Following their defeat at Bath, defending champs Northampton Saints will look to get their season up and running in earnest when they welcome Exeter Chiefs to Sandy Park in the second round of the Gallagher Premiership.
Friday 27 September
23/100 Bristol Bears | Draw 22/1 | Gloucester 33/10
Handicap
Bristol (-10.5) 17/20 | Gloucester (+10.5) 17/20
Bears eased to a 24-3 win at Newcastle last week, and host Gloucester here in what should be another relatively routine win for the ambitious Pat Lam and his troops. With a hugely challenging upcoming series of fixtures that includes trips to The Rec and Sandy Park over the coming fortnight, beating the Cherry and Whites should be non-negotiable.
Gloucester certainly didn’t lie down against Saracens at the Kingsholm in round one, and staged an impressive late comeback, but an eventual 26-35 loss does indicate that it could be another uphill battle for them this season. That losing bonus point will be important in the context of their campaign moving forward, but they could be hard-pressed to achieve a similar result away from the comforts of home on Friday.
Verdict: Bears on the minus
Bristol to bag all five-log points on offer.
Saturday 28 September
1/50 Harlequins | Draw 40/1 | Newcastle Falcons 12/1
Handicap
Harlequins (-21.5) 17/20 | Benetton (+21.5) 17/20
Quins fell 11-12 against Sale Sharks last week in a thoroughly tight affair in Manchester but should record their first win of their campaign against strugglers Falcons. They face a real litmus test at the home of the champions in round three and must make Saturday count by locking in all five log points.
Newcastle must surely improve on their previous campaign under Steve Diamond this term, but it’s difficult seeing them get anything from their trip to The Stoop.
Verdict: Quins on the minus
The hosts to come away with a convincing victory.
2/9 Saracens | Draw 24/1 | Sale Sharks 36/10
Handicap
Saracens (-9.5) 17/20 | Sale Sharks (+9.5) 17/20
Sarries got the post-Farrell/ Vunipola era underway with a solid enough win at Gloucester but will face a sterner test against the side that pipped them to third at the StoneX in the final round-robin game of last season’s semi-final.
The six-time champions will be going all out to get some sweet revenge against Sale, but whether they are established enough in their gameplan to match such a powerful pack of forwards remains to be seen.
The Mancunian club just got over the line in their one-pointer over Quins in the first round, thanks largely to Georgie Ford grabbing all 12 of his side’s points on the day. That encounter makes them more battle-hardened than the hosts heading into this one, and that could give them the edge.
Verdict: Sale to win
Get on the visitors to get a valuable away win on Saturday.
24/100 Northampton Saints | Draw 22/1 | Exeter Chiefs 33/10
Handicap
Saints (-9.5) 17/20 | Exeter (+9.5) 17/20
Northampton were well beaten by Bath a week ago in an eventual 16-38 loss at The Rec. Playing their first game at home since winning the title last season, Phil Dowson will have his boys extra motivated to produce a winning performance and get some momentum going in their campaign against Exeter.
Chiefs were thwarted 14-17 in the final play by the Tigers at Sandy Park, making this encounter equally important for them. After losing so many senior statesmen a couple seasons back and still, in something of a rebuilding phase, Rob Baxter’s side are one of the teams under the most pressure to make the cut-off for the playoffs. This weekend’s clash at Franklin’s Gardens will provide a clearer picture of just how far along they are in their evolution.
Verdict: Saints to win
Get on the defending champions to get their campaign up and running with a win at home on Saturday.
Sunday 29 September
5/4 Leicester Tigers | Draw 23/1 | Bath 68/100
Handicap
Leicester (+2.5) 17/20 | Bath (-2.5) 17/20
Leicester are heavily favoured to progress to the semi-finals this season and showed in their last-gasp win at Chiefs that they do mean business. If they can follow up that win by downing Bath on Sunday, they will have to tee themselves up superbly going forward.
Bath will take a great deal of pride from avenging their Grand Final loss of last season and downing Northampton in their opener.
That 22-point win may yet be vital in the context of how their campaign unfolds but winning at Welford Road here should make them early favourites to lift the cup this time around.
Verdict: Tigers to win
Get on Michael Cheika to orchestrate a famous victory for the Tigers by the barest of margins.
