Welcome to November, the time of the year when
we are privileged to be able to enjoy both Domestic and International rugby all
at once and in my eyes that is what you call getting value for money from your
weekends! In Round 7 the kick off times have been shifted slightly accommodate the Autumn Internationals so do check on your side’s time for I wouldn’t want
anyone to miss a moment of domestic action this weekend. The Premiership is back with a bang so let us dive straight in and preview Round 7;
On Friday Night Gloucester will welcome Harlequins
to Kingsholm in what will be a cracking fixture. Harlequins are missing some huge names however I'm sure that Conor O'Shea will be confident with the men wearing those beautiful Adidas away strips. Both sides have packs that are developing
nicely however I'll be paying close attention to the backs for that is where the wheels lie in particular with the two Charlies; Sharples and Walker. Historically
Harlequins have found it difficult to win at Kingsholm in fact they last won there in
1999 and without their talismanic leaders some believe Friday night could be too much, however I wouldn’t write off O’Shea’s side just yet with the
likes of Luke Wallace, Kyle Sinckler, Dave Ward and co they’ll put up a good
fight for sure.
At the same time about eighty miles away the
league leaders the Northampton Saints will
welcome third placed Exeter Chiefs to town in what will be another
fascinating clash. Exeter remain largely unscathed during this International
window whilst Northampton will be missing a fair few of their key men including
Hartley, Lawes, Wood and North amongst others. However the fact that Ben Foden and Luther Burrell will be taking to the pitch is a huge plus. Exeter have yet to win in their five previous visits to
Franklin’s Gardens however even with the
talent housed in Saints’ squad this will be one that Baxter and his side
fancy. It will be a physical and intense encounter, watch out for the
delightful Chiefs’ centre pairing that I've been banging on about since Round 1, Hill and Slade, and the return to Aviva Premiership action of skipper Dean Mumm. All in all this one will be a belter!
The Saturday rugby starts early at the AJ Bell
Stadium as the Sale Sharks host London Irish for a noon kick off. Sale
have performed well since Round 6 of the Aviva Premiership even if not all of
the results went their way, against Munster they showed tremendous heart and
fortitude even tough they were worn down by the experienced Irish men. Clermont was
also tough however I’m sure that Steve Diamond will have taken many positives out of
the performances; his side's intensity and accuracy in particular. Personally I think Sale will smash back into the Aviva Premiership in a much better place than they left it. London Irish enjoyed a more comfortable
time against Rovigo and Grenoble in the Challenge Cup however amongst others they’ll be their missing
talismanic back rower Blair Cowen who will be on Scotland duty and his presence
is always felt by any side facing the Exiles. Previous history can’t separate
the two with two wins apiece and a draw so expect a close fought battle with a ‘look
at me, look what you are missing’ display from fly half Danny Cipriani.
Next stop following an afternoon of England
action The Rec opens it doors for a 5pm kick off between Bath Rugby and the Newcastle Falcons. With around a third
of the England squad being made up of Bath players there will be a number of key men
missing for the home side however I believe that this weekend will showcase to us all just how much
depth Bath have. George Ford may be away on England duty but Gavin Henson isn't short of experience at fly half and although Paul James is away with Wales, Nathan Catt is seismic at scrum time. The Falcons have been building nicely, in Round 6 their performance against London Welsh
saw them take a strangle hold on the game early on and avoid all of the psychological clutter of it being a 'relegation battle'. In spite of the fact that since that day they only have a 50% win ratio their performances have been building nicely and that is the most important factor for Dean Richards. On home soil I
expect Bath to continue their five Premiership match unbeaten home run and
personally am looking forward to seeing Henson unleashed in oodles of space, should he be selected (fingers crossed)!
On Sunday the action starts at 1pm at Welford
Road where the Leicester Tigers host Saracens and what an encounter this will be! A
few years ago at this time of year Leicester would have been rummaging around their
academy for players due to the number of England call ups, now they should be
able to field more of a complete side than their opponents. Clashes between
these two, at any time of year, are always hugely physical and supreme battles
of wills and this weekend won't be any different. Personally I
can see Saracens doing well on the road even without Vunipola, Kruis, Farrell
and Barritt, for they showed their true depth last weekend when they fielded two sides, one for the LV and the
other against Western Province. They’ll be
excitement out wide for both sides with Miles Benjamin and David Strettle being the two that really will catch my eye and Tiger Brad Thorn will have the honour of captaining his side at Welford Road for the first time.
The final game of the weekend is Wasps’ last Aviva Premiership game to
ever be played at Adams Park before their move to the Ricoh Arena. After such tremendous performances in the two recent LV=Cup fixtures Alex Lozowski more than deserves his place on the bench as does scrum half Tom Bliss. London Welsh are still
chasing their elusive win having lost all ten of their matches in all competitions
so far this season however news of two huge signings will have boosted confidence and firepower for Chris Hala'ufia and Fonua Opeti are not to be messed with! The clash of the back rows will be colossal with Wasps fielding the combination of Hughes, Johnson and Haskell. When the two met in pre-season the scoreline was respective, will it be so again this weekend?It is the time of the year where opportunity knocks for many of our Aviva Premiership players and I expect individuals to grasp their chance with both hands over the coming weeks Now, it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy bumper weekend of rugby action!
