There were three Friday night games this week, which may have caught some fans out, but if it did then they didn't miss much.
Sale Sharks continued their excellent start to the season in beating Gloucester at home by 23 points to nine. Their dominant defence has now not conceded a try for four games (320 minutes), a Premiership record. They also managed to triple their try count for the season as stand-in skipper, Sebastien 'The Caveman' Chabal crossed the white-wash along with former Wasps and Leeds flyer, David Doherty.
Although it may not be the most exciting rugby being played in the world, it is getting results for Sale and this win put them top of the league as the only remaining undefeated team.
Mr Reliable
Up in the North-East Jonny Wilkinson kicked Newcastle to their second win of the season, a mark some thought they wouldn't reach by Christmas. But the pre-season relegation favourites have proved the doubters wrong, tries from John Rudd and Adam Balding capped off a good win against Bristol.
Wilkinson has a 100% kicking record so far this season and his two conversions and penalty took him back ahead of Andy Goode as the all time leading Premiership points scorer.
For Bristol, the season couldn't have started any worse, rooted to the foot of the table with just one losing bonus point. They must beat Saracens at home on Wednesday if they want to avoid being left behind.
Stung Again
The last game on Friday night was a repeat of last year's Play-Off final and it produced the same result although by markedly different means.
London Wasps had suffered a dreadful early season, losing their first three, but this dogged win over unbeaten Leicester at Welford Road will give the whole club a real lift.
Jeremy Staunton was the hero for the London team as he didn't miss a kick, slotting five penalties, two drop-goals and the conversion of Damien Varley's try.
The win lifts them to 10th and most importantly keeps them in touch with those ahead, another loss could have made the gap too big even at this early stage.Leicester will soon have a complex when facing Wasps, after a Heineken Cup loss, a Premiership Final loss and back-to-back losses at the once impenetrable Welford Road.
They drop to third in the table and face Northampton mid-week. Wasps face Bath and could welcome back Danny Cipriani for the first time since his ball-breakingly nasty injury against the same opponents back in May.
We now finally come to some weekend fixtures which weren't played under the floodlights. And it seemed to make a vast difference to the quality of rugby.
Champagne Bath
Bath took apart Worcester with a dynamic and reckless performance at The Rec. The final score was 37-19 with the home side scoring five tries to record only the third winning bonus point in the league so far.
Bath coach Steve Meehan made a point of playing attacking rugby in an attempt to side-step the pitfalls of the ELVs.
"We must not be scared of going out and playing. We can't go into our shells, even if the ELVs can put you under a lot of pressure. The rewards of such an approach will outweigh the risks." He said.
Bath are now second and Worcester are languishing at the other end of the table with only Bristol between them and the prospect of League One rugby next year.
Care-less
In the game of the round, London Irish came from 20-8 behind to beat Quins 28-27 at the Stoop. Two Delon Armitage tries and a faultless display from Chris Hewat was enough for Irish to snatch a win from Dean Richard's grasp.
Both teams now sit mid-table, and the rugby they have played so far has made them two of the most exciting sides to watch.
Irish now have the task of taking on the Sale defence, while Quins face Worcester in mid-week.
Sarries march on
The final game saw Saracens beat new-boys Northampton 26-12 at Vicarage Road. Three penalties and a superb drop-goal from the half way line by Stephen Myler were not enough for Northampton as their discipline let them down in the second half.
Ben Foden's nightmare move to the Saints continued as the long-haired renegade who left Sale to get more time in a no.9 shirt was sin-binned only minutes after coming on as replacement. This ended any hopes of a comeback and they now face a tough trip away to Leicester.
Saracens look like they might challenge this year, and should have no problems overcoming Bristol on Wednesday.
Come back on Friday when I will review all the mid-week games, and look ahead to the weekend. This Monday slot is now regular though, so see you then.
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