After
a scintillating European weekend that involved four of our Premiership teams
the domestic competition will resume this weekend for its penultimate hoorah before
it too reaches the knockout stages. At this point in the season it is
appropriate to use one of my favourite phrases in order to describe the
situation in many places of the Aviva Premiership table; it is 'tighter than a pair
of budgie smugglers on a prop'!! There is still everything to play for and Round 21 is packed with scintillating fixtures so let's dive straight into the Out On The Full preview;
On
Friday Night The Rec opens its doors for a rather large clash with between Bath and the Northampton Saints. Bath are the side with everything to play for as they
haven't yet secured their playoff spot whereas the visitors can rest easy
knowing that they will play in a playoff fixture the question is just where? The match
is a rehearsal for the Amlin Challenge Cup Final in a few weeks time and depending
on how the results pan out in Rounds 21 and 22 it could be a rehearsal for an Aviva Premiership playoff fixture too... needless to say these two are going to get
to know each other well over the next month. Jim Mallinder has decided to field his big guns for the clash; Ben Foden, Ken Pisi and Luther Burrell all return to the starting line up along with Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood, who captains the side. Clearly the thought of risking injuries is nowhere near Jim Mallinder's mind and personally I say good for him... momentum is critical and win away from home at The Rec will certainly create that. Mike Ford has named a full strength Bath side with a couple of exceptions; Semesa Rokoduguni will play for the Army on Saturday afternoon so he is replaced by Anthony Watson in the starting line up, Matt Garvery is forced out due to an injury that he sustained at Wasps last weekend and he is replaced by the mighty Carl Fearns. Stuart Hooper will lead the side out for his 200th Premiership appearance, it is a huge personal milestone and it will be a proud moment for the Captain. Both
teams will play some first class rugby this weekend, both will be brutally
clinical and efficient in their assault of the other and The Rec is in for a treat and a half
this Friday Night.
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| Image @Katelm76 |
Gloucester Rugby's season has been one to forget;
following their defeat to London Wasps at Twickenham Nigel Davies
looked like a man that just needed a good cuddle after his side once again gave
a performance that doesn’t do their talent justice. Kingsholm isn’t quite the
fortress that it once was but you know that the men in Cherry and White will
raise their game in front of their home crowd. Freddie Burns will start at fly half for his last game at Kingsholm London Irish's second half performance against Saints was a superb and they must press on from that and forget about the 'what ifs' from that match. Chris Hala’ufia returns to the side and he will certainly add some bulk to proceedings whilst Tom Homer will make his 100th appearance for the club this weekend after a season that has been littered with injuries. Gloucester need to go back to
basics, they need to secure their own ball particularly from the lineout and
after that not panic; Charlie Sharples and Jonny May can work their magic out
wide and a stronger defensive display will pay dividends. All in all for
Gloucester a large performance is absolutely critical to salvage some pride on
the other hand London Irish will fancy their chances of gaining their first set
of back to back wins at Kingsholm ever.
Deservedly Saracens
are the talk of the town after they blasted Clermont Auvergne into next week in
the Heineken Cup Semi Final... it was a result that sent shockwaves through the
rugby community and it is one that will be talked about for years and years to
come. In the post match press conference Mark McCall was very open about the
fact that he will utilise his full squad for Rounds 21 and 22 of the Aviva
Premiership however this weekend it appears to be business as usual in terms of the rotational policy. Steve Borthwick and Jacques Burger are both rested, you can understand why given their contribution over the season, however the Saracens squad is a strong one. Their opponents are the Worcester Warriors, a team that are undoubtedly
building in terms of their confidence and their performance levels however you suspect that this weekend might be
the weekend when their dream of pulling off the Great Escape is dashed for
good. Jonathan Thomas will captain the unchanged side this weekend. Personally I hope that Worcester do have a jolly good go at Saracens and really
attack the match because it is their last chance saloon, however I do expect
Saracens to showcase their strength in depth and just edge the match regardless.
At the AJ
Bell Stadium the Sale Sharks
welcome the Leicester Tigers to town
and this will be a colossal battle of wills between two sides that won't take any prisoners in their quest to end the day with at least four points.
The Sharks recorded one of the most emphatic victories that the Aviva
Premiership has seen in Round 20, they were brutally efficient against a shell
shocked Exeter Chiefs whilst their opponents were left wanting slightly against Harlequins. Unsurpsingly Sale have announced a team that contains only one change from their last outing with Andrei Ostrikov coming into the side and Dave Seymour takes the captaincy duties once again. The Sharks' opportunity to gain a playoff place is more of an
outside chance however they will certainly relish the thought of spoiling the Tigers' playoff party. Sadly they will be without captain Dan Braid, Dan had minor surgery recently and will be out for the rest of the year, losing him will be a blow however hopefully not a killer one for the Sharks. Ben Youngs makes his 100th Premiership Rugby appearance as he partners Owen Williams in the half backs and Geoff Parling will start his first full game back from injury. We all know that Leicester are the kings of peaking at the right time so expect
Cockers’ men to be firing on all four cylinders this weekend and gunning for that bonus point victory that would secure them a playoff place for a tenth
successive season in a row.
The final game of the weekend is on Sunday at
Sandy Park where the Exeter Chiefs host Harlequins and the home side will be desperate
to erase the horrific memories that they have of their defeat to the Sale Sharks. Both sides need as many points as possible in order to
stay in touch with those above them and both will need results elsewhere to go
their way. Exeter must start afresh, two weeks off will have helped them to regroup and they will be absolutely bursting to get out and show what they are made of. I’m
predicting a particularly brutal first twenty minutes from the home side and an
equally strong retaliation from a Harlequins side that will once again be treating this game like a Cup Final. Harlequins will be thankful that Nick Evans
has recovered from his injury and will start alongside Danny Care in the half backs as he is vital to them playing their very best rugby and the return from injury for Dean Mumm will be equally as
critical for the home side. For the sake of the Exeter Chiefs and the Sandy
Park faithful I hope that the Chiefs put in a stonking performance and for the sake of a great game I hope that Quins are equally competitive because that will make for compelling Sunday afternoon viewing.