Back to the real business of the Aviva Premiership. Round 10 is the start of a block of 4 games that will take us over the halfway mark. For a reminder of the structure of the european season click here, otherwise here are my predictions.
As we have had a couple of weeks away, here is a link to my round-up of round 9 to refresh your memories.
How did the predictions go last round?
6 from 6, a clean sweep! I was very happy with that, especially as it included a good win for the Chiefs.
Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
Chiefs are one of the form teams in Europe at the moment and have been able to rest players over the last 2 weeks of Challenge Cup rugby. Sale though have had a much harder couple of weeks in the Champions Cup so it should be an easy prediction. The problem is that Sale have found their form from last season and back then, they travelled to Exeter and gave them their biggest ever defeat. So I’m backing Exeter but will be watching through my fingers.
Exeter Chiefs win
Harlequins v Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle have a really hard 3 weeks coming up as they are facing three of the playoff teams from last year. Three wins in the last five games have moved them clear of the bottom of the table. How ever with Quins return to form over the last two weeks I think it’s going to be a trip too far for the Falcons.
Harlequins win
Saracens v London Welsh
This is an easy one, Welsh haven’t won a game all season and Saracens are one of the most ruthless sides around. Being on a 4G pitch isn’t going to make any difference to this one as it would be a Saracens win home or away.
Saracens win
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Until the playoffs last season you had to go back to 2010 for a Saints win in this fixture. With the monkey removed from their back and the way they are performing this season it’s looking like a Saints win. It should be a cracker of a game though, as Tigers have been getting players back from injury.
Northampton Saints win
Gloucester Rugby v Bath
Gloucester are going great in Europe but not so well in the premiership, with new coaches at the start of the season and new players that should have been expected. Unfortunately this is one game that the fans relly don’t want to lose. With Bath flying high in the premiership though the men in cherry and white need to temper their expectations.
This Bath squad has been maturing over the last couple of seasons and that’s really starting to show now. Even though they lost players to international duty they still won all their premiership games in November. As long as they don’t get sidetracked by Burgess mania they should have enough to win this one.
Bath win
Wasps v London Irish
Wasps home form this season has been very good and the reason that they are sitting nicely in mid-table. The flip side is that they have lost every away game in the premiership. They will be playing in their new home up in Coventry, so which form are we going to see? Lucky they are up against Irish who started well but have since slumped. We did see some resurgence of their form last weekend but will it be enough? I don’t think so and Wasps will christen their new home with a win.
Wasps win
