Gallagher Premiership 2018 Preview: Round 8
Danny Cipriani's Gloucester take on title chasing Exeter this weekend
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The Gallagher Premiership seamlessly clicked back into gear last week and Joe Harvey previews Round Eight for TRU.
Friday
Newcastle Falcons vs Bath Rugby
Bath ended a seven-game winless run, in all competitions, with a victory over Worcester last weekend. In the meantime, Newcastle Falcons will be hunting for only their second triumph of the Premiership season, with their only win so far coming at Sixways against the Worcester Warriors.
It’s also a big occasion on Friday night for a certain flyhalf at Kingston Park. Toby Flood will be making his 100th appearance for Newcastle and he won’t want to be overshadowed by Bath underneath the floodlights.
The visiting team will be buoyed by the return of the now-capped Zach Mercer in their backrow with the number eight always drawing in the attention of defenders. Added to this a backline of Freddie Burns, Jamie Roberts and Semesa Rokoduguni on the artificial turf, this game could be a real firecracker.
Worcester Warriors vs Harlequins
Much like Bath, Worcester will be welcoming a newly capped backrow to their team too. Ted Hill made his England debut from the bench at Twickenham last weekend and now he returns to Gallagher Premiership action.
Worcester will also have the services of Francois Hougaard, Duncan Weir, Ryan Mills and Francois Venter so this looks like it could be an extremely close game at Sixways. Quins, on the other hand, will be playing a similar side to the one that beat Newcastle last week.
With Joe Marler, Alex Dombrandt, Matt Symons, James Chisolm and Jack Clifford in the pack, it would seem that Quins will have the advantage in the forwards. Danny Care is on the bench for the Londoners after he was cut from the England squad. Added to this, the experience of Ben Tapuai and Mike Brown in the backs might mean that Quins have too much for their hosts.
Saturday
Exeter Chiefs vs Gloucester Rugby
One of the games of the weekend. Both of these sides had exciting fixtures last in Round Seven and many fans will be hoping for similar on Saturday. Gloucester still have the services of Danny Cipriani and Billy Twelvetrees so Johan Ackermann does have the spine of his team to take on a tough Chiefs side.
Despite picking up a win last week, Chiefs by no means had an easy ride against as they won the game with a controversial last-minute penalty try. Gareth Steenson had a poor game by his standards too so, if selected, you can expect a much better display from the Irishman.
Sale Sharks vs Northampton Saints
Pushing Saracens really close at the Allianz last week, Sale can take a lot of positives going into this Saturday. Fly-half Robert du Preez had a really good debut last week, displaying good kicking ability for Sharks, and is set to be joined by his brother Jean-Luc in Round Eight.
As for Northampton, Taqele Naiyaravoro took all the headlines last weekend, scoring two tries as the Australian winger bumped off his opposition for fun. A youthful looking Saints side last weekend, you can expect much of the same at the AJ Bell. This game will undoubtedly be close. Playing Sale is never straightforward, so you could expect a Sale win this weekend.
Wasps vs Bristol Bears
Both of these sides came up short last weekend, suffering disappointment against Northampton and Exeter respectively. Wasps weren’t in their game against Saints from minute one. They seem to be really suffering without Elliott Daly, Willie Le Roux, Joe Launchbury and Dan Robson, who are either on international duty or injured.
Bristol actually beat Wasps at the Ricoh in the Premiership Rugby Cup just two weekends ago, so you could possibly expect a similar result in Coventry on Saturday. With John Afoa, Jordan Crane and George Smith available in the forwards pack, Bristol seem to have some very experienced side to take to the Ricoh. Added to thism, Charles Piutau’s is once again available so the Bears may just be the favourites in this one.
Sunday
Leicester Tigers vs Saracens
Saracens really displayed how good their depth is last weekend when they dispatched Sale with a very inexperienced side. Joel Kpoku is really showing his worth. The England U20s player has scored tries in consecutive weekends, so look out for him at Wellford Road on Sunday. Nick Tompkins was also really impressive at centre and Alex Lozowski will be available for Mark McCall.
Leicester Tigers lost heavily at Kingsholm last weekend, probably because the club is bereft of its international stars. Without George Ford, Matt Toomua, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Jonny May, Jonah Holmes and Manu Tuilagi, Tigers have very few threats.
