Game Faces On – Aviva Premiership Round 17 Preview

Welcome back to the Aviva Premiership, after all of the RBS 6 Nations and LV Cup excitement of the past 3 weeks it is now the turn of the Aviva Premiership to provide more scintillating fixtures and nerve wracking finishes. It remains to be seen whether all of our England internationals will return to domestic action this week, I believe that some have been given the week off to recover however with or without them we are in for a rather large weekend of rugby. There are just 6 rounds left and from here on in the Aviva Premiership becomes extremely serious, a point or two either way can make or break a team and it is the time to stand up and be counted for. 

Round 17 starts with one of the most important games of the season for the Worcester Warriors, in spite of a number of spirited performances they yet to win a match and time is running out. The question is what do they need to do to win? Having reviewed their game against Quins the simple answer is; more of the same, excluding the needless penalties and including a touch more self-belief in order to close out a match. For their opponents, London Wasps, history seems to be repeating itself as once again they have found themselves having another ‘mid-season slump’ after losing their last three Aviva Premiership matches in a row. Dai Young’s side certainly need to be careful in this round, against Sale in Round 16 they kicked away a lot of possession and with the lethal Chris Pennell on the other side employing such a tactic again could be costly. It is time for the experienced Wasps players to step up and dictate the game and collectively they need to step up to ensure that they are not the first to be defeated by the hearty Warriors.

Wasps leaders must step up this week

The Sale Sharks have been steadily building for a number of rounds now and their performances have an air of assurance about them. Overall nothing too flash is going on under Steve Diamond’s watch, they are simply executing the basics extremely well, getting on with their business and recording results. Their opponents are the mighty Northampton Saints, they are massive in all respects and are the team that have most impressed me throughout the International period. Why? Well they have been playing as well, some may argue better, than they were with a full squad. The Saints’ strength in depth is superb, players that have been ‘filling in’ for their International counterparts have excelled, and a prime example is young Tom Stephenson. With all due respect to Sale’s outstanding form to date I think that it will be tough to topple the home side, with or without their International players; winning confidently is one thing, winning confidently against the Northampton Saints is something completely different thing and something that no Aviva Premiership team has managed to yet.

MC - Leading the Sharks Charge

It is a London Derby with a difference this weekend as Saracens and Harlequins head to Wembley Stadium to battle it out on the hallowed turf. Saracens will have their sights set firmly on a strong ‘home’ win, their LV Semi Final loss to Saints won’t bother them in the slightest and instead they’ll remember their dominance against Bath and press on from there. Harlequins will be extremely happy that the RBS 6 Nations are over however they might have to wait another week to have their full International contingent back as I believe that a few individuals are being rested. There is no doubt that if this is the case it will have been a difficult decision to make but absolutely the right one to avoid burn out. The atmosphere in Wembley will be electric and Quins will certainly have their work cut out pacifying Saracens. Last time Saracens played on the hallowed turf they tasted defeat and I expect this not to be the case in Round 17 of the Aviva Premiership. 

It is time for Derby Day at Wembley

Gloucester certainly haven't enjoyed the 2013/14 season so far, turning up and being truly counted for week in week out just hasn’t happened and I’m sure that they will want to get this year out of the way in a flash so that their reinforcements can arrive. During this short break in proceedings there was a change at the top and Trevor Woodman was appointed Scrum Coach with immediate effect; Trevor brings a wealth of experience and he will need to use it to quickly remove the biggest thorn from Gloucester side. Newcastle also haven’t had the best of times this year, winning has been a huge luxury and one that they haven’t enjoyed since last October. Their last Aviva Premiership performance was gutsy and promising, they scored tries and worked their socks off for 80 minutes however they still lost by a good 30 points... which is never ideal!! Both sides haven’t enjoyed the 2013/14 season so far and personally I can see this one being a close fought battle at Kingsholm.

Time to step up for Gloucester

Another rather large fixture this weekend is the St Patrick's Day match at London Irish… it is the time of the year when the Madjeski Stadium opens all of its stands and The Fields of Athenry can be heard back in Sunbury. This year’s fixture has an added spice to it given the fact that the visitors are Bath, a team that contains so many ex-Irish gents in its ranks, both on and off the pitch. Rugby wise it should be a formality for Bath to sweep their hosts aside however the atmosphere will pick up Brian Smith’s team and make it a strong contest. Once again the battle of the powerful back rows will be an intriguing watch… Bath’s back row are a formidable hunting pack and the prospect of Garvey, Louw and Houston going at Low, Cowen and Treviranus is an exciting one. Overall Brian Smith’s men will need all the luck of the Irish to come away with a win whereas Mike Ford’s men need to go back to basics, play themselves into the match and remind everyone just why they have had the words ‘playoff contenders’ written all over them throughout the season.

Will the Paddies Day party continue at The Madjeski? Image @CharlieChipp89

The final fixture of the weekend is at Welford Road between the Leicester Tigers and the Exeter Chiefs. Welford Road remains a stronghold for Cockers’ men despite some of their more ‘interesting’ performances this season however Exeter will arrive absolutely bursting with confidence after their LV Cup Title win this weekend. With both Niki Goneva and Fetu'u Vainikolo on the pitch expect some blistering runs and game changing breaks. Exeter will wish to match the Tigers up front and plough on from there whilst the Tigers will wish to nullify their visitors early on and stamp out that title winning confidence. Prior to Round 16 both teams looked out of sorts in the Aviva Premiership however now that they both have enjoyed some time to regroup and refresh expect a huge clash on Sunday in front of a packed crowd at Welford Road.

It is Tigers time for Exeter Chiefs