Aviva Premiership 2014/2015: Round 10 Predictions

Sale Sharks vs Exeter Chiefs

Sale come into this game on the back of a gruelling double header against Saracens, sapped of energy and physicality – although they did rest some players for last week’s trip to the Allianz Park. Exeter did similar for their back to back games with La Rochelle, and still came out of it with two impressive wins. They’ll be refreshed and confident as they travel up to Salford. They’ve been the surprise package this season, and in many ways this is a good acid test of where they truly are. The AJ Bell isn’t an easy place to win, but the very top teams do tend to do so. Win, and they could sustain a genuine top four challenge into the new year. Lose, and the slide back to the mid-table might begin.

It’ll be a close game but Exeter probably have more momentum than any other side at the moment. Sale will bring plenty of bite from the likes of Hines and Lund, but the Chiefs’ class will shine through. Exeter by 5.

Harlequins vs Newcastle Falcons

It was a mixed European fortnight for the Stoop-dwellers. Their performances on the pitch, especially from their tight five, were largely positive, but they did take some casualties in the form of Nick Evans and Chris Robshaw. Arguably, the former is the bigger loss – Tim Swiel is a talent but is raw at this level, and it showed against Leinster at the Aviva. Both are still absent this weekend, and that loss will be keenly felt. Newcastle had a good couple of weekends in the Challenge Cup with a win and a narrow loss to Stade Français, although being brutally honest that gives us little clue as to how they will go on the return to the Premiership. They welcome back a host of first team regulars, including club captain Will Welch.

It might not be as sizeable as many would have hoped, but Quins should still have enough to grind out a comfortable win. Harlequins by 9.

Saracens vs London Welsh

Sarries got the two wins they needed over Sale in Europe but they looked far from convincing in victory. This, then, is exactly the kind of softball fixture they would have wanted; an opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and get their attacking game going. It’s still impossible to see anything other than utter capitulation from London Welsh, especially away to one of the side’s top teams. They have been showing minor progress in that the margins that they are losing by seem to be going down, but that trend will likely be reversed this weekend.

Impossible to see anything other than a sizeable home win here. Saracens by 35.

Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers

The East Midlands derbies are always amongst the best games of the season, and the legs at Franklin’s Gardens have been particularly entertaining in recent years. And especially for Tigers fans, as they have enjoyed considerable success there in recent times (last season’s semi-final heartbreak aside). The Saints have, astonishingly, won this fixture just once since 2010, but this weekend that is likely to change. They have looked irrepressible at times, while Aaron Mauger’s arrival at the Tigers cannot come soon enough. Their backline has looked mostly toothless this season, mirroring England in the way that they seem incapable of making any inroads in the absence of Manu Tuilagi.

It’s a special rivalry that often brings the best out of the Tigers, but even so it’s difficult to look past the home side here, given the form they’re in. Northampton by 9.

Gloucester Rugby vs Bath Rugby

If the East Midlands derby is huge, it is at least matched, if not bettered, for intensity by the West Country meeting of these two bitter rivals. It is a game that is always full of niggle, and over the past few seasons has been insatiably close – the last five winning margins have been 1, 2, 6, 6 and 3. Bath have won the last three on the bounce but before that Gloucester had enjoyed an extraordinary period of dominance, winning nine of 10 games between 2008 and 2012. Sam Burgess is relegated back to the bench and the form triumvirate of Ford-Eastmond-Joseph is reinstalled in the Bath midfield. Gloucester, meanwhile, will be looking for playmakers Laidlaw, Hook and Twelvetrees to release the pace of Sharples and May out wide.

Bath have the better side on paper, but home advantage is always important in these derbies. The Shed will be rocking and it will be a test of character for Bath’s young stars. Keep their heads, and they are good enough to win. Bath by 3.

Wasps vs London Irish

And so the era of the Coventry Wasps is upon us. There’s been a lot of positive spin on the move in the media this week and whatever your thoughts on it, a record Premiership attendance should ensure quite a spectacle at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday. It’s a bit of shame that it’s not a bigger fixture really. London Irish are in their familiar state of hovering above the relegation zone without threatening to surge up the table, although they have arguably played better rugby than their league position suggests. One things fans will enjoy, however, is seeing the Wasps back row trio of Johnson-Haskell-Hughes in the flesh. It is a combination that has excelled this season, and their superb link work between the forwards and the backs has allowed them to play a breathtaking brand of rugby which should win over their new locals.

The pressure is on Wasps to deliver a convincing win in their first game at their new home – and they should manage it. Wasps by 15.

How do you see the weekend going?

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images