Bend it like Jackson.

Absolutely astounding kick from Ulster fly half Paddy Jackson in training this week. Jackson kicks the ball through the posts despite line up his kick on the try line.

Jackson, who helped Ulster to a 41-17 victory over Castres this weekend, is looking to break into the full Ireland set up after cementing his position as Ulster's first choice fly half and playing a key role to their superb start to the season.

Sarries Shake Off ‘Boring’ Tag in Scotland.

This weekend’s Heineken Cup round 1 fixtures served up a number of talking points, but there were not many scorelines more surprising than Saracens’ Pool 1 45-0 victory away to last season’s semi-finalists Edinburgh.

Sarries helped themselves to 5 tries, all coming from Englishmen. Joel Tomkins, Owen Farrell, Chris Ashton, Alex Goode and ‘Chargedown’ Charlie Hodgson all crossed the whitewash for the men in white. The result was a welcome one for Saracens after coming under heavy criticism in the media recently for their failure to score tries.

Sarries went almost 300 minutes without scoring a try this season but factors should be considered when discussing this barren run. The three full games which Sarries failed to score a 5 pointer included games against both Premiership finalists, so arguably the two toughest teams in the division, from the previous season, a 9-9 draw with Leicester Tigers and a fantastic 18-16 win away at champions Harlequins. Saracens also played Exeter Chiefs away in absolutely terrible conditions.

Saracens dominated the set piece, with captain and former England lock Steve Borthwick deservedly winning man of the match, and took advantage of a surprisingly lacklustre Edinburgh side who lost key players Greg Laidlaw and flying winger Tim Visser to injury during the game.

Centre Joel Tomkins opened the scoring with a well taken finish after a quick tap penalty from Richard Wigglesworth, coming from a sustained period of pressure. Hodgson knocked over 3 penalties to give the North Londoners a 16-0 half time lead.

Saracens even survived the sin binning of influential hooker Schalk Brits without conceding a point when Brits held on to Richie Rees on the floor after Rees came close to an interception try. Brad Barrit, making his 100^th appearance for Saracens, was able to celebrate by scrumming down during Brits’ absence.

Owen Farrell then slid over in the corner seconds after coming on as a replacement, taking the scoring pass from England team mate Chris Ashton after some slick handling in the backs. Ashton was then able to dive in under the posts to score himself after a nice inside ball from Charlie Hodgson. Ashton ran a beautiful angle to score his 4^th try for the club since arriving from Northampton Saints in the summer.

Classy full back Alex Goode secured his side the bonus point with a try 11 minutes from time. Goode showed great skill to finish out wide with a nice dummy after speedy hands along the backline.

Charlie Hodgson rounded things off with a chargedown try late on. This is become something of a trademark for Hodgson after his Six Nations scores against Scotland and Italy. Hodgson’s deserved try left him with a nice haul of 25 points.

Saracens victory was simple. They did the simple things right. A brick wall of a defence and absolute dominance of the set piece gave their backs, orchestrated by the experienced playmaker Charlie Hodgson, a perfect platform. The backs were clinical and earned their bonus point with a textbook display of quick handling.

Saracens next match is against Olly Barkley’s Racing Metro, who will be looking to build on their good win against Munster. Edinburgh, however, will be looking to the return match and hoping that preventing Sarries from taking the game to Cape Town will give them a shot at wreaking some revenge. 

Saracens celebrated with a well earned trip to McDonalds.

Lions Watch – October Weekend 1, 2012

The Lions Tour is also something that I have found particularly interesting. The concept is unique to rugby union and something that would seem ludicrous in many other sports. The idea of throwing the best of the home nations together on a plane and sending them to play against one of the world’s best international sides isn't something that other sports would even consider. Yet this tradition has continued in rugby, through the professional age and is still endeared by fans to this day.

The next Lions rugby tour is Australia in 2013, which will come at the end of this domestic season. I will, each week, be reviewing potential Lions picks, their form, their pros and cons and considering who may make the trip down under in July.

Freddie Burns put in another assured display last weekend guiding Gloucester to a win over local rivals Bath. Burns kicked 11 points, including a late drop goal, to add further merit to his stake for the England number 10 shirt. Whilst Burns, is likely to be behind both Owen Farrell and Toby Flood in Stuart Lancaster’s plans at the moment, many fans believe he may be the England fly half for years to come. Game management seems to be a great strength of Burns, despite his young age and he has helped a backline full of pace in the shape of James Simpson Daniel and Henry Trinder sparkle.  

Freddie Burns.

Gavin Henson made his long awaited competitive debut for London Welsh with 13 points in a narrow defeat to Saracens. However, he was out shine by opposite number Charlie Hodgson, who scored all of Saracens points in their 28-23 victory. Henson would be something of a wildcard pick next summer, but if he can get back to his best this season and let his rugby do the talking then he may have a chance. Lyn Jones, London Welsh head coach, described Henson’s performance as ‘hugely influential’ and he showed a nice bit of enterprise with a long, looping pass out wide to set up Tom Arscott’s try for Welsh. Hodgson may also be somewhat of a wildcard selection. He recently announced his retirement from international rugby after an England career affected by both injuries and the belief that his skills in defence are not up to international standard. Hodgson kicked competently and added a nice try. He also filled in well for England in this year’s Six Nations as a stop gap. Also for Saracens, Joel Tomkins put in another decent performance in midfield. Former Wigan Warriors RL man Tomkins is still new to the game and learning the position but looks comfortable on the ball and could potentially be a solution to the ‘problem position’ of outside centre for England in future years.  

In the two shock results of the weekend, league leaders Northampton Saints lost 39-17 to London Irish and champions Harlequins were defeated 42-28 by Exeter Chiefs. Despite Quins defeats 2009 tourist Ugo Monye continued his good early season form with his 4^th try of the season. Monye has not been in England contention in recent years but if he continues playing well he may force himself into Stuart Lancaster’s plans for the Autumn Internationals. Jonathan Joseph played a key role in Irish’s victory. The wing/centre scored a try and had a hand in two of Irish’s other scores. He is another who could be a long term fixture at 13 for England.

Leinster edged out Munster in the Rabo Pro 12 thanks to a try for Lions veteran Brian O’Driscoll. O’Driscoll, who toured in 2001, 2005 and 2009, is a truly world class performer and, on his day, is one of the best players in the world. Jonny Sexton kicked well for Leinster and remains one of the front runners in the position of fly half. Keith Earls, playing outside centre, created a try for Munster with a superb break and could be Ireland’s long term successor to O’Driscoll. Paddy Jackson had another good game for inform Ulster, but remains behind Sexton in the Irish pecking order. 

Edinburgh’s Dutch born winger Tim Visser scored his 8^th try of the season in defeat to Treviso and remains a serious contender. Visser is natural finisher and has already scored 2 tries in his 2 tests for Scotland since becoming available on residency grounds.

Jonny Wilkinson, recently quoted as saying he could 'never turn down the Lions', scored 21 points in Toulon's victory at Biarritz. Wilkinson, similar to O'Driscoll, is a world class performer and despite his international retirement, remains a player who can put in top performances week in, week out. The mercurial fly half James Hook scored all of his sides points in Perpignan's 23-28 defeat to Grenoble. Hook is somewhat a forgotten man of Welsh rugby, despite being, when on form, a superb performer. Hook has perhaps been a victim of his own versatility, having occupied the 10, 12, 13, and 15 shirt for Wales in recent years. Rhys Preistland is the man currently in possession of the Wales fly half shirt, but was not at his best in their summer tour of Australia. 

James Hook - Welsh rugby's forgotten man?

This weekend’s Heineken Cup opening round should be exciting and provide further talking points for next week’s Lions Watch!