The Final Shakedown

After Sunday's epic Guinness Premiership semi-finals we have a tasty clash between Leicester Tigers and Saracens to look forward to at Twickenham on May 29.

Leicester smothered Bath into submission in a 15-6 tryless affair, whilst Sarries squeaked past Northampton Saints 21-19 at Franklins Gardens.

Each game was packed with twists, controversy and bucket loads of irony.

Who can forget one-time Sarries bound Soane Tonga'uhia steaming over for a Saints try on the stroke of half time?  Did Toby Flood's high flying penalty really count for the Tigers?

And then there were the subplots: The extra needle between Saints and Sarries after Celebrationgate, the alleged tapping up of Northampton prop Brian Mujati by Saracens, Brendan Venter's misconduct charge.

All the extra needle created an afternoon of high drama, and I for one, loved it.

The final results?  Heartbreak for Saints and Bath, heaven for Leicester and Saracens.

And it should be a storming final in a couple of weeks. 

My faith in English club rugby has been fully restored.  Roll on Twickenham in two weeks time.

I, for one, cannot wait.

Stats Off for the Creme de la Prem

I love statistics I do.  When I saw that stats gurus Opta had revealed their Guinness Premiership team of the season I almost yelped with excitement.

Why do I love number crunching so much?

Well, stats might never paint the full picture, but they also never lie.

So which players have been at the top of their game based on all 22 rounds of the league? 

Here is Opta's team of the year:

15  Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)
14  Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13  Ben Jacobs (London Wasps)
12  Brad Barritt (Saracens)
11  Bruce Reihana (Northampton Saints)
10  Jimmy Gopperth (Newcastle Falcons)
9    Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
1    Soane Tonga'uiha (Northampton Saints)
2    Schalk Brits (Saracens)
3    Carl Hayman (Newcastle Falcons)
4    Erik Lund (Leeds Carnegie)
5    Marco Wentzel (Leeds Carnegie)

6    Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)

7    Steffon Armitage (London Irish)

8    Dan Ward-Smith (London Wasps)

If you want to get down to the nitty gritty of the numbers, then have a look at this excellent article.  I couldn't have put it better myself.

It's clear from the stats that Northampton's success has come from the strength and running of their forwards, shown by the inclusion of Dowson and Tonga'uhia, with their pacey backs, Ashton and Reihana, making up the metres and bagging tries.

And Leeds Carnegie's dominance in the set piece is shown with skipper Marco Wentzel crowned top lineout stealer.  His second row partner, Erik Lund, also features for his line breaking and tackling stats.

I could go on all day and bore you with the numbers, but if you're interested in all that you can click the link above and read all about it.

One thing I will say - it really is true that stats never lie.  Four of the five nominees for Guinness Premiership player of the season make it into the team.  Brits, Dowson, Armitage and Tonga'uhia are all there.  Only Sarries' Ernst Joubert misses out.

I wonder if Martin Johnson is regretting his crazy decision not to take Phil Dowson to Australia this summer yet?

Looking at the numbers, I know I would be if I was in his (humongous) shoes...

VOTE NOW! Guinness Premiership Player of the Season

The Guinness Premiership season has all but finished, and with only the title deciding playoff games to go it's time to see which players have made the biggest impact.

Leicester host Bath and Saracens travel to Northampton in the semi-finals after a thrilling final round.

And it's no coincidence that these teams feature some of the most outstanding players to grace the league this campaign.

But who is your player of the season?

Here is the cream of the crop.  Well, in my opinion anyway...

Schalk Brits (Saracens)

Everything the Sarries hooker touched turned to gold this season.  Pacey, powerful and with a step that would make Yannick Jauzion jealous: Brits has it all.  OK, so his line out throwing has been a little hit and miss, but when he starts running with ball in hand he rips defences apart.  This has been his first season in the Guinness Premiership and arguably Brits has made the biggest impact of any player.  With only three South Africa caps to his name it is unbelievable to think he won't add to this tally in next year's World Cup.  Second only behind full back Alex Goode in the number of metres he has made at Sarries, 28-year old Brits is also in the club's top three for carries and tackles. 

Brendan Venter, Saracens coach, said: "Brits is a special player, who does things that can't be coached. He's so talented with the ball in hand - but then you look at his stats and see how many tackles he makes. He has to go to the World Cup."



Olly Barkley (Bath)

Centre Barkley returned to Bath after a brief sojourn at rivals Gloucester, only to miss Bath's difficult first half of the season with a broken leg.  Steve Meehan's team were battling the fallout from the drug scandal that rocked the club, and at the half way point in the season they had plummeted to the foot of the table.  But the return of Barkley and fly-half Butch James inspired Bath to an amazing run of 11 wins from 12 to secure a semi-final spot.  In this time, 28-year old Barkley has been sublime.  His passing, breaks, kicking game and points from the boot has been at the heart of Bath's success.  Surely he must be very close to grabbing a ticket to Australia for England's summer tour?

Steve Meehan, Bath coach, said: "He would be a certainty for the tour if I was on England's selection committee.  I think the 12 months he had away from here has done him a hell of a lot of good. He feels that he has nothing to prove to anybody, and his rugby is showing that."



Phil Dowson (Northampton)

Flanker and Saints vice-captain Dowson is undoubtedly one of the first names Northampton coach Jim Mallinder writes on his team sheet.  The Franklins Gardens' favourite has been a force to be reckoned with this season.  A powerful player with an incredible work rate, Dowson does so much excellent work that often goes unnoticed.  Well, not when he is thundering over the try-line as he often has this season.  The 28-year old's leadership qualities along with his excellent rugby skills must be making Lewis Moody sweat for his England starting place.  Martin Johnson has to pick Dowson to go to Australia next month.

The ever modest Dowson said: "It's probably not suitable to target the England tour but rather make sure that I'm playing well and I'm sorting out the roles that I'm doing with the coaches,"

"If [Saxons coach] Stuart Lancaster or [England forwards coach] John Wells gave me a call I'd be keen as mustard to go along. At the moment I'm concentrating on getting the best out of myself for the Saints."

And that is why everyone at Franklins Gardens loves him.



Chris Ashton (Northampton)

Rugby league convert Chris Ashton has enjoyed unbelievable success this season.  The 23-year old wing from Wigan, Lancashire, has crossed the whitewash 16 times in the league and is the top try scorer.  Electric pace combined with the strength and power of a back-row forward has seen Ashton destroy defences and link up with Saints full-back Ben Foden to devastating effect.  A well deserved call up to England for the final Six Nations game against France saw Ashton kick "that chip" - a move which squandered a try scoring chance the talented winger would have snapped up without second thought for his club.  That one blemish aside, Ashton is the future of England speedsters, and a strong contender for player of the season.

Jim Mallinder, Northampton Saints coach said: "His try-scoring has been remarkable, but it’s his general play and understanding of where to turn up that has really improved.

“He understands the game and where the weak points of defences are.  He is a natural try-scorer”



Soane Tonga'uiha (Northampton)

Prop Tonga'uiha spent a few weeks of the season entangled in a Saints v Saracens tug of war after confusing contract negotiations.  However that was all agreed amicably, with Saints securing the 28-year old Tongan's services for next season.  The battle for his signature is understandable: "Tiny" has been a huge force in Northampton's front row and is the form loosehead in the league.  The sight of the massive forward steaming up the field has become a recurring sight - Tonga'uiha is tenth in the list of top carriers.  Not bad for a front row, who also picked up man of the match awards in the LV= Cup semi-final and final.

But what do the fans say about the man?

"He has just been unstoppable"

"Who can forget the break through & dash in the LV= final?"
"Has been outstanding this season, especially in the LV= Cup Final."
"An amazing player, a truly nice guy and a fans favourite."
"Man mountain demolishes almost everything in his path."
"His displays in the semi final and final were awesome."
"Fabulous performance after fabulous performance."

Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie)

Last but by no means least is Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie.  Fourie has been the stand out player for relegation battlers Carnegie, and despite playing for a so-called "unfashionable" club, the 30-year old back row forward forced his way into the England squad for the Six Nations.  The Leeds number seven qualifies for England due to residency, and has been tipped to play for England by his coach, Neil Back.  Always snapping around the fringes of the breakdown, Fourie is a fierce tackler - topping the Opta stats for his club - as well as being a powerful ball carrier.  "Shrek" is a firm favourite of the Headingley Carnegie faithful and will always be the first name on the team sheet if he is fit.

Neil Back, Leeds head coach, said: "I believe Hendre will go with the full England squad to Australia,"

"He is now maximising his potential and on the back of that he is now, for me, the outstanding number seven in the Premiership.

"Because of that he has now played for the Saxons and been involved in full England training. I believe he will now go on the summer tour and go on from there with England."


So who is your Guinness Premiership player of the season?

Vote now in the poll, which you can find on the sidebar.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Soane Long Saints?

Soane Tonga'uiha is the latest player to be embroiled in a Chuckle Brothers style "To me, to you" tug of war.

First we saw James "Jimmy" Haskell starring as the rope in a ridiculous battle between Stade Francais and England.

Now, Northampton prop Tonga'uiha has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons by signing a new deal with the Saints - three months after he agreed a contract with Saracens for next season.

As a result, everything is kicking off.

Edward Griffiths, Sarries' Chief Executive, isn't exactly full of the joys of spring.  In fact, he has slammed Northampton and called them "April Fools".

He said: "On April Fool's Day, Northampton have announced they have signed a new contract with Soane. This contract is illegal and irrelevant.

"The sad reality is that a proud Premiership club has brought our game into disrepute.

"They have shown complete contempt for legality, justice and integrity and have made themselves look like the ultimate April fools. We must now decide whether we operate a league where signed agreements mean something and are respected, or whether we have chaos."

So he's not a happy Easter bunny then.

But what's going to happen if Griffiths gets his way?

If Tonga'uiha's Saracens' contract stands up, are they going to force him to join them?  Do Sarries really think they're going to get the best out of a player who would rather be plying his trade 50 miles up the M1?

Time to wheel in lawyers, but it would be nice if this could all be sorted out sensibly and behind closed doors.

For a change.