So here we are, we have reached the final round of the
Aviva Premiership 2013/14 season, and it has been one of the closest and most
dramatic seasons of recent years. Over the past 8 months there have been twists
and turns in the race for European action, some clubs have exceeded
expectations whilst others have fallen short and as fans we have delighted in
countless minutes of outstanding action. Now, it all comes down to this; six matches, one
round of rugby, and then it is time for the knockouts. Courtesy of
Round 21 we now have our very own Aviva Premiership Quarter Final Match as well
as five other extremely competitive fixtures that will complete the 'group' stages
of the Aviva Premiership. On Saturday afternoon all of the fixtures will all
kick off at 3.15pm, so without any further introduction for the last time let’s dive into
the action and preview the forthcoming round of Aviva Premiership Action;
In the North of the country the Newcastle Falcons welcome the Exeter Chiefs to Kingston Park. The Falcons and their supporters can now breathe a huge sigh of relief after they secured a place in Premiership for another year last weekend. Dean Richards’ side have had quite a challenging season, as do so many clubs that are newly promoted from the Championship however they have survived and they will want to showcase their full repertoire of skills at the weekend. The Exeter Chiefs have also had their fair share of challenges this year, from the highs of their early season form and their LV Cup winning performance to their Round 20 low against the Sale Sharks... it must have been emotional to be part of the Tribe this year. The Chiefs so narrowly lost out to Harlequins in Round 21 and it is certain that Dean Mumm and his men will want to show just how much further on they are in their development than the Falcons. If the sun is shining then I’m expecting another fast paced game, both sides have some stunning runners; Sinoti, Cato and Vainikolo are the most prolific and if either forget to pack their defence then we could be in for another try fest.
At the Madjeski Stadium London Irish will welcome the
Sale Sharks for both sides’ last game of the season... signing off on a high
will be the aim and I suspect that tries will be the result. Steve Diamond is a
very strong contender for the DoR of the Season and rightly so as he has
unlocked the best from his side after last year’s skirmish with potential
relegation. This year Sale have been a tight unit, they have been powerfully
led from the front by Dan Braid and his pack whilst in behind them Dwayne Peel
and Danny Cipriani have pushed the charge from the half backs. Since the
arrival of James O’Connor in late October London Irish have played with more
confidence though they haven’t delivered the type of consistency that they
would have hoped. Alex Lewington has made headlines with his performances and
up front Blair Cowen has been phenomenal. On Saturday afternoon the Exiles will
wish to give their home crowd a show whilst the Sharks will want to end the
year as they started it with a big fat W next to their name.
Worcester’s last game in the Aviva Premiership will be on
home soil at Sixways against Gloucester. It must be extremely difficult to go
through the emotions of being relegated and still have to pick yourselves up
and play one final match however the Warriors certainly know a thing or two
about resilience so I expect them to fight hard at home. Gloucester, have had a
really tough year, watching Charlie Sharples on Rugby Tonight last week it
appeared even the players can’t quite put their finger on why things just
haven't gelled on the pitch. Gloucester’s players like their supporters are
proud rugby folk and I would bet my house (if I owned one) on the fact that
they won’t have another season like this one for a number of years. For 80
minutes pride will be at stake for both sides, a win for Worcester may be
immaterial however it would mean the world to the squad whist the Cherry and
Whites will be targeting a bonus point victory that screams class.
The first of the two televised matches is at Franklin’s Gardens where two teams that
will be very happy with themselves face each other; the Northampton Saints
versus London Wasps. Northampton’s happiness stems from the fact they have sewn
up their home playoff position after that dramatic draw against Bath whilst
Harlequins did London Wasps a huge favour beating the Chiefs last weekend and guaranteed
them a trip to France for the European Playoff. Northampton have reintroduced, George North, Christian Day and Lee Dickson into the starting line up to them game time following their various injuries and it is great to see Alex Corbisiero is back on the bench after a very long spell out of the game. London Wasps have rotated their side to rest a number of players with knocks (Masi, Helu, Cooper-Wooley, Myall) or wrap a couple in cotton wool (Haskell, Simpson, Mullun). Dai Youngs sums it up perfectly; "We want to win every match we play and we are determined to get something out of this game. We also know we have a huge couple of weeks ahead of us in the home and away play-off for the European Rugby Champions Cup. We are not yet in a position where we can match the depth of squad of a club like Stade Francais and so we have had to be sensible in our selection, resting some players who have niggles to make sure they are fully fit next week, while also giving some players needed game time to ensure we are selecting from a balanced squad.”
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| Image Claire Jones |
All that is left for me to say is let the games begin....
