Premiership rugby v Premiership Football

Yesterday I watched Leicester Tigers v Gloucester Rugby (26-24) and Liverpool v Chelsea (2-1).

Before the latter game Pargie called to say that the odds were favourable to back against Liverpool and a wager enlivens the game.

I decided to watch from a different perspective, namely which offered the better entertainment. Premiership rugby won.

Leicester v Gloucester was another closely fought encounter – as most rugby premiership games are.  This may be because there is not an elite of rich clubs who garner the top places as in football.

Northampton Saints won last season but this time Bath look the standout team. Gloucester were one of the weaker teams – and it did not augur well to lose Louis Zammit -Rees to the NFL – yet they gave Leicester a hard time, opening the scoring and leading at the interval.

Watching Premiership rugby, I have noted the plethora of wingers: the best is probably Immanuel Feyi Wobuso of Exeter Chiefs but Caden Murley, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Sleightholme, Max Malins and Ollie Hassall-Collins of Leicester, who scored a brilliant try, are all worth watching.

By contrast I enjoyed less the spectacle of Liverpool v Chelsea.

The use of VAR interrupted the flow, Chelsea’s keeper Sanchez was predictably unreliable, the referee’s decisions were argumentatively contested and the result not in doubt.

There were also fewer players to enjoy apart from Cole Palmer of Chelsea