The short side: Battles at the top and Chiefs to stroll

David Skippers
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The short side returns to Planet Rugby as we study the major talking points ahead of this weekend’s action in the Premiership and PRO14.

Premiership game to watch – Sale Sharks v Bristol Bears

With Exeter Chiefs sitting comfortably at the top of the Premiership table, Sale, Bristol, Bath and Wasps are battling it out for second place at the moment.

The Sharks made a slow start when they returned to action – after the break due to the coronavirus pandemic – and after suffering defeats to Harlequins and Exeter, they bounced back with a deserved away victory over Wasps on Tuesday. They were much more disciplined in that game, which delighted boss Steve Diamond.

By contrast, Bristol hit the ground running when the season resumed and notched impressive triumphs over Saracens and Gloucester, which meant they were on a seven-match winning streak ahead of their crunch match with the Chiefs at Ashton Gate. But despite matching the table-toppers in most facets of play, their impressive run came to a grinding halt as Exeter notched a narrow 25-22 win, a defeat which is now compounded by several of their stars needing a rest game.

While there is no Semi Radradra, Bristol will still back themselves to cause a shock on Saturday against a side who looked to have turned a corner on Tuesday.

Fly-half AJ MacGinty contributed 15 points in that win and also impressed with his game management while young back-row Ben Curry came to the fore with superb leadership and he caught the eye with his breakdown work. This week he starts alongside his brother, Tom, and Daniel du Preez and once again captains the side.

In total, Bristol and Sale have faced each other in 31 matches in the Premiership and there is very little separating these sides. The Sharks have won 16 of those encounters with the Bears victorious on 14 occasions and there has been one draw. Bristol won the last meeting 16-10 at Ashton Gate in November 2019.

PRO14 game to watch – Ulster v Leinster

Ulster face a daunting task when they take on a highly impressive Leinster side in their PRO14 derby at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Leinster’s confidence stems from their incredible record in this tournament. The defending champions have won all 14 of their previous league matches in the competition and are sitting pretty atop the Conference A table with 65 points amassed so far, with second-placed Ulster a whopping 21 points adrift.

There were concerns earlier this week that this fixture would not go ahead after eight positive coronavirus cases were reported in the Ulster Academy. The Northern Irish province’s senior squad were not affected, however, and the Irish Rugby Football Union have confirmed that 155 players and staff from Ulster and Leinster were tested for Covid-19 and all have been cleared to compete in this weekend’s fixture.

Both these teams were involved in closely fought battles last weekend. A poor start cost Ulster dearly as they succumbed 26-20 against Connacht while Leinster had to dig deep before claiming a hard-fought 27-25 win over arch rivals Munster.

With both sides already through to the play-offs, there is not much at stake although Ulster will be highly motivated to end Leinster’s winning run and, by doing that, strike some form and also make a statement of intent ahead of the knockout rounds.

Despite not going full strength for this game, a proud Leinster will not take their opponents lightly as they are in the midst of the best ever winning run in PRO14 history – having gone unbeaten since Ulster pipped them by one point in April 2019.

Player to watch – Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)

In what will be his first appearance since the restart, plenty of eyes will be on Exeter Chiefs favourite Nowell on Sunday. The England international gets the nod alongside the majority of Rob Baxter’s first-team, which is worrying news for a Worcester side that has rested many of their top players for the trip to Devon.

Exeter could well run rampant at Sandy Park and Nowell will no doubt be in the thick of the action as the table-topping Chiefs’ unforgiving style will beat up the Warriors up front but also go wide when the chance comes.

Expect the likes of Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds to enjoy plenty of joy but those watching will also be keen to see Henry Slade, Stuart Hogg and the ever-improving Joe Simmonds strut their stuff. It could get ugly for Worcester as Nowell and company look ominous.

One-v-one battle to watch – Chris Farrell (Munster) v Sammy Arnold (Connacht)

There’s some intriguing match-ups across Europe this weekend but we pick out an ex Munster centre’s clash with a former rival for the red jersey. Farrell faces off with Arnold at the Aviva Stadium as two powerful runners collide in what promises to be a thrilling match between two sides who have returned in slick form.

Already we have witnessed what a promising midfield partnership Farrell and Damian de Allende are developing and Connacht will have to be on their guard against the threat these two powerhouses pose. Arnold will no doubt be fired up to prove a point against his old charges so expect this face-off to be a lively contest.

Subplot to watch – Munster’s engine room and the play-off battle

Losing one international second-row is a setback but having two ruled out looked like being a nightmare scenario for Munster as they look to secure their spot in the play-offs and subsequently push on for honours. South Africa’s RG Snyman (knee) and Ireland’s Jean Kleyn (neck) are both sidelined with serious injuries and how they cope without these two giants will be intriguing when they face Connacht on Sunday.

Plenty now rests on the shoulders of starters Fineen Wycherley and Tadhg Beirne, the latter making a timely comeback, which means that even without Snyman and Kleyn, Munster can still boast Billy Holland as a bench option in a real sign of depth.

It promises to be an interesting watch, not least for Scarlets as the battle for the remaining play-off place goes down to the wire. In order to sneak into the semi-finals the Welsh region will have to claim a full five points against the Dragons on Saturday and hope Munster get nothing from their final fixture at the Aviva Stadium. While it’s a tough ask for Scarlets, this tussle for the semis could add plenty of drama for the neutral in the final regular-season round.

 

Bristol