We reach the final run-in, the last third of the journey
The Prem 15s will be interrupted by the Six Nations again, but much later, thanks to last year’s switch to the March-April window. Fixtures in the new Allianz Cup will slot in there, then the last two rounds will help decide the knock-out contestants in May.
By the end of Round 12 the top four, Sarries, Bristol, Quins and Exeter, have drawn away from the challengers. There’s a telling gap of 7 points between fourth and fifth. The other hopefuls, Gloucester-Hartpury, Wasps and Lightning, couldn’t keep up the pace, hindered especially by non-availabilities. We must hope that the latter stages of the league aren’t still marred by absences. Everyone wants to see all their champion favourites, but the league takes its toll.
DMPDS
In mid-January the RFU became the knight in shining armour to help DMP Durham Sharks out of their troubles. It is not at all clear how this can be achieved, and some critics have complained that the move came far too late anyway. Sharks’ head coach, Mark Luffman. had previously been an assistant coach to the Red Roses, so there’s not much improvement to be added there. If it’s simply funding that is needed, that would reflect poorly on the way the Prem 15s was set up financially in the first place.
Sharks’ results have improved marginally over recent rounds, but not enough to make a victory likely.
Last season they suddenly produced a dramatic win away at Bristol. A repeat would be wonderful.
The two sides make brave statements like ‘All stakeholders want to find a solution to ensure there is a successful top-tier club in the North East’ But short of adopting brutal measures – half a dozen Red Roses ordered to head north! – there can be no quick solutions. There is no way to penalise a club mid-3-year-freeze for not complying with the twin criteria of Minimum Operating Standards and Onfield Performance. If little is to change before the end of next season, that is not a happy thought. It’s the players who matter most.
The Odd Stat
After 12 rounds Lark Davies is still out in front of the try-scorers (13). Of the top ten three are hookers, two back-row, four wingers and one full-back. Is that the balance we all want? Arguments rage over the style of rugby we want to see. At the moment the rolling maul still holds sway as a sure-fire try-scorer.
For every forward that maul is a thing of beauty, immensely hard to bring to a successful conclusion, the result of hours of hard practice. So who is left to appreciate a stunning move by the backs?
Which leads to my favourite stat: tries by forwards versus tries by backs.
How do we react to them? Indifference or a strong preference for one or the other? Maybe for the newcomer to the game backs’ tries are the glamorous winners. Of the top five clubs in the table before Round 13, Sarries, Quins and Exeter have scored more tries through their pack than their backs (36-25; 28-23; 28-19) – these figures exclude scores by replacements.
The leading counters to that trend are Bristol (23-33) and Glos-Pury (26-10). They sit second and fourth.
Which clubs present more entertainment? Let spectators decide between a Cleall try and a Joyce try.
Attendances
And that brings us directly to the question of gates. The official ones recorded by the RFU are vague in the extreme. Most end in a 0, suggesting guestimates. And those 0s vary from a pure 0 – Worcester have not submitted their attendances – through two figures to the occasional three. Bristol and Exeter do well. Wasps take the cake for the highest gate (3384), their one visit to Coventry. But theirs is the lowest recorded too, 50. The runaway league leaders have a top mark of 1500.
Against the success of international matches, it’s hard to know what we should be expecting at club level,. But after four and two-thirds seasons the signs are it is a hard battle for the clubs’ publicists to get the turnstiles clicking.
