It's been a fairly busy week in the world of rugby from the announcement of Warren Gatland as the British and Irish Lions head coach to Stuart Lancaster's return to full time coaching and Wales confirming their senior player selection policy. Needless to say we haven't been short of news but now it's time to focus our attention on Round 2 of the Aviva Premiership. We're set for a compelling round as motivation will be high across the country to either right the wrongs of last weekend or press on from a positive opening.
On Friday night Worcester and Gloucester will christen the new artificial pitch at Sixways and of course all home fans will be hoping that their team does so in style. Although both fell short in Round 1 my gut feeling is that Gloucester will have been hurt more by their loss. Worcester were out muscled by the European and Premiership Champions and that's understandable given the gulf between the sides but we all saw how Gloucester slipped away at Kingsholm. The question is can Gloucester park such acute disappointment and move forwards quickly? Their starting XV remains unchanged and personally I’m intrigued to see how former Australia U20s prop Cameron Orr does off the bench. Donncha O’Callaghan returns for the home side but captain GJ van Velze misses out meaning Alafoti Faosiliva starts and the latter is a big physical presence. Worcester simply have to throw a few more shots in attack while Gloucester must find the groove they showcased in the first half at Kingsholm and not let up for the full 80 minutes. Two to watch: Both Matt Kvesic and Ben Te’o will know the importance of great individual performances under the watchful eye of Eddie Jones. 
The other Friday night match takes place in Manchester and it should also be an intriguing one because neither Sale Sharks nor Harlequins fulfilled their potential in Round 1. Both have approached selection differently - Harlequins have maintained their starting XV and only changed two on their bench whereas Sale have changed four. It appears that AJ MacGinty has recovered in time after pulling his hamstring last week and elsewhere in the Sale back line I’m eager to see Paolo Odogwu’s maiden Premiership outing as he flew in the Singha Sevens. Both sides need to sharpen up in all areas and ensure that they keep their discipline to provide themselves with the right platform to take the match. Two to watch: Keep your focus on both sets of half-backs and enjoy the tussle between Mike Phillips and Danny Care.
At The Recreation Ground Todd Blackadder and Tabai Mason will get their first taste of a home atmosphere when their side host the Newcastle Falcons. Bath’s opening victory was a solid base to work from but it has caused them issues injury wise and resulted in four personnel changes and one positional change in their pack. In contrast the Falcons have made just one change to their Round 1 squad and clearly will want to capitalise on such continuity. Bath’s victory last weekend was based on the work of their forward pack so it will be interesting to see if their younger players can step with plenty of focus on the back row trio of Charlie Ewels, David Sisi and Zach Mercer. For once it looks like it will be a dry afternoon at The Rec and as a result I expect to see a lot of attacking intent and flair. The home side will want to give their loyal fans a show but the Falcons aren’t there to make up numbers and have every intention of spoiling Bath’s home season opener. Two to watch: Luke Charteris’ competitive debut for Bath and the work rate of Falcons captain Will Welch.
Welford Road will open its doors for the first time this season with another chapter in the ‘new’ Midlands Derby. Wasps have the luxury of re-introducing Thomas Young into their back row after seven months on the sideline. Young developed so much under the tutelage of George Smith last season and I’m expecting him to continue on an upward trajectory over the forthcoming rounds. JP Pietersen, Luke Hamilton and George McGuigan are all in line to make their home debuts for Leicester and I’m expecting a fully focused Tigers outfit to click from the off. There’s so much to look out for in this clash from the prowess of the two sevens to the speedsters to the clash of the tens. The fact that Wasps haven’t won at Welford Road in Premiership Rugby since 2009 gives you an indication of the challenge ahead of Dai Young’s side but if they hit their straps from the off they could put themselves in a position to overturn that record. Two to watch: All eyes will be on Sam Harrison again to see if he can back up his MOTM outing in Round 1 and seeing what Joe Simpson will deliver from the get go.
When the fixtures were announced back in July an early repeat of the 2016 Premiership Final caught all of our eyes. Back in that game Exeter took a little while to get the measure of the European Champions but once they did they looked dangerous and forced Saracens to find one more gear in order to secure the title. In Round 1 Exeter had a productive beginning but tailed off and this time out they need to showcase superior fitness levels in order to deliver for the full eighty. Saracens name an unchanged squad for the journey as Owen Farrell wasn’t risked being ‘touch and go’ injury wise but within that squad they have ample firepower! Exeter have never started an Aviva Premiership Rugby season with a pair of defeats but with an 11 game winning record in all competitions Saracens will be a tough nut to crack. Two to watch: Just two, that's an almost impossible task! If pushed then have a nosy at the the two hookers with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jamie George going head-to-head under the watchful eye of Eddie Jones. 
The final game of the weekend sees Aviva Premiership rugby return to Ashton Gate as Andy Robinson’s side will host Northampton Saints. Bristol’s trip to Twickenham was a largely positive one and they should be returning home with the confidence that they can compete handsomely on the Premiership stage. Northampton Saints will need to have found a spot of confidence of their own this week after a disappointing opener on home soil. Jim Mallinder has handed the starting jersey to Stephen Myler and that should provide greater experience and superior game management with George North also returning to the starting XV out wide. Interestingly Northampton Saints have not lost both of their opening two encounters in Aviva Premiership Rugby sine the inaugural season of 1997/8. Bristol need to operate at the same levels of physicality that they did last week and embrace the benefits of having such passionate home support behind them. The fact that Gavin Henson hasn’t been able to recover from a dead leg in time is a shame but it’s a great opportunity for Ben Mosses to step up. Two to watch: Well actually here it’s three as the Pisi brothers face each other for the first time this Premiership season!
