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Rugby union: talking points from the Premiership’s weekend action
1) Saracens and Quins left scratching their heads
The referee, JP Doyle, ruled out two Saracens tries in the second half. Billy Vunipola charged at him and on through Chris Robshaw’s tackle for the first. The TMO felt Robshaw was unimpeded but Doyle reckoned he had blocked his view. Difficult that one. Jury out. Then, Saracens thought they had scored a beauty but at the final ruck Danny Care shoved Liam Williams, who charged at Care. Neither influenced the outcome but it was foul play. Doyle sent both to the bin and awarded Saracens the penalty. This feels weird. If the penalty was Saracens’, shouldn’t advantage have applied? But if Williams’s retaliation was worth a yellow shouldn’t the penalty have been reversed in Quins’ favour? Saracens scored both times at the next play anyway. Michael Aylwin
• Match report: Saracens 27-20 Harlequins
Related: Going from the Six Nations back to club rugby can be frustrating | Ugo Monye
2) Newcastle on a roll in dogfight
Steve Diamond was almost beside himself at the time of the alleged incident and the Sale director of rugby was only slightly less animated when asked about it afterwards. Midway through the first half, the Sale hooker Rob Webber clashed with the Newcastle lock Calum Green at the bottom off a ruck near the visitors’ try line. Television footage showed Green getting his head caught in a neck roll-type squeeze and Webber complained to the referee, Craig Maxwell-Keys, that he had been bitten. Following a scuffle between the pair and then an initial review of a disallowed try by Andrew Davidson, Maxwell-Keys reviewed the unsavoury incident with Sean Davey, his television match official. Citing officers, in this case Andy Blyth, have 24 hours to cite a player from the final whistle and it should become clear on Mondayif any disciplinary proceedings have been brought. Ross Heppenstall
• Match report: Newcastle 22-17 Sale
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3) Wasps in need of a pick-me-up
Wasps won four of their first five league matches but since losing at home to Gloucester in October they have lost nine out of 12, including the return at Kingsholm when they blew an 11-0 lead. They are only three points off a guaranteed place in next season’s Champions Cup but only eight points above the bottom club, Newcastle, the direction the Premiership’s no-form club is heading in. “We are where we deserve to be and we need to pick ourselves up,” said the club’s director of rugby, Dai Young, whose next match is at home to fellow strugglers Worcester. “We know we are capable of picking up the wins we need but we have to stop undoing the good work we do.” Paul Rees
•Match report: Gloucester 27-14 Wasps
4) Bristol running out of home comforts
With five rounds to go, Bristol are ninth. They would have taken that at the start of the season but with the bottom four clubs all having won six and lost 11 matches, bonus points have made the difference. They picked up another against Worcester but it was scant consolation after missing out on a win that would have given them a 10-point cushion. There are five teams fighting to avoid the drop and Bath could join them if they lose to Bristol at Twickenham on 6 April. Three of Bristol’s five matches are against teams around them, concluding with a visit to Newcastle. They have only two home matches left and one is against Saracens but their coach, Pat Lam, is looking up. “We can’t get caught up in the table,” he said. “There are 25 points on offer and that’s how we see it.” Paul Rees
Related: Six Nations unions warned against putting tournament on pay TV
5) Exeter show how to take the cake from Cokanasiga
Even with Exeter’s internationals still shaking off the after-effects of the Six Nations, stopping them is easier said than done. Bath, without an away win in any competition since mid-September, needed Joe Cokanasiga in full wrecking-ball mode but the England winger barely saw the ball. On the one occasion when he did break free with the ball in one giant hand, it was ripped from his grasp when he was tackled, something future opponents will look to replicate. He and Bath will be back at Twickenham on Saturday week for The Clash against ninth-placed Bristol, a game with significant West Country bragging rights attached. If Bath finish the season outside the top six and below Exeter, Gloucester and Bristol, there will be much gnashing of teeth in parts of Somerset. Robert Kitson
• Match report: Exeter 29-10 Bath
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6) Hutchinson sends signal to England
There are some fine young outside centres in the Premiership this season but the pick of them has been Rory Hutchinson, who has had to bide his time a little at Northampton. Under the guidance of Chris Boyd and, in particular, Sam Vesty, he is flourishing and while he is a very differentplayer to Manu Tuilagi, he outshone his opposite number in attack on Friday and kept the England centre well shackled. He is an interesting case because he has been capped by Scotland at age group level but has not been captured and if he continues in this form he will be sure to catch the eye of the England selectors. Gerard Meagher
