Following an enthralling opening weekend which showed the competitiveness of the Aviva Premiership, gameweek two provided many of the same thrills and spills which will please England head coach Eddie Jones.
The amount of young talent available to the national team seems to be growing week after week, and it was on full show again this weekend.
Wasps claim Welford Road victory for first time in eight years
Now a Midland rivalry following Wasps move to Coventry in 2015, the former London club claimed their first victory at Welford Road since 2008 behind another inspired performance from Jimmy Gopperth.
With all of the off-season additions at Wasps, Gopperth was maybe seen by some as a bit-part player going forward, yet the Kiwi has started the season as well as anyone in the Premiership.
His eight points before the break helped Wasps take a 13-8 lead to the dressing rooms, with speedster Christian Wade nabbing the game’s first try when latching onto a chip through behind the Tigers defence.
Lachlan McCaffrey and Ed Slater got tries back for the hosts, after Sam Jones and the impressive Guy Thompson had extended the lead. Then, with five minutes remaining, Leicester lost both Ellis Genge and Peter Betham, and instead of opting for a penalty, Wasps pushed for the bonus point try and were rewarded when Gopperth escaped from the back of a maul to touch down.
Bath run riot as Blackadder enjoys opening Rec fixture
Bath have made the perfect start to their campaign with two wins from two under new director of rugby Todd Blackadder.
Following last weekend’s triumph at Franklin’s Gardens, Bath returned to their home stomping ground and ran riot over the Newcastle Falcons to the tune of a 58-5 win.
Bath had their bonus point secured before the break, with Matt Banahan, a penalty try and Semesa Rokoduguni’s double putting them 32-0 up.
It was then up to the forwards after half-time, with Kane Palma-Newport, Elliott Stooke and Dave Attwood (twice) crossing for tries in the 53-point win.
Saracens lay down early season marker with big win at Sandy Park
In a repeat of last season’s Premiership final, Saracens made it twelve wins in a row in all competitions, beating the Exeter Chiefs 34-13.
Alex Lozowski continued his excellent start to the season with the game’s opening try after breaking through the Chiefs defence, with Sean Maitland following him over a few minutes later for a 12-6 half-time lead.
Man-of-the-match Jackson Wray scored Sarries’ third following a sumptuous offload from Billy Vunipola, with Maitland doubling up in the opposite corner to secure the bonus point.
Luke Cowan-Dickie scored from close range to reduce the deficit somewhat, but Saracens had the last laugh with Ben Spencer running through untouched for his second try of the season.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Bristol’s first fixture at home in the Premiership for seven years saw them fall to a 32-10 defeat against the Northampton Saints, with George North amongst the scorers.
In Friday evening’s fixtures, Worcester and Gloucester fought out an entertaining 23-23 draw, while Sale beat Harlequins 19-10 thanks to a try from Dave Seymour.