The short side: Pressure off in the Premiership

Colin Newboult

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

Games to watch

Exeter Chiefs v Sale Sharks

After securing a home quarter-final in the Champions Cup, Exeter are back in domestic action as they attempt to maintain their place at the top of the Premiership table.

Rob Baxter’s men have once again been in excellent form this season and, following Saracens’ demise, they are strong favourites for the title. Despite a couple of blips against Bath and Bristol, the Chiefs reside at the summit and will attempt to maintain their impressive record versus Sale Sharks on Saturday.

Exeter have won their previous eight matches against Sale, which includes two victories in the recent European group stages, and have only lost once at home to the Greater Manchester outfit.

That heavy 55-12 defeat in 2014 was simply an outlier having dominated the clash for the past few years, but the Sharks will go into the game with slightly more hope.

Steve Diamond has spent heavily in the off-season, bringing in a number of quality South Africans, and after resting many of their star performers over the past two weeks they are targeting the Six Nations period.

Springbok star Lood de Jager has also arrived in northern England following the shoulder injury he suffered during the World Cup final and the second-row will be a crucial part of their powerful pack.

Bristol v Gloucester

Two hotbeds in terms of rugby following clash on Saturday as fifth meets third in the Premiership. With this the final game before a two-week break in the competition, all teams will be hunting valuable points to take into the fallow spell. Bristol appear more desperate than most after a tough run of results in the English league – they haven’t claimed a win in the last four rounds – so a home victory would be huge.

What will buoy them is that Ashton Gate has proven something of a fortress of late for the Bears as they have lost just once in their most recent 11 fixtures in all competitions, so they will look to use that to their advantage when Johan Ackermann’s dangerous outfit come to town over the weekend.

What is a concern for Gloucester though is international absentees as they’ll be without a number of players for this match, with Bristol, in contrast, unaffected by the Six Nations, so this is a massive opportunity for them to pick up points.

Player to watch – Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)

Once again it was disappointing news for the number eight as another international squad announcement saw his name missing from England’s list. Simmonds must be wondering what more he has to do to force his way into Eddie Jones’ thinking as he regularly shines for the Chiefs.

What makes the absence of Simmonds all the more baffling is that England have failed to name a specialist number eight in their group for their opening Six Nations match against France, with Ben Earl, Tom Curry or Lewis Ludlam set to deputise in the jersey as Jones opts against the Exeter man and also in-form Harlequins back-row Alex Dombrandt. Therefore, both snubbed players will want to prove a point, again, to coach Jones.

One-v-one battle to watch – Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton Saints) v Waisake Naholo (London Irish)

This is a mouth-watering clash which will be both brutal and entertaining as two giant wings go head-to-head at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday.

Weighing at just over 15st, Naholo is not necessarily the biggest, but his athleticism and natural power means that the former All Black punches well above that. Throughout his time in Super Rugby and on the international stage, he regularly sat down defenders, but the ex-Highlander will do well to repeat that trick against Naiyaravoro.

Instead, the New Zealander will have to use his footwork and pace to get around the gargantuan Australian, who is almost five stone bigger but not renowned for his defensive qualities.

Northampton’s wing has regularly been exposed for his weaknesses without the ball, but the Fijian-born powerhouse is ultimately in the Saints XV for his potency in attack and will test this Irish rearguard.

Subplot to watch – No relegation, no pressure

With the news that Saracens are confirmed as being relegated at the end of the campaign, the pressure valve is released for everyone else occupying the places near the bottom of the Premiership standings, much to the delight of directors of rugby and coaches under some heat.

What happens now should prove positive in terms of a spectacle for the watching masses as the threat of going down to the Championship is gone for the likes of Leicester, London Irish and Wasps. Teams could therefore open up and try their hand much more than they normally would, which bodes well from an entertainment standpoint, so expect new ideas, happier coaches and chances aplenty for up-and-coming talent.

Of course, there is potentially a negative side to this, where there will no doubt be some meaningless games towards the latter stages of the season – something which has been an issue in the PRO14 – so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Best of the rest

Following Saracens’ relegation, that has rather negated any potential excitement at the bottom of the table, but there is nothing to say that a couple of those teams in the lower reaches won’t go on a run and challenge for the play-offs. It is so tight that the likes of Leicester Tigers and Wasps will feel that a top-four place is a possibility, particularly if they can garner away wins against Bath and Worcester Warriors respectively this weekend.

Meanwhile, although most of the PRO14 is taking a break due to the Six Nations, South African duo Southern Kings and Cheetahs face-off in back-to-back fixtures over the next week. They have played two games fewer than their Celtic and Italian rivals and it is an opportunity, especially for the Cheetahs, who reside just three points below third place Glasgow Warriors, to put themselves in a strong position heading into the rest of the campaign.

 

Bristol