impressive. 

Following a poor season, Chiefs look to lack confidence, with Brown-Bampoe the only player who truly looked like he was expressing himself in this game. 

Two tries and generally quality play, he can hold his head high and is one to watch for the future. 

11 Cadan Murley (Harlequins) 

Any player who manages to score a hat-trick of tries pretty much guarantees themselves a spot in the Team of the Week, and Murley did just that against Gloucester. 

His second try of the game, which was also his 50^th Premiership try, was his best, with the winger finding a great line to breach the defence and dot down between the posts. 

Also showing a finishing side to his game with his other two, Murley was a thorn in Gloucester’s side all afternoon at Twickenham. 

10 Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) 

Handre Pollard and George Ford had a proper fly-half battle in Tigers v Sale, with the South African coming out on top overall. 

It ebbed and flowed between the two, but Pollard’s composure was one of the key reasons that his side ran out as winners. 

A beautiful crossfield kick, which Ollie Hassell-Collins finished off, was his best moment, and his boot produced plenty of magic beyond that. 

From the tee, he didn’t look fazed, and his first-half penalties kept them in the game. 

9 Harry Randall (Bristol Bears) 

Randall was the best of a relatively unremarkable group of scrum-halves this weekend, with a lot of solid performances but no huge standout. 

The Bears man was lively and created plenty of chances, many of which unfortunately weren’t finished thanks to some very impressive Bath defending. 

Pacey and purposeful, he made a lot of metres with the ball in hand. 

1 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears) 

Genge put in a typical Genge performance, bringing energy and power to the front row, whilst also trying to rattle the opposition. 

It worked, and he did well in the set-piece as well as helping out with some thunderous carries. 

You can see why he was selected for the Lions squad. 

2 Theo Dan (Saracens) 

Unsurprisingly, given the huge margin of victory for Sarries, they dominated Newcastle Falcons in their 75-28 win. 

Dan was a big part of it on the front row, scoring a try from the back of a maul and just generally being solid. 

Did what he needed to in order to keep the side ticking, solid from the set-piece and made a couple of nice runs forward. 

3 Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs) 

There wasn’t an influx of brilliant tightheads this weekend, with Street getting it because of his double-digit tackle count. 

Tried to get himself involved at any opportunity possible, he put in a shift and was one of a few Chiefs forwards who actually managed to compete with the Saints reserves. 

Amidst a poor team performance, he was decent. 

4 Maro Itoje (Saracens) 

Itoje put in a shift against the Falcons without really breaking a sweat. His aura just seemed to get him through, and he glided through the game doing just as he needed to. 

The Lions’ captain for the summer, you could tell that he was confident, but he didn’t get ahead of himself and still guided his team to a big victory in their race for the top four. 

5 Ewan Richards (Bath) 

In only his second league start of the season, Richards showed he means business and wants to cement a position in the ‘Bomb Squad’. 

He managed three turnovers and ran over 80 metres with the ball, in an all-around brilliant physical performance that added a bit of flair. 

Scored a lovely try when he dummied a couple of defenders and went inside to finish right by the posts. 

6 Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers) 

Ilione’s performance against Sale really felt like a statement that he should be starting week in, week out for his team and deserves a shot at England this summer. 

Hugely powerful, he came off the bench in the 64^th minute and changed the game. 

Got a couple of tries, some huge tackles and won a turnover. 

For a 15-minute stint, there really isn’t much more you can ask for. 

7 Ben Earl (Saracens) 

Ben Earl was part of a back row that blew Falcons away, really striking a partnership with Juan Martin Gonzalez and Theo McFarland in this instance. 

50 metres carried, two tries and plenty of great offloading, Earl disrupted the Falcons defence brilliantly. 

It is no surprise that he will be on the Lions tour this summer. 

8 Juan Martin Gonzalez (Saracens) 

Gonzalez was another Sarries back row who was absolutely brilliant, and he scored a hat-trick of tries from number eight. 

Over 90 metres carried, which included a lovely try in which he outpaced Falcons’ back players, the Argentina international was a class act on the ball. 

Too much for Steve Diamond’s side to handle. 

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