Wasps have set the standard and now they must recreate it, says director of rugby Dai Young after watching his side battle to a 20-16 victory over reigning Aviva Premiership Rugby champions Northampton Saints.
A low-scoring first half saw the sides locked at 3-3 going into the break but tries from Ashley Johnson and Tom Varndell meant Ben Foden’s late score for Northampton was nothing more than consolation
And after their heartbreaking 34-28 loss to Saracens at Twickenham in last weekend’s opener, Young admitted he was delighted with Wasps’ response at Adams Park.
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“That was by far our best performance but that is the standard we have got to play at week in, week out,” he said.
“We know the quality within that room but we need that self-belief. That is how good we can be and they have got to enjoy it because I don’t think we have beaten Northampton many times.
“That is the standard and if we want to make some ripples in the Premiership, this is what we have got to achieve week in, week out – not one in six.”
The Twickenham Stoop hosted a rematch of last season’s hotly-contested Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final between Saracens and Harlequins on Friday night – and the outcome was the same this time around.
Saracens won 31-17 on that May day and on Friday Charlie Hodgson notched 22 points as they once again ran out winners, this time 39-0.
Chris Ashton, Will Fraser and Hodgson himself ran in tries for the visitors and although Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall praised the veteran fly-half, he was quick to credit his whole team.
“Charlie was great,” said McCall. “He will be the first to say he got a good platform but he controlled the game beautifully and he got his charge down and he had a great game.
“But I was delighted with the lot of them. Richard Wigglesworth was magnificent I thought and some of those young guns in the pack were really good too.”
On Saturday, Semesa Rokoduguni and Jonathan Jospeh nabbed themselves two tries apiece at the Rec as Bath Rugby triumphed 53-26 over London Welsh
But despite Chris Cook, Leroy Houston and Carl Fearns also scoring for Bath, forwards coach Neal Hatley still wants to see more from his troops.
“To score 50 points against anyone in this league is an outstanding effort but to concede four tries at home is nowhere near good enough,” he said.
“We are disappointed with the way we defended and we are going to have do a lot better over the next two or three weeks.”
Juan Pablo Socino was a post’s width away from snatching a dramatic late draw for Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park but his conversion hit the upright as London Irish held on for a 20-18 victory.
At Sandy Park, Leicester Tigers largely had the boot of summer signing Freddie Burns to thank for maintaining their 100 per cent start to the season – the fly-half notching 11 points in a come-from-behind 24-20 victory over Exeter Chiefs
And Burns’ former team, Gloucester Rugby, bounced back from last week’s defeat to Northampton Saints by triumphing 34-27 over Sale Sharks.
Gloucester trailed 17-3 at the break but England winger Jonny May’s try early in the second half sparked a comeback and director of rugby David Humphreys was delighted to see his side come out on top in the high-scoring contest.
“The first half was obviously disappointing,” he said. “Maybe there was a bit of a hangover from last week, plus the nervousness and pressure that comes from your first home game of the season, and we just contributed to our own downfall.
“But for the players to come back from 17-3 down shows the character within the squad. We are delighted to come away with the win.”
FRIDAY
Harlequins 0 / 39 Saracens
Harlequins
- No Score
Saracens
- Tries: Hodgson, Ashton, Fraser
- Conversions: Hodgson, Farrell 2
- Penalties: Hodgson 5, Goode
Attendance: 13,100
Referee: Wayne Barnes
SATURDAY
Bath 53 / 26 London Welsh
Bath
- Tries: Cook, Rokoduguni 2, Joseph 2, Houston, Fearns
- Conversions: Ford 6
- Penalties: Ford 2
London Welsh
- Tries: Browne, Stegmann, Jewell, McCaffrey
- Conversions: Barkley 3
Attendance: 12,755
Referee: Matthew Carley
Gloucester 34 / 27 Sale Sharks
Gloucester
- Tries: May, Cook, Penalty
- Conversions: Laidlaw 2
- Penalties: Laidlaw 5
Sale Sharks
- Tries: Arscott, Cusiter, McLean, Cipriani
- Conversions: Cipriani 2
- Penalties: Cipriani
Attendance: 12,353
Referee: Greg Garner
Exeter Chiefs 20 / 24 Leicester Tigers
Exeter Chiefs
- Tries: Ewers, Thomas
- Conversions: Steenson 2
- Penalties: Steenson 2
Leicester Tigers
- Tries: Allen, B Youngs
- Conversions: Burns
- Penalties: Burns 3, Williams
Attendance: 9,721
Referee: JP Doyle
SUNDAY
Wasps 20 / 16 Northampton Saints
Wasps
- Tries: Johnson, Varndell
- Conversions: Jackson 2
- Penalties: Goode, Miller
Northampton Saints
- Tries: Foden
- Conversions: Myler
- Penalties: Myler 3
Attendance: 6,374
Referee: Luke Pearce
Newcastle Falcons 18 / 20 London Irish
Newcastle Falcons
- Tries: Furno, Wilson, Sinoti
- Conversions: 0
- Penalties: Socino
London Irish
- Tries: Mulchrone, Fenby
- Conversions: Geraghty 2
- Penalties: Geraghty 2
Attendance: 5,888
Referee: Andrew Small