Premiership: Five storylines to follow during Round 22 including George Ford’s unwanted record at Sale Sharks
Ahead of Round 22 of the Premiership, Planet Rugby delves into the weekend’s action and picks out our five storylines to follow from the five games.
George Ford searching for first win at Sale
The return to fitness of the England fly-half was meant to take the Sharks to the next level but, if anything, it’s created an extra problem, given the outstanding form of South African playmaker Rob du Preez. Sale have yet to win a game with Ford in the squad, out of five matches he has played since returning from a serious Achilles problem.
Director of rugby Alex Sanderson is attempting to shoehorn both him and Du Preez into the side by shifting the latter out to 13, a position he had very limited success in last season. He struggled to get to grips with the defensive side of things in 2021/22 and again it is causing him – and the Sharks – issues in 2023.
It is not the 29-year-old’s fault as such – he is simply inexperienced in the position – but Du Preez continues to make bad decisions without the ball. Unperturbed by their poor run of results, Sanderson is continuing with the experiment but, if it doesn’t work at Ashton Gate, then it quite simply should be ditched, especially with their home semi-final coming under increasing threat.
Battle intensifies for Champions Cup qualification
It has been an incredibly competitive campaign but it is getting to the stage where some teams may stop thinking about the play-offs and instead be looking over their shoulder when it comes to Champions Cup qualification.
With Wasps and Worcester Warriors out of the reckoning due to the financial issues which forced them into administration, it has made it easier to get into next season’s top-tier ‘European’ competition. However, it has equally increased the pressure on all the sides and it would be deemed a failure for whoever misses out.
At the moment, Northampton Saints, who are fifth on 48 points, will feel safe, but a defeat to Saracens, combined with a win for those below them – Exeter (43), Bristol (41), Harlequins (41) and Gloucester (40) – would make them sweat, especially with those outfits all having a game in hand over the Saints.
It will be an incredibly tense end to the campaign for all those teams, with supporters having expectations that they will be seeing Champions Cup rugby next season.
West Country strugglers seeking derby day cheer
Let’s be honest, it’s not been a great campaign for any of the West Country sides with no team currently in the top half. Exeter Chiefs may be enjoying an excellent Champions Cup, reaching the semi-finals after thrashing the Stormers last weekend, but their Premiership form has been pretty poor, residing in sixth, eight points outside the play-off places.
Behind them are Bristol Bears in seventh and then the two traditional powerhouses, Gloucester and Bath, who are languishing in ninth and 10th respectively. In fact, the latter two have become so irrelevant in the wider context of this Premiership season that BT Sport decided to switch Friday’s match for Bristol’s encounter with Sale.
It rather sums up what has been a depressing campaign for both as they battle in the lower reaches of the league table. All is not lost, however, especially for the Cherry and Whites, who can move up the table and get into those Champions Cup qualification spots with a victory over their rivals.
Johann van Graan’s men will also hope to be in the mix for the top-eight and a bonus-point triumph would just about keep them in contention but, ultimately, the Rec-based outfit need a miracle if they are to be playing in Europe’s top-tier tournament in 2022/23.
Still, these derby games are always massive, irrespective of the context, so there will not be any drop-off in passion at Kingsholm on Friday. And Bath will certainly want to give a better account of themselves than they did last season when they succumbed to a record 64-0 defeat.
Animated conversation between Tom Dunn and Stuart Hooper after Bath's record loss to Gloucester.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/YvDWxpJdFg
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 30, 2022
Saracens seeking to confirm top spot
It’s only a matter of time at this point, particularly considering the stuttering form of the second-placed Sharks, but Sarries can seal top spot in the table this weekend. Their position at the summit will be assured if Sale can only get one point from their game with Bristol on Friday but, if Sanderson’s side triumph at Ashton Gate, then the Londoners will need to win at Northampton.
On paper, it should be a foregone conclusion, considering the brilliance of Saracens this season, but Mark McCall’s charges are coming off the back of a disappointing defeat to La Rochelle in the Champions Cup. That elimination could fire them up or it could present Northampton with a chance to cause an upset and boost their play-off hopes going into their final match of the campaign.
The Saints pretty much have to win if they want to keep their hopes of finishing in the top-four alive, while this encounter is not necessarily important for Sarries. However, McCall’s men will want to garner some momentum following their European disappointment and pick up a couple of victories ahead of the Premiership semi-finals.
Leicester Tigers aim to stay in home semi-final hunt
Sale’s stutter, combined with Leicester’s resurgence, has left the door ajar for the Midlanders to potentially finish in second position. London Irish could also make it and are in fine form themselves, residing just behind the Tigers in fourth, but with them five points behind the Sharks having played a game more, realistically only Richard Wigglesworth’s men can usurp the Greater Manchester outfit.
It will be a tough ask as, like the Exiles, they only have two matches remaining to Sale’s three, but both of those are at home and 10 points from those encounters would certainly put pressure on their rivals. Neither are easy encounters, with Exeter Chiefs, who impressed against the Stormers last week, first up this weekend, before they host Harlequins in the final round.
There is also the question as to how their hammering at the hands of Leinster will affect them going into the end of season run-in. Confidence would have been dented by how easily the Irish province breached their defence but, equally, they are not the only team to suffer that fate against the outstanding Dubliners. Wigglesworth’s charges need to reset and, if they do, then the defending champions could find themselves with a home game in the last-four.
