Welcome to Round 6, the final
round before we turn our heads to all things European for two weeks. It has
been quite the week off the field in the Aviva Premiership, one of the most emotional
in recent times, however right now I am going to turn the focus towards the
field of play and preview all of the weekend’s fixtures;
On Friday evening Welford Road
will open its doors and welcome Harlequins
to town. This week there has been much talk and speculation as to whether Leicester Tigers’ Richard Cockerill should be worried about his job however
in my eyes it is a little premature to be talking in that manner for as he
rightly points out they are ‘in an extraordinary situation’. Marcos Ayerza is on the bench following his return from The Rugby Championship whilst Manu Tuilagi starts in the centre, cue sighs of relief everywhere from Tigers' fans. Nonetheless it will be
all hands on deck to deal with Harlequins’ key playmakers notably Marler,
Evans and Brown. The form book from Round 5 points to Harlequins
prevailing at under the Friday Night Lights however the Tigers will be hell bent
on tearing that up book and gaining a much needed, confidence boosting win.
Whatever the time of the year twelfth
versus eleventh is always a huge match up, and this weekend’s game between London Welsh and the Newcastle Falcons is no exception to
that rule. Whilst there still is a huge amount of rugby left to play, you do
get the feeling that this match could be season defining in terms of the
confidence that a win will provide and therefore indicate which side may
survive the year. After producing such a gutsy win against the Exeter Chiefs and
their overall performance level I believe that the Falcons are heading into the
fixture with their noses firmly in front. London Welsh must produce the type of
rugby that they played for 60 minutes against Gloucester in Round 4 if they
have any chance of competing. At the Kassam nerves may mean that is unlikely to
be most fluid game of rugby ever however what it may lack in continuity it will
certainly make up for in intensity.
The Exeter Chiefs will be fuming at the fact that they couldn’t spark
themselves into life at Kingston Park last weekend and I fully expect them to arrive
all guns blazing at home against London
Irish. Irish will certainly deliver a contest and the fact that they have
lost their last 5 encounters in a row against Baxter’s side means nothing for
this season they have come on leaps and bounds compared to last. The breakdown
will be suitably brutal with Blair Cowen and Dave Ewers in particular igniting
proceedings whilst the Shane Geraghty, Henry Slade, centre clash will be mesmerising.
Let us all pray to the weather gods for sunshine for if we get it then with the
backs that are housed within both squads Sandy Park is in for a treat!
At Allianz Park Saracens host Gloucester in what I expect to be an intriguing clash, both sides
have points to prove following Round 4 and both will go hell for leather in
order to do so on Saturday afternoon. This fixture will be a real test for
David Humprehys’ new and improved Gloucester side, unquestionably they are
building week on week however Saracens remain as one of the best in the
business and a side that refuses to let their opponents play. I wouldn’t be
surprised if Saracens make a few personnel rotations with one eye on Clermont
next weekend and I’m sure that we all can forgive Mark McCall for doing so!! Once
again my eyes are drawn up front and the battle at scrum time, the platform is
critical for Gloucester and Saracens always deliver up front. Out wide we are
expected to see some of the Premiership’s best finishers go ahead to ahead with
David Strettle, Charlie Sharples and Jonny May to name but a few, so expect a
great blend of power in North Lon on Saturday afternoon.
The final Saturday fixture is at
Franklin’s Gardens where the Northampton
Saints host the Sale Sharks; neither side hit the heights
that they are able to last weekend however both came away with 4 points. Both
set of management and players will know that they must up their games
significantly if they are to do the same this weekend. Personally I’m not going
to bet against the Northampton Saints, for on home soil with the quality of
their squad and their 16th man they are quite the formidable package.
If he is picked to start I expect Jon Fisher to put in another head turning
performance... there is a man that is grasping his opportunity with both hands. Sale must
take the positives from Round 5 and build on them; they defended superbly and caused
Wasps all sorts of problems at the breakdown and these are two things that they
will have to repeat again this weekend. Mark Cueto’s fitness will be a huge
boost if he can deliver 60 or even 80 minutes and if Danny’s radar is back on
form from the kicking tee I expect the visitors to put up a strong display and
make Saints work hard for it.
In the final game of the weekend Wasps host Bath, after such a emotional week it is an almighty task for Wasps
to host the current league leaders however I’ve absolutely no doubt that when
it comes down to it their players will deliver a rock solid performance. Bath
made an almighty statement of intent last Friday night, their blend of forward
power and electricity out back is stunning. Anthony Watson and Luke Arscott both
played for 40 minutes in the A League on Monday evening so I expect one or
indeed the pair of them to be in the squad or even starting on Sunday. Will
either side have one eye on Europe next weekend? You bet they won’t, Wasps will
be fired by emotion and eager to focus on their rugby and to deliver a first
class performance and Bath will know that it is vital that they continue their
forward momentum. All in all quite the Aviva Premiership clash awaits...
