After the penultimate European break the Aviva Premiership is back for the final three rounds of the competition and what a run in we have ahead of us. One of the most well known, yet slightly cheesy lines, is that time flies when you are having fun, however I genuinely subscribe to this notion for it feels like only yesterday that we were casting our eyes towards Round 1. As has been the case for the past few rounds of domestic action the table is tightly congested and nothing is set in stone which will make for a scintillating round of action.
To kick start proceedings The Rec will turn on it's Friday Night Lights as Bath Rugby welcome London Irish to The Rec. Bath have won their last three Aviva Premiership matches in a row and have positively purred in the process of doing so whilst London Irish’s victory over the Sale Sharks was one of the performances of Round 19. This fixture always has a little spice to it from an Irish fan's perspectives as so many former Irish men have made the journey down the M4 and both sides will be itching for a victory. Burgess Cam will continue with Sam likely to start on the flank again however should the weather gods be shining on us I suggest that you keep one eye on the back lines for both house men with serious speed and prowess; Lewington, Rokoduguni, Watson and co. Bath must keep their foot on the gas to put themselves in the best possible position for a home Semi whilst London Irish will simply want to keep spoiling parties as they did so against the Sharks, an intriguing match awaits at The Rec.
To kick start proceedings The Rec will turn on it's Friday Night Lights as Bath Rugby welcome London Irish to The Rec. Bath have won their last three Aviva Premiership matches in a row and have positively purred in the process of doing so whilst London Irish’s victory over the Sale Sharks was one of the performances of Round 19. This fixture always has a little spice to it from an Irish fan's perspectives as so many former Irish men have made the journey down the M4 and both sides will be itching for a victory. Burgess Cam will continue with Sam likely to start on the flank again however should the weather gods be shining on us I suggest that you keep one eye on the back lines for both house men with serious speed and prowess; Lewington, Rokoduguni, Watson and co. Bath must keep their foot on the gas to put themselves in the best possible position for a home Semi whilst London Irish will simply want to keep spoiling parties as they did so against the Sharks, an intriguing match awaits at The Rec. 
At the AJ Bell Stadium the Sale Sharks will be looking to bounce back after their defeat on the road and will wish to continue their quest to be in touching distance of that final European Champions Cup qualification spot. Harlequins’ win against Gloucester Rugby was one of their most important of the season in terms of igniting their confidence and continuing to fight for their possible European route in via seventh position, should Gloucester fail to win the European Challenge Cup. The Sharks’ Round 19 loss was on the back of positive London Irish play and Sharks’ mistakes so I expect that there will have been a number of stern words from Steve Diamond last week in Manchester. Harlequins must press forwards without Mike Brown who continues to suffer from symptoms of concussion, this is concerning for Mike however the wise handling of the situation, from both him and the Club, is music to all of our ears for a player’s safety and health is paramount. If both the Sharks & Harlequins play to their on paper potentials then it will make for a great contest with two experienced back rows contesting the breakdown, two powerful front rows getting stuck into each other and two sets of dynamic half backs... let’s hope that this one delivers to expectations!! 
A fair few miles south of Manchester, Kingsholm will play host it’s second game in as many weeks as the Newcastle Falcons arrive in town. Last weekend David Humphreys’ side showed us all what we have been waiting for as they dismissed an Exeter Chiefs’ side that had been in great form in the European competition and it was a performance that would have warmed the hearts of the Gloucester faithful. The Falcons found their last outing a tough one to swallow as Bath Rugby were clinical in the manner in which they inflicted victory over them in Round 19 however their progression this season remains impressive. Dean Richards and his side will target these final games of the season to cement their progress and should David Humpreheys’ choose to put out a less experienced side they’ll fancy themselves, even on the road. The question for the Gloucester Director of Rugby is how to play the selection game, should he pick a full strength squad and risk injury but gain valuable continuity or should be rest the main men he’ll need in their most important match of the year the European Challenge Cup Final? Only time will tell…
On Saturday afternoon the Leicester Tigers will welcome London Welsh to town. There may be 54 tabular points separating between the two sides but when you look specifically at the number of tries that they have scored things become interestingly for the Tigers have notched up just one more than London Welsh. This is an astounding statistic and one that goes a long way to explaining the criticism that has been put at the door of the Midland’s side however with just one loss in their last thirteen Aviva Premiership games at home, winning ‘ugly’ seems to be in fashion!!! Post Saracens Richard Cockerill confirmed to me that he would be putting out a full strength side against Welsh, I and indeed the entire country expects 5 points and it will be manner in which they are taken that will be most important. A confident performance, with a strong purpose in attack will be Tigers’ desire whilst Welsh will want to build on the two steps forward that they made against Bath and Wasps in the preceding rounds. 
The televised match on Saturday will be broadcast from the Stadium mK where the Northampton Saints will face Saracens. It is safe to say that this is going to be an absolute belter of a fixture for there is so much at stake for both sides and you can guarantee that they will go at each other like men possessed. There are more unknown factors in this game than any other, the first is whether or not the Northampton Saints will have regained their mojo during the two week break? The second is whether or not Saracens will suffer from a Clermont hangover in the same manner in which their opponents did?? Head to head the match ups are intense to say the very least from the Wigglesworth/Fotuali'i or Dickson battle to the almighty clash of the front rows, there isn't too much else to say other than this will be an alright battle of wills and I suggest that you either purchase one of the last remaining tickets or find a television with BT Sport on it! 
The Final game of the weekend will be at the Ricoh Arena where Wasps Rugby will host the Exeter Chiefs in another fixture that has great importance for both sides. The Chiefs' can't afford to lose for the Leicester Tigers behind them have an almost certain 5 points from their clash with London Welsh and Wasps know they must continue to push ahead in terms of securing that final automatic European Qualification spot. The great news for the home side is that their Premiership record there is almost impeccable, bar that Round 17 defeat to Saracens. The Chiefs blip on their radar was last weekend against Gloucester and hopefully they'll have put that firmly out of their minds and used the loss to further fuel their desire for a playoff position. Nathan Hughes will be back and is expected to start in the Back Row, it will be interesting to watch his match up with Thomas Waldrom, for they are very different players but both have excelled for their respective clubs this year. Both sides enjoy free flowing rugby and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some phenomenal bits of individual skill and a fair few tries in Coventry on Sunday afternoon. 