Guinness Premiership : That's over the line... again

That's over the line... again

15 May 2008, 4:30 pm

By Nick Betts

Tom Varndell's brace in the final round of the Guinness Premiership against Harlequins ensured the 22 year old topped the league's try-scoring charts for the second time in three seasons. Coral.co.uk, the official betting partner of the Guinness Premiership, priced him as the pre-season favourite at 7/1 and the Leicester flyer didn't disappoint, touching down on 13 separate occasions.

Behind Varndell was Bath Rugby winger Matthew Banahan, who surprised many this season with his physicality and pace on the flanks. Not many saw the ex-London Irish academy player challenging for the top try-scorer title at the start of the season and Coral.co.uk reflected this with odds of 40/1. However, the Jersey born winger, who was originally signed by Bath as a lock, has had an outstanding debut season, returning 10 tries and earning himself a call up to the England Saxons squad to tour the USA and Canada this Summer.

Lesley Vainikolo's much anticipated code switch saw him priced as the 10/1 third favourite and the former Bradford Bulls winger played to the bookie's tune, finishing in equal third place. After Round 1 it looked as though 'The Volcano' would obliterate the rest of the field, with a staggering five tries against Leeds Carnegie on his Gloucester Rugby debut which saw him come in as the 3/1 favourite. This early season form earned him an England call up but he added just four more tries during the whole of the rest of the season.

The two other players that joined Vainikolo on nine tries were fellow Gloucester Rugby winger, James Simpson-Daniel and Miles Benjamin of Worcester. While some might have anticipated Simpson-Daniel to be mixing it with the best finishers in the league, few predicted the emergence of Miles Benjamin from the Worcester academy - least of all the bookies! Benjamin's odds of 50/1 to cross the line more than any other player in the 2008/2009 season seemed fitting, especially by January when the Solihull speedster still hadn't made a league start in a Worcester shirt. That all changed against Newcastle on January 6th when Benjamin began a phenomenal try-scoring run of nine in 13 appearances, propelling him up to 3rd place in the try-scoring charts.