Aviva Premiership Round 15: 6 Nations break
The Aviva Premiership has plenty to offer during the Six Nations break
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As the RBS Six Nations takes a break for a week after two dramatic rounds it is the turn of the Aviva Premiership competition to take centre stage.
There is a little more breathing space between the sides after the Round 14 results however this is the time of year where every point counts to make the final rounds a little more comfortable.
The action starts tonight at Kingston Park where the Newcastle Falcons will host Dai Young’s Wasps underneath the Friday Night Lights. Here are two sides that are coming off the back of completely contrasting performances in Round 14; Wasps delivered a dominant victory over Harlequins whilst the Falcons struggled at Sandy Park. Dean Richards’ men must up their performance levels in all facets of their game, in particular defensively for Wasps’ speed men, Wade, Daley and Simpson will enjoy the artificial surface. Noah Cato returns onto the left wing after his spell out with injury and Alex Tait will provide stability at Full Back and if the whole of the Newcastle Falcons’ side are back on form then this should be a competitive and exciting game to kick off the round.
At the AJ Bell Stadium the Sale Sharks will welcome Saracens for their fourth meeting of the season across both the Aviva Premiership and European competitions. Saracens have won every single encounter to date and will not want to relinquish that record, in spite of being away from home. Last Sunday’s clash with Bath proved Mark McCall's monumental strength in squad depth and they have the luxury of Mako Vunipola, Alex Goode, Richard Wigglesworth and Brad Barritt returning from England duty. In Round 14 Sale had a solid warm up against London Welsh and boosted by the news that Danny Cipriani has extended his contract for another two years; it would be quite the end to the week if they could deliver their first win of the London side this year.
Further South on Saturday afternoon, rugby returns home to Kingsholm as the Cherry & Whites will host London Welsh. David Humphreys’ men will have been bitterly disappointed that they didn’t finish off the game at Welford Road and they’ll feel that this match is the perfect opportunity to blow away a losing hangover. London Welsh produced some positive rugby in Round 14 however they weren’t as clinical as they should have been with their basics. Scrum-half Callum Braley will make his first Aviva Premiership start and Henry Trinder returns for his first Premiership game since September 13th. London Welsh have made nine changes to the side that took on the Sale Sharks, Opeti Fonua and Seb Jewell are two of the most important names that are out due to injuries and up front Rob Elloway will make his first start in place for Koree Briton. Welsh’s aim as always is ’80 Minutes of competitive rugby’ whilst Gloucester’s will be a bonus point victory and a happy Shed.
In London Harlequins will aim to bounce back from their defeat in Coventry as they welcome the Exeter Chiefs to the Capital. Conor O’Shea’s side have an impressive Premiership home record, they haven’t lost there since November 2014 however if they deliver to the same standard as Round 14 that record is unlikely to be standing come early Saturday evening. The Chiefs will breeze into town riding on a wave of confidence; they have within their ranks the Aviva Premiership’s top try scorer, Thomas Waldrom and one of the competition’s most naturally gifted players, Henry Slade. Jack Nowell returns from England duty and is placed in the Centres with Sam Hill whilst for Harlequins Ugo Moyne continues his stint at Full Back. Nick Easter’s Captaincy will be vital to ensure that Harlequins deliver a physical and positive performance.
The final game on Saturday is at The Rec where Mike Ford’s Bath will host the Northampton Saints. This one will be an intriguing battle as Bath missed their key sparks last weekend however they began to tick towards the end of the game at Allianz Par and the Northampton Saints will be on the bounce back. The clash of the back rows will be seismic with Matt Garvey, Francois Louw and Carl Fearns meeting Samu Manoa, Calum Clark and Sam Dickinson and with the re-introduction of Samu Manoa it highlights that the Saints mean business. This will be a huge test of both sides and thankfully it is the live televised game of the day on BT Sport.
The one and only Sunday match is in Reading where London Irish welcome the Leicester Tigers to town. Whilst Irish pushed the Saints close last Friday night they weren’t 100% pleased with their performance and will have focused hard this week on delivering a cleaner output. Richard Cockerill’s Tigers showed just the type of character that we expect from the East Midland’s outfit as they edged Gloucester at home with world of pressure on their shoulders and a win this weekend would be instrumental to building on that platform of confidence. Jordan Crane will captain the side on his 200th appearance for the Club and at the other end of the scale Jack Roberts is given his first ever Aviva Premiership side. London Irish are boosted by the return of their Scottish International Geoff Cross, Geoff will pack down alongside David Paice and Tom Court against Marcos Ayerza, Tom Youngs and Logovi'i Mulipola in what will be a fierce old set piece battle.
