Four weeks
ago Round 12 of the Aviva Premiership ended and since then we have been
engulfed in a whirlwind of LV Rugby, the Heineken Cup, the Amlin Challenge Cup
and of course the start of the RBS Six Nations... a lot has happened and I make
no apologies for starting off this Round 13 preview with a recap of the Round
12 action;
Under the Friday Night Lights at the AJ Bell Stadium Sale won the battle of the North dismissing the Falcons and a few hundred miles south the Northampton Saints bulldozed Quins off the park with another mighty display. On the Saturday London Irish won the ‘relegation’ battle against Worcester thanks to a James O’Connor master-class and at Kingsholm Saracens absolutely smashed Gloucester. On the Sunday it ended 27 apiece at Welford Road as the Tigers staged an almighty comeback against Bath and at Adams Park Andy Goode’s last kick of the game broke Chiefs’ hearts. Needless to say it was one tasty round of rugby and Round 13 is set to be just the same especially with the added spice of players looking to prove themselves whilst their team-mates are away on international duty. So without another word let’s dive straight into previewing Round 13;
Friday Night Lights return to Sixways as Worcester host the Leicester Tigers and I’m very pleased to be able to write that during the break Worcester gained their first win in a very, very long time... can I hear a whoop whoop!?! The win was against Oyonnax in the Amlin (20-13) however the joy was short lived as they lost to Sale Sharks the following weekend and again to Exeter the weekend after. So will one win have made all the difference? I suspect not, however it would be great to see Worcester come out and really play at Welford Road. Leicester continue to be plagued by injuries and their ‘difficult’ season transferred itself into Europe however making the short trip to Sixways will be a chance to re-group and gain maximum points in order to move back up the Aviva Premiership table.
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| (Image Leicester Tigers Facebook) |
The second
set of Friday Night Lights are at the AJ Bell Stadium… Steve Diamond’s men are
on a strong run of form on the pitch at the moment having won 4 out of 5
matches since Round 12 however off it their fortunes have been mixed. On the
positive side they have secured the services of their talisman Mark Cueto for
another year, Tom Brady has extended his contract and they have signed the
talent that is Nathan Hines. On the flip side two of their key play
makers will leave at the end of the season; James Gaskell and Henry Thomas.
Their opponents, Gloucester seem to have pulled themselves together
after that dismal performance against Saracens and have been playing with much
more intent and tempo. Sadly
this week Andy Hazel announced his immediate retirement from that game
after more than 250 appearances for the club over 17 seasons, the word legend
is often used far too liberally however Andy is more than deserving of the
title and we all wish him well in his retirement.
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| (Image Gloucester Rugby Facebook) |
Bath's stellar season continues, in the last four weeks they have
secured a place in the semi-final of the LV Cup and the services of Kyle
Eastmond for another two years. On top of that they have signed two exciting
young talents, Henry Thomas and Nick Auterac, and made it through to the
quarter finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup.... that’s not bad going really is
it!?! The only piece of bad news was that Nick Abendanon announced that he will
be off to Clermont at the end of the season and as all Bath fans know that is a
huge loss. The Newcastle Falcons have been quietly going about their
business up at Kingston Park winning some and losing some. Transfer wise things
have been quite quiet however Dean Richards has said that he is ‘taking his
time’ and ‘playing the long game'. This weekend’s fixture is the start of a
hugely testing time for the Falcons as over the next month they will take on
Bath, Harlequins, Northampton and Leicester in a row! Ouch!!
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| (Image Bath Rugby Facebook) |
Saracens show no signs of tiring as they continue to brush teams aside
with ease… well everyone except for the Northampton Saints who ran out 20-16
winners in the LV at the weekend. With their influential team behind the team
in place for another three years and a formidable performance against the Natal
Sharks under their belts Saracens look set to continue where they left off in the Aviva
Premiership... smashing teams for fun! A special mention must also go to their marketing team who
continue to get it right off the pitch with their ‘free beer if a Saracen
scores at Murrayfield’ promotion… excellent work!! London
Irish head into this fixture on the back of their first ever victory over
the Scarlets in the LV Cup and the excellent news that they have signed Irish
international Tom Court... however it is not all sweetness and light at Sunbury
as CJ Van De Lindle played for just 20 minutes and then left the field injured.
On top of that their player drain continues with James O’Connor and Marland
Yarde both leaving at the end of the season. It is time for a big few rounds for Brian Smith's men if they wish to climb up the table and achieve their ambitions of a top half finish.
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The Exeter
Chiefs re-start their Aviva Premiership campaign welcoming the mighty
Northampton Saints at Sandy Park. The Chiefs may not be going through to the
knock out stages of the Heineken Cup however they have secured an LV semi-final
spot and re-enter the Aviva Premiership on the back of a strong 5 try win over
Worcester Warriors. The Northampton Saints have done one better
than their opponents and have secured an LV Semi-Final place and an Amlin
Challenge Cup Quarter Final spot. Another impressive fact is that they haven’t
lost since that fateful December day at Franklin’s Gardens when Leinster came
to town and despite losing a number of players to international duty they have
the strength in depth to be competitive throughout this RBS 6 Nations period.
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| © Claire Jones |
The final
fixture of the weekend is the London derby between Harlequins and London Wasps at The Stoop. Harlequins have
experienced a whole whirlwind of emotions since Round 12, they crashed out of
Europe and were comprehensively beaten by the Cardiff Blues on Friday night
however they did welcome back number of their injured players, survive a hurricane
and secure the services of Marland Yarde… so swings and roundabouts really. London Wasps are simply loving their
rugby life at the moment, at least they were until they went to Kingsholm on
Saturday… excluding that particular performance they have been showing great
strength in depth and have been announcing contract extension after contract
extension. Last year they were victorious at the Stoop and they will really fancy
their chances again this weekend led from the front by their captain Chris Bell
and England Saxons Joe Simpson and Elliot Daly.
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| (Image Wasps Facebook) |
As you can
see Round 13 is set to be an action packed one so fasten your seat belts
because the Aviva Premiership is back and the business end of the seasons
starts here!
