The level of rugby that the Aviva Premiership has delivered over
the past few rounds has gone up a notch; it has been pulsating and dramatic and
now our seven of our sides will continue to test themselves against the best that Europe has to
offer. As expected at this stage in proceedings Round 5 of the Champions Cup is of huge importance to the majority of our teams competing and this weekend will have huge ramifications on their European aspirations.
On Saturday it is the turn of four of our Aviva Premiership sides to deliver on the big stage and I’ll start at
Allianz Park for that is the earliest of the three kick offs. Mark McCall’s men
will welcome Munster in what will be a clash of seismic proportions. Munster
are behind the home side by just a point in Pool 1 however even Paul O’Connell
is being realistic about the magnitude of the task ahead. Saracens will be on
the bounce back after their gutting defeat to Gloucester and the memories of
not fully equipping themselves at Thomond Park in Round 2 of the competition. It
will be a fascinating clash, Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt are back for the
home side and seeing the mighty Paul O’Connell in full flow is always a
delightful sight to behold! 
As the sun sets Sale will be
hosting Clermont Auvergne at the AJ Bell Stadium for a 5.30pm in a game that they have
titled 'Le Clash'. In real terms there is little that Sale can do to progress in
the competition however after a huge win over the Northampton Saints in the
Aviva Premiership last weekend this game will be all about continuing their
performance levels and making people take notice. Clermont, like all French
sides, often finding travelling away from home difficult however with Nick
Abendanon, Aurélien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana and co in their backline and Jamie
Cudmore facing off against his old buddy Nathan Hines in the forwards you
expect them to turn up and deliver. Can Sale ruffle a few feathers... for the
sake of a great game of rugby and a spot of patriotism you’d like to hope so! 
A few hours later underneath the
floodlights Harlequins will host Wasps in what can only be described as a ‘do
or die’ fixture for both need to win in order to continue to fight for a place
in the next round. The rivalry between the two is potent enough already without
adding this factor on top for they have spent many years a ‘local rivals’.
There are fascinating match ups all over the park, from the scrum half talent
Care versus Simpson to the back row battle... Johnson, Haskell and Hughes
versus the young man Clifford, our England Captain Mr Robshaw and the ever
present Nick Easter. Personally I can’t wait to see the sparks fly underneath
the Saturday Night Lights.
On Sunday our heads turn towards two
teams at the top of the Aviva Premiership table – Bath Rugby and the Northampton
Saints. Bath are heading out to France to really show what they are made of
against a hugely physical Toulouse side. Toulouse don’t lose at home, it just
doesn’t happen, however the Glasgow Warriors showed that if you play the right
type of game you can come close and I expect Bath to do just that. Personally I’m
a huge fan of the Bath style of play and squad and cannot wait to see this game
pan out in particular Ford versus Flood and a phenomenal back row clash with Nyanga,
Dusautoir and Picamoles taking on Garvey, Louw and Houston. In short I cannot
wait to see this game, and from the comfort of the BT Sport Studio I’ll get a
great view combined with some expert back row analysis thanks to the legend that is Mr Lawrence Dallaglio!  |
| (C) Claire Jones |
