Aviva Premiership Round Seven

Ozzy, nice job covering for LT. I think you need to improve your style a bit. Why not hang with Will Greenwood for a while, so you can write things like "oooH, James O'Connor, I love how he swivels his hips as he runs". Or something like that.........

Worcester Warriors (12th) vs. Bath Rugby (3rd) - The big Kahuna for Worcester. If they lose, doom on Worcester. I don't think Bath are really a third place team. So I pick Worcester for the upset at home by a hair's margin.

Sale Sharks (7th) vs. Exeter Chiefs (4th) - Trap game for Exeter. Exe should feel good about themselves. No one knows how Sale feel. But Friday nights up in the frozen norf should be enough. Another close one, but I pick the home underdog y about 3 points.

Gloucester Rugby (11th) vs. London Wasps (9th) - What's up with Gloucester? NO one knows. Not even Gloucester. On paper they should be better. I think they hold off Wasps at home. Probably not too close at the end.

Leicester Tigers (5th) vs. Harlequins (6th) - I think this is a weird match to predict. Normally I think we wold all want to see this wil all the Internationals playing for their club. But Leicester have this unbelievable run of injuries and Quins look a bit off form. I would guess this is one of the best chances of pulling off a win at Welford Road. But this should be tight. Still pick Leicester is a low scoring affair.

Saracens (1st) vs. Newcastle Falcons (8th) - As Mr. T said, the prediction for this fight is pain. Saracens by 20.

London Irish (10th) vs. Northampton Saints (2nd) - Huge trap game for Saints. The James O'Connor factor might make a huge difference for LI. Not so much for his play since he is just learning the names of his new teammates, but for the energy. Probably a few extra people come out to watch as well, will jack up the crowd. I think LI are in it to the end, but Saints clip it at the end, barely (hopefully).

I think the only game that I feel comfortable with predicting the winner is Saracens vs. Newcastle Falcons. All the others look to be pretty tight.

Nervous about our visit to the northern wastelands this Friday - we had a good record against Sale, until we conspired to hand them the game the last time we travelled to Lancs. Am hoping that the memories of that loss will stick in the boys' minds and that they will be keen to restore normal fare

Taking Doc's post as a template:
Ozzy, nice job covering for LT.  I think you need to improve your style a bit.  Why not hang with Will Greenwood for a while, so you can write things like "oooH, James O'Connor, I love how he swivels his hips as he runs".  Or something like that.........
So sad that LT had by a mixture of browbeating posters and family concerns (see https://www.606v2.com/t48836-my-daughter?highlight=my+daughter ) felt unable to remain on the board

Worcester Warriors (12th) vs. Bath Rugby (3rd) - Bath in this mood will be unstoppable for a currently abject Worcester. The Shower by 20-25.

Sale Sharks (7th) vs. Exeter Chiefs (4th) - The most intriguing match of the round. I fancy a small win (3pts(?)) for Sale.

Gloucester Rugby (11th) vs. London Wasps (9th) - What's up with Gloucester?  NO one knows.  Not even Gloucester.  On paper they should be better.  I think they hold off Wasps at home.  Probably not too close at the end.  
I'll just take the easy way out - I agree with Doc. 'nuf said.

Leicester Tigers (5th) vs. Harlequins (6th) - Fixtures like this make my blood boil. Not because I'm a Tigers' fan, but because they ruin the Jeff as a competitive league. Both sides have got to win this fixture to keep their seasons on track. Tigers are depleted by circumstances. Quins by 10-15.

Saracens (1st) vs. Newcastle Falcons (8th) - I fear a backlash from the dark side. Saracens by forty?

London Irish (10th) vs. Northampton Saints (2nd) - James O'Connor? James O'Schmonnor more like. Saints by 15. Easy peasy for the best side in the league.

Ah..... 

Come on Falcons another cheeky away win would do just the trick... 

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ah..... 

Come on Falcons another cheeky away win would do just the trick... 

Wouldn't I just love it, Geordie.

Realistically though, Japan have more chance of turning over the ABs in Tokyo.

Nice job Ozzy, good to see some attention for the real rugby this weekend!

From a Bath point of view, I feel like this could be a banana skin, with do much dominance and Glaws giving away 20 penalties last week, we should have done far better. Wuss will be up for this I think it will be a tight, kicking based affair.

Elsewhere I will go for wins for Exe, Wasps, Quins, Sarries and Saints but I think there could be a few close ones in there, especially at Welford road and Kingsholm.

EXE SIDE TO FACE SALE SHARKS

15 Phil Dollman
14 Matt Jess
13 Jason Shoemark
12 Sam Hill
11 Tom James
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Dave Lewis
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Jack Yeandle
3 Hoani Tui
4 Dean Mumm (capt)
5 Damian Welch
6 Tom Johnson
7 Ben White
8 Dave Ewers

16 Chris Whitehead
17 Ben Moon
18 Alex Brown
19 Don Armand
20 Kai Horstmann
21 Haydn Thomas
22 Henry Slade
23 Luke Arscott

Great to see Arscott back

Sale:

Rob Miller, Tom Arscott, Jonny Leota, Sammy Tuitupou, Mark Cueto, Danny Cipriani, Dwayne Peel, Eifion Lewis Roberts, Tommy Taylor, Vadim Cobilas, Kirill Kulemin, Andrei Ostrikov, Michael Paterson, Dan Braid, Mark Easter

Replacements Marc Jones, Ross Harrison, Henry Thomas, Jonathan Mills, David Seymour, Will Cliff, Joe Ford, Andy Forsyth

Wins for Bath, Chiefs, Glaws, Tigers, Sarries & Saints.

From a Glaws perspective I'm expecting a relatively comfortable win for Glaws. The only foundation for this thought is that the only thing you can count on Glaws for is to never follow the same performance twice. Surely it is impossible to give away so many stupid penalties two weeks running? Likewise, given the rather obvious imporvement in our scrum when Will James is on the pitch I'd fully expect him to start with Stooke which will shore up our platform. There's lots of talk of Glaws signing a new prop so the front row will have something to prove as will Burns, Trinder and Kvesic. I feel Glaws will come good...

Portnoy's Complaint wrote:London Irish (10th) vs. Northampton Saints (2nd) - James O'Connor? James O'Schmonnor more like. Saints by 15. Easy peasy for the best side in the league.

Don't jinx my team!!!!!!!

I think we can get the W, actually, we should have a stronger team out than last week and we've had some love at WR recently.

Hope Danny scores, Walker gets to play against his old club and Matthews is fit to at least sub

Interesting to see how much effect JOC has on the team. infront of a big crowd I think we will be fired up. will be very tough match though, but we could sneak something. obviously saints are favourites though.

Portnoy's Complaint wrote:Taking Doc's post as a template:
Ozzy, nice job covering for LT.  I think you need to improve your style a bit.  Why not hang with Will Greenwood for a while, so you can write things like "oooH, James O'Connor, I love how he swivels his hips as he runs".  Or something like that.........
So sad that LT had by a mixture of browbeating posters and family concerns (see https://www.606v2.com/t48836-my-daughter?highlight=my+daughter ) felt unable to remain on the board

Worcester Warriors (12th) vs. Bath Rugby (3rd) - Bath in this mood will be unstoppable for a currently abject Worcester. The Shower by 20-25.

Sale Sharks (7th) vs. Exeter Chiefs (4th) - The most intriguing match of the round. I fancy a small win (3pts(?)) for  Sale.

Gloucester Rugby (11th) vs. London Wasps (9th) - What's up with Gloucester?  NO one knows.  Not even Gloucester.  On paper they should be better.  I think they hold off Wasps at home.  Probably not too close at the end.  
I'll just take the easy way out - I agree with Doc. 'nuf said.

Leicester Tigers (5th) vs. Harlequins (6th) - Fixtures like this make my blood boil. Not because I'm a Tigers' fan, but because they ruin the Jeff as a competitive league. Both sides have got to win this fixture to keep their seasons on track. Tigers are depleted by circumstances. Quins by 10-15.

Saracens (1st) vs. Newcastle Falcons (8th) - I fear a backlash from the dark side. Saracens by forty?

London Irish (10th) vs. Northampton Saints (2nd) - James O'Connor? James O'Schmonnor more like. Saints by 15. Easy peasy for the best side in the league.

Mate, have you seen our absentee list too? Missing at least 8 starters, plus most of their backups

Why do some people always go on about how many players they have missing? It's like some people can never accept that their team gets beaten by the better side on the day, it's always because of this or that. Every team has players missing, for a variety of reasons, it's part of the game, and the reason why it's all about squad depth rather than first XV if you want ot be successful.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Why do some people always go on about how many players they have missing?  It's like some people can never accept that their team gets beaten by the better side on the day, it's always because of this or that.  Every team has players missing, for a variety of reasons, it's part of the game, and the reason why it's all about squad depth rather than first XV if you want ot be successful.

Because if someone else is going to preemptively use a depleted squad as an excuse then I don't see why I shouldn't point out that both teams are in very similar circumstances squad wise

So in short my predictions:

Worcester vs Bath: Bath with TBP and more than 15
Sale vs Exeter: Exeter by 5-6, not 4 tries
Gloucester vs Wasps- Wasps by 10
Tigers vs Quins- Quins, just by 1-2
Sarries vs falcons- Sarries by 15-20, TBP
Irish vs Saints- JOC or not, Saints by more than 10

I wasn't referring to you CJ, I was reiterating your point. I thought you may have realised that.  

Sorry, Ozzy, I got a bit touchy, especially as poor Lowe has had yet another injury set back. At least we should get to see Kennedy in a Quins shirt soon (sorry for stealing him away)

I would have loved Kendo back in an Irish jersey, but actually I think that Gough may have been a better fit for us right now, as he adds real grunt and dog which is what we needed. Nick will be good for you, although I do question whether him and Robson together will be an effective combination. Only time will tell I guess.

Reckon we'll be aiming to cycle Robson, Kennedy and Matthews, to play Robson and Kennedy together we'll be wanting our best front row out and a big back row (that means Mo, Robshaw, Easter really). But as noted here, we need the depth back or the likes of Robson will get fatigued. Especially as he played every match last season too

Bath team:

15. Anthony Watson
14. Semesa Rokoduguni
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Kyle Eastmond
11. Matt Banahan
10. George Ford
9. Peter Stringer
1. Paul James
2. Rob Webber
3. Anthony Perenise
4. Stuart Hooper ( c )
5. Will Spencer
6. Matt Garvey
7. Francois Louw
8. Carl Fearns

Replacements

16. Ross Batty
17. Nathan Catt
18. Juan Pablo Orlandi
19. Dominic Day
20. Alafoti Fa'osiliva
21. Martin Roberts
22. Gavin Henson
23. Horacio Agulla


Worcester Warriors vs. Bath Rugby
15 Chris Pennell
14 Dean Hammond
13 Alex Grove
12 Josh Matavesi
11 David Lemi
10 Paul Warwick
9 Jonny Arr

1 Ofa Fainga'anuku
2 Agustin Creevy
3 Euan Murray
4 Chris Jones
5 Mariano Galarza
6 Leonardo Senatore
7 Jake Abbott
8 Jonathan Thomas (C)

Replacements
16 Chris Brooker
17 George Porter
18 John Andress
19 Mike Williams
20 Sam Betty
21 Jeremy Su'a
22 Ignacio Mieres
23 Ravai Fatiaki


I'm glad to see little rotation in the Bath team, only injury/international related changes, hopefully we can bag another win and then use the LV games for our rotation/returns from injury etc.

Some good news for Tigers is that Kitchener, Smith, Hamilton and Mafi should all be back from injury this weekend. Tait is still unfit though which is gutting as we could use his spark. Not sure if the Argentinean internationals are still available, if they've got a game this weekend, hope we've got Marcos to sure up the front row.

Only us, Aus, NZ and Japan have a match this weekend

Realistically I do think Quins can win this weekend, Tigers aren't at their best and we've had the better of them at WR a few times over the last few seasons already. If we can play to our best then we have the players to win it.


It does amuse me how the same old posters are already rolling out the injuries excuses before the ball's even been kicked though!!

Oh and here are the rest of my predictions:

Bath by 7+ with a try bp, Wuss are just gash at the moment.

Exeter by 3-5 in a close game, their forwards will just do enough to win it.

Glos by 3, home advantage will just be enough.

Quins by 5, a Danny Care try will seal the game for us.

Sarries by 10-15, not sure how to call this after being beaten up so badly will Sarries revert to kick and chase to just get the win at all costs or will they try to play still and go for the tbp?

Saints by 20, look at what they did to Saracens last week.

yappysnap wrote:Realistically I do think Quins can win this weekend, Tigers aren't at their best and we've had the better of them at WR a few times over the last few seasons already. If we can play to our best then we have the players to win it.


It does amuse me how the same old posters are already rolling out the injuries excuses before the ball's even been kicked though!!

Well I agree with you yappy.

And the only eponymous complaint that anyone would have heard from me is the old one about holding this (or any Jeff) game during IWs.

But comparing available resources available for both sides, I reckon that Quins should win the game by 8+.

But having said that, the Tigers couldn't possibly be as poor as they were last week.
Could they?

Allez les chats!  

Planet rugby s predictions which as a Wasps supporter I may favour

;-)

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_9001864,00.html

If Ford turns up then Bath will win easily if he has another off night then Wuss will be in the game and could cause an upset if they smell blood.

I really dislike Friday night games they always seem to be tight low scoring affairs.

So does noone actually give us any chance at all?  

James O’Connor will make his London Irish debut this Sunday when Northampton Saints visit Madejski Stadium for round seven of Aviva Premiership rugby (kick-off 2pm).

O’Connor will line up at full back in a back three along with Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau. Fergus Mulchrone and Eamonn Sheridan continue their centre partnership. Ian Humphreys and Tomás O’Leary will play together in the halves. O’Leary will captain the side in the absence of George Skivington.

John Yapp, David Paice and Leo Halavatau will start in the front row with Ian Gough and Bryn Evans in the second row. Chris Hala’ufia will play alongside Samoa International Ofisa Treviranus and Blair Cowan in the back row.

Brian Smith, Exiles Director of Rugby said: “The team is looking forward to the contest on Sunday. We felt we let a golden opportunity to win a valuable Premiership match slip last weekend and want to put in a big performance in front of our home supporters. Northampton are the in-form team at the moment and we will have to be at our best to shut them down. It’s been a big week for the Club with the announcement of James O’Connor and we hope we see a big turn out by our supporters on Sunday to welcome him to the Club.”

London Irish team to face Northampton Saints:

15. James O’Connor*; 14.Topsy Ojo*; 13.Fergus Mulchrone; 12. Eamonn Sheridan; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Ian Humphreys; 9. Tomás O’Leary* (Captain); 1. John Yapp*; 2. David Paice*; 3. Leo Halavatau; 4. Ian Gough*5. Bryn Evans*; 6. Blair Cowan; 7. Ofisa Treviranus*; 8. Chris Hala’ufia*

Replacements: 16. Mike Mayhew; 17 Matt Parr; 18. Jamie Hagan*; 19.Kieran Low*; 20. Declan Danaher; 21. Alex Lewington; 22. Shane Geraghty*; 23. Darren Allinson

GeordieFalcon wrote:So does noone actually give us any chance at all?  

YI man.
Just not much.

 wey aye man

Glaws side:
Rob Cook; James Simpson-Daniel, Henry Trinder, Ryan Mills, Jonny May; Freddie Burns, Dan Robson; Yann Thomas, Huia Edmonds, Shaun Knight; Will James, James Hudson; Tom Savage (capt), Andy Hazell, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, James Gibbons, Rupert Harden, Elliott Stooke, Gareth Evans, Jimmy Cowan, Charlie Sharples, Matt Kvesic

Disappointed that Stooke and James and starting together and do have to question why we're going with a 6/2 split again - surely if we're going to do this an additional lock is preferred to another backrow forward. But if we can get ball to that back line we'll cause some real problems.

Wasps side:
15. Elliot Daly
14. Christian Wade
13. Chris Bell (c)
12. Charlie Hayter
11. Josh Bassett
10. Andy Goode
9. Joe Simpson
1. Matt Mullan
2. Carlo Festuccia
3. Jake Cooper-Woolley
4. Tom Palmer
5. Kearnan Myall
6. Ashley Johnson
7. James Haskell
8. Nathan Hughes

Replacements
16. Tom Lindsay
17. Simon McIntyre
18. Will Taylor
19. James Cannon
20. Guy Thompson
21. Charlie Davies
22. Joe Carlisle
23. Tommy Bell

HongKongCherry wrote:Glaws side:
Rob Cook; James Simpson-Daniel, Henry Trinder, Ryan Mills, Jonny May; Freddie Burns, Dan Robson; Yann Thomas, Huia Edmonds, Shaun Knight; Will James, James Hudson; Tom Savage (capt), Andy Hazell, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, James Gibbons, Rupert Harden, Elliott Stooke, Gareth Evans, Jimmy Cowan, Charlie Sharples, Matt Kvesic

Disappointed that Stooke and James and starting together and do have to question why we're going with a 6/2 split again - surely if we're going to do this an additional lock is preferred to another backrow forward.  But if we can get ball to that back line we'll cause some real problems.

Best backline in the world, that.

Falcons team for Sarries on Sunday

I think we can really have a go at them on Sunday looking at the teams mind.

15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Danny Barnes, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair, 1 Rob Vickers, 2 Scott Lawson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 4 Carlo del Fava, 5 Dom Barrow, 6 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (c), 8 Ally Hogg

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 James Fitzpatrick

Sarries Team

15. Alex Goode; 14. Michael Tagicakibau, 13. Marcelo Bosch, 12. Chris Wyles, 11. David Strettle; 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Neil de Kock; 1. Richard Barrington, 2. Jamie George, 3. Matt Stevens, 4. Steve Borthwick ©, 5. Mouritz Botha, 6. Jackson Wray, 7. Will Fraser, 8. Ernst Joubert.

Replacements;

16. Schalk Brits, 17. Nick Auterac, 18. Petrus Du Plessis, 19. George Kruis, 20. Jacques Burger, 21. Richard Wigglesworth, 22. Duncan Taylor, 23. Ben Ransom

yappysnap wrote:Realistically I do think Quins can win this weekend, Tigers aren't at their best and we've had the better of them at WR a few times over the last few seasons already. If we can play to our best then we have the players to win it.


It does amuse me how the same old posters are already rolling out the injuries excuses before the ball's even been kicked though!!

Injuries and absentees have a definate impact on a team's ability to win matches though, so I don't see what the problem is with mentioning it. So what if Tigers have a big squad? They also have a huge amount of players missing. I woner in terms of percentage what fraction of the squad is missing.

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Post by GeordieFalcon Yesterday at 10:50 am
Quins are having a tough time...currently in the treatment room are:

•Rob Buchanan (torn pectoral muscle)
•Ross Chisholm (anterior cruciate ligament)
•Paul Doran-Jones (neck)
•Maurie Fa'asavalu (hamstring)
•Nick Kennedy (knee)
•Ollie Lindsay-Hague (shoulder)
•George Lowe (neck)
•Harry Sloan (foot)
•Jordan Turner-Hall (hip)



Post by Cumbrian Yesterday at 11:34 am
Combine that with the players they've got away with England (three very important players) in Marler, Robshaw and Brown, that is a big old gap in the Quin's squad. Any team would do well to be competitive after sustaining those losses.




Post by ChequeredJersey Yesterday at 11:53 am
We've had niggles to Casson, Matthews, Williams, Monye as well and Casson and Matthews are only just back. Add in losing Kohn and our second row has been screwed, as have our centres

All from Harlequins 2013/14 Season Discussion Thread.

Everyone ought to man up.

And/or suspend the Jeff during IWs.

thats still a strong sarries side with good bench options. id expect them to get the BP win.

Saints side still looks good but missing Foden, Elliott from last week and still no North. Think it will be a close game Sunday at the Madejski. hope we can spring a surprise like last year.

I just looked at the line-up for Saints. Clearly our weakest team all season. Missing Jamie Elliot is a very big hole. Their game plan will be very simple and direct.

The differences between teams at this level are pretty small despite some large scorelines. This will not be a walkover by any stretch. If O'Connor makes a few big individual plays from fullback, this could really energise Irish, and this will be tight. Too tight for comfort.

Harlequins have announced the team to face Leicester Tigers tomorrow at Welford Road in Round 7 of the Aviva Premiership. Kick-off is at 5.30pm.
There are a number of changes to the side that beat Sale Sharks last weekend.

Tim Molenaar will make his first team debut for the south-west London club following his move from Gloucester Rugby earlier this week. He partners Matt Hopper in the centres.

Nick Evans moves to fullback in the absence of Tom Williams, who misses out through injury, with Ben Botica starting at fly-half. Charlie Walker and Ugo Monye are named on the right and left wings respectively with Danny Care completing the backline.

The pack remains the same.

On the bench, Charlie Matthews is named for the first time this season having returned from injury. He replaces George Merrick. Karl Dickson and Sam Smith will both be ready to make an impact when they come on while Tom Casson makes a return from injury. Prop Nic Mayhew replaces Kyle Sinckler.

Harlequins:

15 Nick Evans
14 Charlie Walker
13 Matt Hopper
12 Tim Molenaar
11 Ugo Monye
10 Ben Botica
9 Danny Care

1 Mark Lambert
2 Dave Ward
3 Will Collier
4 Nick Easter (capt)
5 George Robson
6 Joe Trayfoot
7 Luke Wallace
8 Tom Guest

16 Harry Allen
17 Darryl Marfo
18 Nic Mayhew
19 Charlie Matthews
20 Jack Clifford
21 Karl Dickson
22 Tom Casson
23 Sam Smith

Nice to see Clifford, Casson and Matthews on the bench, and Walker who will be fired up on the wing. Nev at FB is an interesting call,, he has INT pedigree there but doesn't play there often for us. Could work. Glad Ugo is back and I like our back row. Molenar should help give us momentum in the backs and Danny and Dicko will both be looking to make their mark. The big problem is in the tight 5, especially front row, especially front row subs.

Tigers: Morris; Hamilton, Hepetema, Bowden, Thompstone; Williams, Mélé; Ayerza, Briggs, Mulipola, L Deacon (capt), Kitchener, Slater, Salvi, Crane. Reps: Chuter, Stankovich, Balmain, Mafi, Waldrom, Harrison, Smith, Scully.

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Team-news-Quartet-return-Leicester-Tigers-v/story-20021168-detail/story.html#ixzz2jOp93Sbm


Vs their front row we will have a long day, and their subs there are way ahead of ours, our 2nd row are OK but theirs are nastier. Think we can beat them in the back row and breakdown though, Salvi or no Salvi. think if Molenar clicks, Botica keeps his cool and Nev manages at FB we can beat them in the backs. Just need the pack to hold up. Think Mele is going to get a card, Danny is great at winding hotheads up

Mealy to get a yellow card?  
He's French and therefore possesses one of the coolest temperaments on the Planet.
Pas.

But after seeing the teams, I wish that I could change my SG prediction.

Portnoy's Complaint wrote:Mealy to get a yellow card?  
He's French and therefore possesses one of the coolest temperaments on the Planet.
Pas.

Like Parra, and Yachvili, and Dupuy then...

 s all, CJ
   

I actually really like that Quins team! It has the potential to be absolutely lethal. If we click then there are threats all over the park and all those guys will want to put in a good shift to keep their shirts.

As CJ said Tigers might have the advantage in the front 5 but Trayfoot, Wallace and Guest should absolutely muller their opposite numbers! that is a great future Quins backrow right there, especially when/if Clifford runs on at 8.

IF Easter can get himself some space and give us front foot ball and if Ward can nail his jumpers in the lineout then I expect a few tries from us.

Really hard to call vs Tigers but if we win I'll really start to think we can still get a lot out of this season

doctor_grey wrote:Ozzy, nice job covering for LT.  I think you need to improve your style a bit.  Why not hang with Will Greenwood for a while, so you can write things like "oooH, James O'Connor, I love how he swivels his hips as he runs".  Or something like that.........

Worcester Warriors (12th) vs. Bath Rugby (3rd) - The big Kahuna for Worcester.  If they lose, doom on Worcester.  I don't think Bath are really a third place team.  So I pick Worcester for the upset at home by a hair's margin.

Sale Sharks (7th) vs. Exeter Chiefs (4th) - Trap game for Exeter.  Exe should feel good about themselves.  No one knows how Sale feel.  But Friday nights up in the frozen norf should be enough.  Another close one, but I pick the home underdog y about 3 points.  

Gloucester Rugby (11th) vs. London Wasps (9th) - What's up with Gloucester?  NO one knows.  Not even Gloucester.  On paper they should be better.  I think they hold off Wasps at home.  Probably not too close at the end.  

Leicester Tigers (5th) vs. Harlequins (6th) - I think this is a weird match to predict.  Normally I think we wold all want to see this wil all the Internationals playing for their club.  But Leicester have this unbelievable run of injuries and Quins look a bit off form.  I would guess this is one of the best chances of pulling off a win at Welford Road.  But this should be tight.  Still pick Leicester is a low scoring affair.

Saracens (1st) vs. Newcastle Falcons (8th) - As Mr. T said, the prediction for this fight is pain.  Saracens by 20.

London Irish (10th) vs. Northampton Saints (2nd) - Huge trap game for Saints.  The James O'Connor factor might make a huge difference for LI.  Not so much for his play since he is just learning the names of his new teammates, but for the energy.  Probably a few extra people come out to watch as well, will jack up the crowd.  I think LI are in it to the end, but Saints clip it at the end, barely (hopefully).  

Just for the record, two matches played, two predictions wrong. I am a ruddy genius.