NEW YORK, NY: The action this weekend was so tense, with so many games not decided until the final 20 minutes, most of our staff had to check their blood pressure. As predicted, some teams did emphasize their push for the playoffs, while others can start preparing for life in the lower divisions. In the 3 top leagues in Europe (Aviva Premiership, Rabodirect Pro 12 and Top 14) the matches were incredibly tense. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Super 15 was filled with upsets and thrillers. Now with no further ado, let’s get into the Weekend Rugby Recap.
Top 14: The lean, mean writing machine, James Scheenagh Harrington is back in top form and has all the weekend’s action covered. CLICK HERE.
Aviva Premiership: The man in the East Midlands of England, Nick Hall, will have an in-depth Premiership Review tomorrow but in short order: Saracens reminded Bath that they are not top of the table material yet… Sale once again showed their playoff credibility by digging in deep against Wasps… Harlequins needed everything they could muster to steal a win against a very game and broken-hearted Worcester… Northampton overcame a slow start to cruise by Gloucester, while Leicester dispatched Newcastle with ease.
Here are the results:
FRI – 28th FEB 14
Bath 10 – 23 Saracens
Sat – 1st MAR 14
Wasps 17 – 21 Sale Sharks
Harlequins 21 – 20 Worcester
Exeter 18 – 0 London Irish
Northampton 39 – 13 Gloucester
Sun – 1st MAR 14
Newcastle 18 – 41 Leicester
Rabodirect Pro12: The Pro 12 continues to witness teams push for playoff positions and seeding. This was one of those crazy home-cooking weekends, as all the home sides vanquished the visitors… Zebre shocked Cardiff! That was huge! Ulster made light work of Newport-Gwent… Edinburgh dug deep to beat Ospreys in Meggetland… Connacht smashed Treviso… Scarlets left it late against Munster and Leinster needed every ounce of fight to get by Glasgow.
Here are the results:
FRI – 28th FEB 14
Ulster 38 – 8 Newport-Gwent Dragons
Edinburgh 31 – 25 Ospreys
Sat – 1st MAR 14
Zebre 15 – 10 Cardiff Blues
Connacht 38 – 6 Benetton Treviso
Scarlets 18 – 13 Munster
Leinster 28 – 25 Glasgow Warriors
Super Rugby: The Super Rugby Superman, Jamie Wall, has taken all the massive games of the weekend and wrapped them up in a easy-to-digest morsel. CLICK HERE for his review.
Conversion Kick:
Signings/Player Moves: Apparently Edinburgh is considering moving. Not from Edinburgh but a new home pitch in Meggetland, home of Boroughmuir RFC after their victory there over the weekend… Centre Ben John has signed on with the Ospreys for another two seasons until 2016. Along with John, the Ospreys announced that centre Jonathan Spratt has also signed a new two-year contract. This is in addition to full-back Dan Evans and hooker Sam Parry, who will join the region from Newport Gwent Dragons at the end of the season, and Fijian international centre, Josh Matavesi, who joins from Worcester Warriors. Dragons head coach Darren Edwards has left the region with immediate effect. Director of Rugby Lyn Jones thanked him for his service to the club. A man that Jones would be happy to see at the club next season is Gavin Henson. According to reports, the controversial former Wales and Bath midfielder could be set for a move to the Dragons next season. Henson has struggled for playing time at Bath.
USA Rugby State of the Union: Our friend Jeff Hull sat down with USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville and discussed the state of Rugby in the USA, in a 2 part article. You can click here for the article and for more form CEO Melville, check out Matt McCarthy’s interview with him.
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And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
