So we’ve just got time for one final Premiership Rugby hoorah before the competition takes a break for a month. It’s fair to say that Round 12 kept us on the edge of our seats from the opening match to the last and I expect Round 13 to do the same.
With the news that Richard Cockerill has left Leicester Tigers there will be a huge focus on Sunday’s offering as his former side head to their now local rivals Wasps. Historically matches between the two are intense encounters and this weekend’s will be heightened from a Leicester point of view.
Before that there’s plenty of rugby to enjoy and at the start of the weekend the one millionth fan of the season will attend Newcastle Falcons against Bath. To date 995,976 people have watched Premiership rugby live and BT Sport’s average audience figures are up by 13% on last season. It’s proof that this competition is building season-on-season and a testament to the work, and output, of the clubs and of course Premiership Rugby.
As it stands there’s one point separating the top two, three points separating the four sides in the battle for a top six spot and the complexion at the bottom of the table is set for numerous twists and turns before Round 22 arrives.
So, focusing on the rugby at Kingston Park this Round 13 fixture is an intriguing one given both sides' output last weekend. Newcastle are confident and building game-on-game and Bath will been frustrated by the fact that a game that they controlled got away from them. As a result I expect the two to go full throttle and give us another Friday night cracker - it should be a far cry from the thrashing that Bath handed out to Dean Richards’ side back in September. The focus for each will be trying to ensure that they are the ones driving the agenda and controlling the game at the key moments. Last season Bath didn't enjoy their trip to Kingston Park and left frustrated at their output so the challenge for Dean Richards' men will be to ensure that, that happens again. Stat: Bath have not won away from home since their trip to Exeter on 30th October while Falcons have only won one of their last dozen against Bath.
At Kingsholm Gloucester Rugby will be doing everything in their power to ensure that they don’t end up on the wrong side of the result. The Cherry and Whites looked to have their Round 12 game under control but ultimately they didn’t get the W they needed. Conversely Worcester delivered their most assured performance of the season against Harlequins and will know how important it is to build upon that for the sake of their season. Interestingly Worcester have lost just one of their last four Premiership Rugby fixtures against the Cherry & Whites and that was by only two points last season. Essentially it’s more of the same for both sides because despite the result Gloucester managed the conditions last weekend and Worcester really did put their game on the park. Stat: The Warriors have yet to record a single league point from their six away games in the tournament this season 
It’s time to re-visit last season’s Premiership Final again and this time we are doing so with Exeter Chiefs in more confident form than they were back in September. Exeter have the joint best away record in the competition this season, gaining 20 points from 6 trips and they hold that with Saracens. The Chiefs' revival was epitomised by the way in which they wrestled the game back from Bath in Round 12 and they’ll need every bit of that fighting spirt on Saturday. Saracens ground out their win against Leicester and with home comforts on their side will look to enhance their output. There’s plenty of individual head-to-heads to look out for (should all be selected) including Jack Nowell facing Sean Maitland, Gareth Steenson against Owen Farrell and Jamie George against Jack Yeandle. Stat: Saracens have won their last four encounters with the Chiefs and are unbeaten at Allianz Park since March. 
Harlequins hosting Steve Diamond’s Sale Sharks will be another intriguing match-up given their respective outputs in Round 12. Harlequins will be mightily disappointed that they couldn’t shake off their travel sickness at Sixways and given their loss Sale now find themselves in a bit of a pickle. Of the two it’s the Sharks I worry about more because Harlequins’ 100% home record this season is deserved and they’re just travelling like a Top 14 side right now! The Sharks are missing key elements right now, still they can’t take control of games and don’t seem to have the go forward to give their backs the platform they need to thrive. Steve Diamond's side have lost their last eight first team matches and they know that gaining a big fat W soon is vital. Stat: Harlequins have gleaned 25 of their total of 28 league points at home this campaign. 
At Franklin’s Gardens Northampton Saints will be well aware that the side arriving on their doorstep is one that has four consecutive victories behind them and a huge desire to keep on building. Bristol’s turnaround started with an injection of confidence gained during their Challenge Cup back-to-back fixtures and they have built from there. Equally Northampton are re-building their steel and showing the required togetherness to get them out of the hole that they found themselves in. In this one I suspect that the opening quarter will be vital; the Saints will want to exert their power on Bristol while the visitors will look to ignite their danger men early. In Round 12 both showed that they can keep cool heads in the face a match slipping away from them and of course all eyes will be on Tom Vardnell to see if he can score one more try and hold the Premiership all time try scoring record outright. Match Fact: Bristol have scored 17 tries in their last four matches and Northampton are looking to achieve three Premiership victories in a row for the first time since March. 
The final match of the weekend sees Wasps host their local rivals Leicester Tigers. Of course there will be a big focus on the visitors given the news this week that Richard Cockerill was asked to step down as Director of Rugby. The hosts will be well aware of the situation and simply need to focus on themselves because their output this Premiership season has been hugely impressive. The stats speak for themselves… Wasps have won their last 18 matches at the Ricoh Arena in all tournaments and have only dropped one possible league point there in any tournament this season. Conversely Leicester’s output has been slightly more undulating and that’s shown by having won three and lost three on the Premiership road this season. As per usual this game should be filled with bruising hits and intensity of the highest order and I’m expecting Wasps’ back line to continue to show us how it’s done. Stat: Wasps beat Leicester 34-22 at Welford Road in Round 2 and have not achieved a Premiership Rugby double over their now near neighbours since 2008/09
Full Round Schedule
Fri 6th Jan - Newcastle Falcons v Bath Rugby (7.45pm) Live on BT Sport
Sat 7th Jan - Gloucester Rugby v Worcester Warriors (3pm)
Sat 7th Jan - Saracens v Exeter Chiefs (3pm) Live on BT Sport
Sat 7th Jan - Harlequins v Sale Sharks (Twickenham Stoop, 3pm)
Sat 7th Jan - Northampton Saints v Bristol Rugby (Franklin’s Gardens, 3pm)
Sun 8th Jan - Wasps v Leicester Tigers (3pm) Live on BT Sport
