Aviva Premiership 2014/15 Round 5 Preview

It has been quite the start to the season, teams have been nil’ed, wonder tries have been scored and with the EPS squad announcement later than ever before it is pushing our players to greater and greater heights week on week.

Round 5 starts with a bang on Friday night as Bath Rugby host Saracens at The Rec. Bath are unbeaten at The Rec in their last five matches in all competitions however Saracens, as we all know, are the only unbeaten team this season in the Premiership. In fact their only away defeat this year in the Aviva Premiership came in Round 22 at Welford Road.  Bath were slow to react against the Saints however they finished with huge intensity whilst Saracens brushed aside the Sale Sharks with relative ease. This term Saracens look cool, calm and collected as they are being led by a Wolfpack that is more ferious than ever and a man that is ageing like a fine wine, Charlie Hodgson. Bath are starting to reach the heights that they expect from themselves in terms of their performances, it will be David Wilson’s 100th run out for the home side and the enigmatic Gavin Henson starts at Full Back in place of Luke Arscott. Saracens’ stifling line speed will be driven by Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger and Billy Vunipola in the back row with Chris Wyles coming in at Centre for an injured Brad Barritt. It will be a tough test of character for Bath and a bruising Aviva Premiership fixture.

On Saturday afternoon The Stoop opens its doors again as Harlequins host London Welsh. Both sides had tough times in Round 4, Welsh imploded on 60 minutes whilst Conor O’Shea’s side never really got going at Sandy Park. A reaction is required from both and it should result in a heated Derby fixture in South West London. All logic points towards an extremely comfortable Harlequins win and certainly if O’Shea’s side play to their potential then they should achieve that... however so far this year they haven’t. Training at Harlequins will have been stripped back to the fundamental this week in order to build back up and deliver a cleaner and more polished output on Saturday. London Welsh’s overarching problem is fitness, can that be changed in a week, no, however they must find a way around it or they will continue on their current trajectory. It could be a case of utilising the bench at different times or quite simply the players putting themselves in holes when their lungs are screaming as opposed to giving up. It is so tough for Burnell’s side for being pummelled on a weekly basis takes a huge toll both physically and mentally however let’s hope that they are on the money this weekend and keep the score within a respectable distance.

For London Irish there isn’t time to celebrate their historic victory Round 4 victory for this weekend they will be entertaining the Northampton Saints at home. The last time that London Irish beat the Saints at the Madjeski was on the 6th October 2012 and the Saints have lost just one match in any tournament since mid April. At the moment London Irish are riding on a spot of confidence, their last two performances in particular have been stronger than we have seen from them for a while and they should make it a competitive fixture. However the Saints are gritty, determined and full of flair from 1 to 15 and remain the side to beat. There is a likely clash between Dylan Hartley and David Paice up front which will mean that sparks will fly and out the back, it will be interesting to see how Shane Geraghty handles the Burrell and Pisi partnership should all be selected. All in all an intriguing match at the Madjeski Stadium awaits...

The fixture between Gloucester Rugby and the Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm will be an absolutely fascinating one given the current condition of both clubs. In Round 4 Gloucester finished the job against Welsh however it took them a little while to get going whilst Welford Road was shocked by the Exiles. Leicester haven’t been defeated in three successive Aviva Premiership Rugby matches since October 2011 and it will have been an honest and tough week for all in the East Midlands. This likelihood of a competitive performance from the Tigers lies in their personnel, if their key men like Mulipola, Allen and Tuilagi are back then you shouldn’t write off them off, even at Kingsholm. However if they remain injured then Gloucester have every right to feel quietly confident that they could be the next side beat the usually unbeatable Leicester Tigers. Focus and discipline will be critical for both teams for it will an encounter filled with emotion and fire in the West Country.

On Sunday afternoon Steve Diamond’s Sale Sharks host Wasps at the AJ Bell Stadium. The visitors don’t have the best track record against the Sharks as their one solitary victory on Sale soil, in their last 10 visits was in October 2010 at Edgeley Park. In saying that matches between the two sides are usually extremely close, indeed less than four points have separated them on their last three Premiership encounters. There are a number of individuals that will want to prove themselves as they are playing against their former sides; Chris Bell, Rob Miller and James Gaskell are three former Sharks whilst as we are all aware Danny Cipriani was once a Wasp and could again be one in the future!! The two sides have both shown flair with the ball and produced physical defensive displays so far this season, against each other these two elements will be amplified and a scintillating encounter will be the output.  

The final match of the weekend is at Kingston Park where the Newcastle Falcons host the Exeter Chiefs. The Falcons’ long losing record continues, it is now 20 straight losses on the bounce and this is the third worst losing record in Aviva Premiership history. The Falcons have talent in their ranks however their underlying problem is the amount of unforced errors they produce in a game, it is their basics that are letting them down. The Exeter Chiefs are maturing before our very eyes and a huge amount of credit should be given to Rob Baxter for this. His side are rapidly developing the complete package; they are showing that they can play the power game as well as an up tempo game with their hugely exciting backs. On the artificial pitch you expect the Chiefs’ backs to fly... they have won all six previous Premiership clashes with Newcastle and this weekend they are highly likely to record their seventh.