A busy month draws to a close

England, Guinness Premiership, Leicester, London Irish, Results, Reviews, Rugby 7s

It’s been a busy month in rugby - we’ve had the Guinness Premiership Final, Heineken Cup and the London leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. So, how did these games go?

Well, in the Guinness Premiership Final, Leicester Tigers beat the London Irish 10-9 in front of an 82,000 strong crowd at Twickenham. While this was the expected result in many quarters, the Irish didn’t simply roll over as some commentators had thought they would. They gave Leicester a tough time of it but in the end, their relative inexperience at this level showed as a couple of bad decisions cost them their chance to win. Leicester pushed through the possession play of the Irish and managed to come away with a hard-earned, if not exactly emphatic, victory. Five appearances in a row for the Tigers with 2 wins to show for it - not a terrible record by any stretch!

Next, the Tigers had to take the game to a rapidly maturing Leinster team in the Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield. It seems that their somewhat weakened performance against London Irish just a week earlier had affected them as they struggled to overcome a resiliant Leinster team, determined to take the title home for the first time. Control of the match constantly shifted between the teams, but by all accounts the Leicester Tigers just didn’t have enough to put the game beyond doubt, which would become their downfall as Leinster crept back in front and then managed to defend superbly until the final whistle. Ultimately, it was the Irish team who took home their first Heineken Cup title, and Leicester who missed out on the opportunity to enhance their already formidable reputation.

Finally, we had a little light relief after the tension of the big club events (I wouldn’t like to think of those who gave up smoking for the summer ahead - I bet sales of ecigarettes went through the roof!) The IRB Sevens World Series rolled into old London town with its host of quick-fire games, and even if Twickenham looked half empty at times from what I saw on the TV, it looked like a great atmosphere. Some interesting games in the group stages, including Australia vs South Africa, caught the eye especially. In the end, it is always the finals which attract most attention and it seems the home crowd may well have helped, as England went on to win the cup for the London leg, beating New Zealand 31-26. This leaves them in 2nd place in the overall standings with 96 points, behind South Africa with 116 points. With the final leg to play this weekend in Scotland, we’re definitely in for more good rugby to tide us over until the season starts again!

Martyn @ May 27, 2009