INSIDE LINE
Collins’ fancy footwork trips up Leicester
Northampton wing Tom Collins is thriving under new coach Chris Boyd, with eight of his 21 career tries for the club scored this season. The influence of the former Hurricanes coach was clear as Collins set up Cobus Reinach superbly for the opening try at Leicester. On the counter-attack, Collins’ in-to-out step forces George Ford to hesitate, planting his foot in case Collins cuts in. The wing then arcs back outside and puts Reinach away.
Deft touch by Skelton unlocks Harlequins
A brace of short-range carries from Australian lock Will Skelton crucially yielded tries against Harlequins, helping Saracens complete a second-half comeback from 11 points down. Saracens’ second try – they were positioned five metres out after Harlequins wing Nathan Earle failed to field an Alex Goode grubber – began with a deft touch from Skelton, who sucked in four defenders and created space on the left wing before his offload.
Smart moves set up excellent Worcester try
Worcester’s massive victory at Bristol featured an impressive try by centre Ben Te’o. The inside pass from Duncan Weir to Josh Adams, coming into the Worcester back line to create an overlap, works perfectly. The attention of Bristol backs Piers O’conor and Tom Pincus is drawn to Weir, whose pass back to Adams frees up space. Adams finds Chris Pennell, who lures in Pincus, then passes to hooker Niall Annett to supply Te’o.
Good weekend for Worcester and Newcastle
Key wins for both of the bottom two that have pulled them closer to safety. The fact that Newcastle also attracted over 27,000 to St James’ Park was good to see.
Bad weekend for …
Leicester
Worrying times for the fading English giants, with Friday night’s humiliation at home to bitter rivals Northampton leaving Leicester precariously placed in 10th, five points from the drop.
Moment of the weekend … Woe for Woodburn
Exeter’s bonus-point win was already wrapped up against Bath when Olly Woodburn broke through to score what would have been his second try – except he opted to pass, costing a certain score.