Premiership Preview Round 14

We head into Round 14 off the back of one of the most emotional and tense rounds of Premiership Rugby ever seen.

By now we are all well aware of the fact that three teams lost by just one point each, the league leaders lost their unbeaten home record and a couple of teams fell into the ‘could have done better’ category.

Round 14 will start at the AJ Bell Stadium, where once again they will switch on their Friday night lights to host Saracens. Sale have won three out of their last four matches in the Premiership and they will need every ounce of this winning momentum to take on a smarting opposition.

Saracens’ pride was hurt on Saturday and they have not lost three matches in a row since March 2010, so expect them to come out all-guns-blazing.

On Saturday afternoon The Stoop opens its doors to more Premiership action, as Harlequins host the Newcastle Falcons. Quins haven’t lost at home since January, when they fell to Clermont; however, they will, for all intents and purposes, consider last weekend’s performance against Wasps as a defeat.

On the other hand, Newcastle have slipped to seven straight Premiership defeats and have not been successful at the Stoop in the Premiership since September 2000. 

The Northampton Saints welcome heroes of the hour - the Worcester Warriors, to Franklin’s Gardens. Worcester may still not have recorded a win, but they did play with much purpose last weekend and will look to build on that. Northampton are the new league leaders thanks to their gusty win down at Sandy Park, they have not lost at home in the Premiership since 20th March 2013.

The match between the Exeter Chiefs and Bath sold out on Monday morning and the Chiefs are likely to need their 16th man as their recent Premiership form has been less than ideal - winning just one of their last six. However, Bath’s recent form is outstanding, having suffered just one defeat in their last eighteen first team matches!!  

The final Saturday fixture is a huge one as London Wasps play in their second London derby, in as many weeks, when they host London Irish at Adams Park.

Irish certainly don’t have the best record against their London rivals, winning only one of their last five encounters. However, their win against Saracens will have filled them with confidence.

Wasps haven’t lost successive matches in the Premiership since Rounds 2 and 3, and they will certainly wish to bounce back with a bang on Saturday afternoon after their heart-breaking loss to Harlequins last weekend.  

The final match of Round 14 is at Welford Road, where the Leicester Tigers take on Gloucester. The Tigers have an impeccable home Premiership record, losing just once at home in the competition since 23 February 2013.

In contrast, their opponents have only won two of their last nine Premiership matches and have not been victorious at Welford Road since 6^th October 2007! However, we all know that is the Aviva Premiership and anything can happen…