Aviva Premiership 14/15 Round 2 - Preview

Over the course of 480 minutes of rugby the Aviva Premiership Round 1 delivered 34 tries, 3 hat tricks and 310 points, it was one of the most exciting and prolific starts to any Aviva Premiership season and now it is time to do it all over again. 

Under the Friday Night Lights Harlequins will welcome Saracens to The Stoop, fixtures between these two are always close fought encounters however Saracens record in South West London is impressive having won six of their last seven visits. Neither side delivered an eighty minute performance in Round 1 however now that their cobwebs are dusted off expect a full on, intense fixture in Round 2. Both Mark McCall and Conor O’Shea have made as few changes as possible to their line ups, with just Jackson Wray and Ollie-Lindsey Hague coming into their respective sides. Lindsey-Hague replaces the injured Ugo Monye whilst Jackson Wray is preferred to Kelly Brown at Blindside Flanker. The battle out wide with Marland Yarde and David Strettle will be fascinating and the back row clash; Wallace, Robshaw and Easter versus Wray, Fraser and Vunipola will be seismic. With so many current and prospective England players on the pitch as well as the vast amounts of talents from other countries it will be yet another tight fought battle underneath the Friday Night Lights. 

On Saturday afternoon The Rec opens its doors for the first time as Bath Rugby welcome London Welsh. In Round 1 the Sale Sharks made life difficult for Bath Rugby however courtesy of the brilliance of George Ford they safely secured 4 points. London Welsh had the worst possible start to their Aviva Premiership campaign, leaking 52 points and missing 23 tackles in the process. After months of discussing about their desire to be competitive in their first Aviva Premiership fixture they were far from it especially in defence. Bath’s back line is one of the most exciting in the competition with Anthony Watson and Semesa Rokoduguni leading the way and up front they are a physically demanding side to contend with. This week Tom May spoke about the fact that his team will bounce back and will ‘fly in to Bath’ and for their sakes let’s hope that is true. It will be a formidable test for London Welsh, Justin Burnell needs his key signings to perform and showcase their experience and for Mike Ford’s Bath, well they have every reason to be very confident heading into the match. 

In a newly refurbished Sandy Park the Exeter Chiefs will host the Leicester Tigers for their first home game of the season. Exeter’s Round 1 performance showed a huge amount of promise; they played a confident, high tempo game and looked a world away from the time when they struggled to finish off matches last season. However the Leicester Tigers are a different kettle of fish to London Welsh and will test them significantly all over the park. On the opening weekend The Tigers avoided their first round ‘banana skin’ against the Newcastle Falcons and laid a firm platform for their season. Freddie Burns facilitated proceedings well from 10 and showed that his partnership with Ben Youngs could be a great one, whilst Niki Goneva captured all the headlines with his hat trick. The Chiefs will need to front up physically against Cockerill’s men, if selected their young centre partnership of Sam Hill and Henry Slade, will be put to the test against the might of Tigers’ Seremaia Bai and Manu Tuilagi. It is a tough ask for Baxter’s Chiefs however on home soil with the Tribe in full voice they certainly have a chance at shocking the Tigers. 

Kingsholm will be a nervous place prior to kick off on Saturday afternoon after their side’s first round wakeup call last Friday night. It is fully expected that David Humphrey’s side will bounce back in front of The Shed, pride and a determination to not let down their home fans will naturally push their performance levels higher. The main focus will be to firm up their set piece and sure up their defensive line, because as we all are aware in their backs they house precocious talents. The Sale Sharks opening round performance was frustrating for their Director of Rugby and on Saturday they will be without two key men; Dan Braid and Mark Cueto, however they have won five out of their last six Premiership encounters against Gloucester. Diamond’s side will be focusing on keeping their discipline in check and on their execution, the two areas that cost them the game against Bath. On paper Sale should come away from Kingsholm victorious, however pride should fuel a much, much stronger Gloucester performance. 

Wasps have the unenviable task of being the next team to face the Northampton Saints. The Saints delivered, by far, the most impressive performance of Round 1; in all aspects of their game they were dominant, clinical and confident. Individuals shone; George North, James Wilson and Stephen Myler however it was the collective effort and depth that will worry the rest of the Aviva Premiership. Wasps suffered yet another heart breaking London Double Header defeat at the hands of Saracens as, once again, they failed to deliver an 80 minute performance. When Dai Young’s side did get going they looked dangerous and showed a lot of potential with Christian Wade back, Nathan Hughes’ strong carrying and Andy Goode’s assured character at 10. The Northampton Saints will be a handful for every side if they replicate their Round 1 form on a weekly basis, fronting up physically and retaining possession will be critical to gain anything from an encounter with the current Champions.  

The final game of the weekend is up at Kingston Park as the Newcastle Falcons christen their new artificial surface by welcoming London Irish to town. In Round 1 the Falcons delivered a performance to be proud of gaining a losing bonus point against the Leicester Tigers and they will be confident hosting the Exiles this weekend. It will have been targeted as a ‘winnable’ fixture by both clubs and with Irish’s new training facility having their own artificial pitch so there won’t be any ‘it was the surface’ excuses. The Exiles confirmed this week that Tom Homer will be out for at least 8 weeks with a knee strain and his loss is a bitter blow. David Paice will join the elite 200 club as the Exiles search to start a run of consistent performances. Irish haven’t won away from home since February 2014 whilst the home side have now been defeated in their last 17 Aviva Premiership matches since this equivalent fixture in Round 6 last season. It will be a gritty fight up North, on paper Irish have the greater experience and should come away from Kingston Park satisfied, if they play to their potential.