Welcome to Round 12, the round of the Aviva Premiership that will kick off 2015 in style. Throughout 2014 we've been thoroughly entertained by the quality of the competition and the great thing is that 2015 will take things up a notch we hurtle towards the business end of proceedings.
Franklin’s Gardens has the honour of hosting the first Friday Night Lights of 2015 as the Newcastle Falcons come to town. In Round 11 the Northampton Saints proved that you don’t need to have a lot of ball to win matches as they amassed 30 points with precious little possession. The Newcastle Falcons were the talk of the round as they delivered a hugely respectable performance against Saracens that showcased to us all exactly how much they are progressing under Dean Richards. Progression is king for the Falcons and another similar 80 minutes will cement their upward trajectory however I expect Mallinder’s men to be too powerful at the Gardens for it is their fortress and no-one is expected to rock it without colossal strength.
In the past two rounds Saracens have really started to sing again after a few weeks in which they looked a little off colour. Owen Farrell is leading proceedings and out the back Alex Goode continues to play with fire in his belly. London Irish gained their first home win of the Premiership season on Boxing Day against London Welsh. London Irish are one of the only Premiership teams to ever have beaten Saracens at Allianz Park and they did so on the 8th February 2014. It was a superb match form the Exiles in which they took on Saracens up front and young Alex Lewington excelled in the backs. Brian Smith's men must bring precision and intensity to the match to compete with the Saracens machine. 
The Exeter Chiefs return to Sandy Park after participating in a hugely competitive game of rugby at The Rec last weekend whilst Gloucester ended their match frustrated in defeat. The Chiefs’ Tom Johnson enjoyed a welcome return to the field after his injury spell as he ran out for the Exeter Braves on Monday night and it would be great to see him back in the Premiership this weekend. Gloucester’s word of the day will be discipline and you sense that David Humphreys is just looking at all of his options for this weekend Charlie Sharples starts at full back with David Halaifonua gaining his first start on the wing. As Nick Mullins rightly said today, tough start to the year for Steve McColl.
At Welford Road the Leicester Tigers host Bath Rugby in what will be one of the clashes of the weekend. Richard Cockerill’s men will vividly remember that sunny Saturday afternoon in September when they were humiliated with that 45-0 defeat and this return fixture will have been highlighted on the fixture list since then. The Tigers should take a lot of heart from their away win at Sale last weekend so are poised for a big come back. Bath, well Bath should be confident that they can do the double over Leicester because they really are looking like a class act at the moment. Watch out for Sam Burgess starting at 13 with Kyle Eastmond the man on his inside that will be enthralling to watch. For the home side Julian Salvi makes his 100th appearance as a Tiger and I'm sure that the 24,000 strong crowd will salute him for it.
Wasps welcome the Sale Sharks to the Ricoh Arena in what will be another belting clash. Dai Young will want his side’s undefeated home record to stay in tact however the Sharks are stiff opposition and won’t back down without a fight. The Sharks are without captain Dan Braid who picked up a knee injury last weekend and that is a big blow, also Steve Diamond is staring with Cips and Cusiter on the bench for the starting jerseys are handed to Will Cliff and Joe Ford. Wasps welcome back Carlo Festuccia into the starting line up and also hand starts to James Gaskell and Rob Miller against their former club. Wasps have announced that there will be 17,000 at the Ricoh for what should be a cracker of a match.
The final game of the weekend is at the Kassam Stadium where London Welsh will host Harlequins. Life in the Aviva Premiership hasn’t been easy for Justin Burnell and his men and they’ll be without Captain Tom May after his over-zealous scuffle with Dan Leo on Boxing Day. Harlequins’ Big Game 7 didn’t end in victory however it was a ‘huge step forward’ according to Conor O’Shea, for his side ‘looked like themselves’ and played with much greater intent going forwards. Harlequins should have too much for Welsh however you can guarantee that the home side will give it everything that they have got, they always do. 