Premiership round 3 review

Bath (lost 14-18 to Northampton)
A great start and even put the Saints on the back foot but they kept kicking the ball away as well as making poor decisions to prevent them from scoring more and eventually winning the game.
Olly Barkley went into the game with a perfect record from the tee after the first two rounds but missed eight points on offer this time which eventually cost them the game.
They clearly have a Springboks feeling to their game but just like them they stick to that kicking game too much even when there are clear opportunities out wide.
More variation will be needed if they want to compete with the best teams in the game.
Exeter (lost 25-24 to London Welsh)
Did Exeter turn up to the game expecting a win? Probably. But you can’t blame them after their first two good displays against Sale and at Northampton.
However, the result proved that in this highly competitive league, you need to be on your game week-in week-out to come out with the goods.
In this case, sloppy plays and soft penalties fed the Exiles’ hunger to get that historic win.
There is no doubt they will put on a different performance when they’re back at fortress Sandy Park on Saturday.
Harlequins (beat Sale 37-14)
Another week and another bonus-point win for the Champions. It wasn’t perfect but as Connor O’Shea put it after the game, “We’re always going to make mistakes because we are trying to play all the time.”
Their set piece and especially their scrum put them on the front foot while the metronome Nick Evans put them in the right part of the field with another fine display.
The clash against the Tigers on Saturday is set to be a thriller. Well, it will be if Leicester decide to play, we know Quins will.
Leicester (drew 9-9 with Saracens)
The Tigers recorded a perfect ten from ten in the first two rounds producing some scintillating rugby but couldn’t put on the same kind of performance at Wembley.
Julian Salvi was magnificent to slow the ball down at the breakdown to keep Saracens honest in attack but Leicester couldn’t generate quick ball either to bring their strong runners in the game and create chances.
Even when they decided to kick for the corners, it wasn’t accurate enough to put pressure on Saracens. They won’t be able to give Quins that many counter attack opportunities.
London Irish (lost to 43-10 to London Wasps)
40 points conceded in each of the first two games, this time the Irish’s defence did better…43 points, Shaun Edwards must have sleepless nights.
They were into the game for over an hour but fell apart in the late stages of the games to conceded three tries that showed a clear lack of concentration.
Rugby is an 80 minutes game and some serious improvement will be required for the reception of Bath.

London Wasps (beat London Irish 43-10)
So this is why Dai Young has brought veteran Stephen Jones to Adams Park. In 80 minutes, the Welsh old dog showed why he is one of the best controlling fly-half in the game.
He steered that Wasps team around all game long and kicked a perfect nine from nine from the tee for a personal tally of 23 points.
We knew this Wasps team could strike from anywhere but with this organised feeling they could be pretty hard to stop.
London Welsh (beat Exeter 25-24)
The new boys made history yesterday by claiming their first ever Premiership win against Exeter.
They conceded 14 points early again but showed the same never-say-die attitude than the first two weeks against Leicester and Harlequins to not only comeback into the game but clinch it.
They’ve already showed they have to be taken seriously in this league and any team traveling to the Kassam expecting an easy win will be proven wrong.
Northampton (beat Bath 18-14)
After a dominant display at home against Exeter, the Saints kept their unbeaten record with what could be classed as a perfect away performance.
They absorbed the pressure in defence while their strong set piece and Stephen Myler’s kicking pinned Bath back in their own half.
Myler was under pressure to perform after a poor display against Exeter and the fly-half, who is known for his kicking, delivered at the Rec with a perfect five from five from the tee to capitalise on the very few opportunities they were given.
Sale (lost 37-14 to Harlequins)
They didn’t have the easiest of start of the season with trips to Exeter and Quins while hosting Saracens so three defeats were to be expected but they never really put themselves in a position of winning either.
Saturday was no different, they took a beating in the scrum and when they had the ball they didn’t look after it properly to put the reigning champions under pressure.
Their try was a good sign of the rugby they can produce though. More of this please!

Saracens (drew 9-9 with Leicester)
The 2011 champions had a positive start of the season showing some intent in attack to score tries but this time around they took a more pragmatic approach against the Leicester powerhouse and it sadly impacted on their performance.
They didn’t produce any good opportunities and when they did they couldn’t capitalise on them.
The usually cold-blooded Owen Farrell, who thrives on big occasion, had a shocker with a poor one from five from the kicking tee and even the kicking master Charlie Hodgson missed an easy drop goal to clinch it late.
Worcester (drew 16-16 with Gloucester)
Any other time, Worcester would have had two wins by now but just like against Bath, the four points slipped away in the last kick of the game.
This was a derby for the purist to start with; hugely physical up front with defence dominating the game for about an hour but once it opened up, the Warriors responded tick for tack in broken play against one of the best team in the league in that aspect.
This Worcester team has a much better attitude towards playing rugby this year and, if they can knuckle down that win to boost their confidence, they could make the step up from a solid Premiership team to a Top 6 contender.