Bristol host Leicester in the “Ellis Genge Derby” as the Gallagher Premiership festive programme gets underway. Darry Worthington previews.
The first of the festive Gallagher Premiership fixtures get served up this weekend and while there aren’t any festive firecrackers, there are some intriguing fixtures including a clash between Bristol and Leicester.
Friday 2 December
Bath 12/10 | Draw 18/1 | Harlequins 7/10 (21:45)
Handicap
Bath (+2.5) 17/20 | Harlequins (-2.5) 17/20
We kick things off at the Recreation Ground where eighth-placed Bath will take on the third-placed Harlequins.
The hosts enjoyed a bye week last weekend which means they haven’t played a Premiership game since their impressive 19-18 victory over Leicester on the 12th of November. They have seen an upswing in form of late as they beat Newcastle 10-17 the week prior to beating Leicester.
Harlequins had a lean November with international breaks and cancellations of fixtures only seeing them take to the field once last Month. They did manage to end a frustrating November on a high note, beating Gloucester 21-12.
While I expect Bath to give them a real run for their money, I can see the North Londoners – who will be strengthened by the return of their internationals – taking the spoils here.
Saturday 3 December
Gtech Community Stadium
17:00
London Irish 4/10 | Draw 20/1 | Newcastle Falcons 21/20 (17:00)
Handicap
London Irish (-6.5) 17/20 | Newcastle (+6.5) 17/20
Next up we’ve got a clash between cellar-dwellers London Irish and ninth-placed Newcastle. Only five points separate the sides on the standings so this one should be a rather evenly matched affair.
The hosts have managed just a solitary win from their eight outings but they have managed to keep things close in most of their defeats. They went down narrowly again last weekend losing 33-31 to the Leicester Tigers in a helter-skelter affair.
Newcastle, who have won three of their eight fixtures this term, had a far more productive Round 11 as they beat Exeter 24-21. A magnificent rearguard defensive display during the final ten minutes of the fixture was enough to get the Falcons across the line.
I fancy the hosts at home. They have been decent in their recent fixtures and I reckon they’ll finally get that elusive second win by the narrowest of margins. Get on the Newcastle plus here.
Gloucester 11/20 | Draw 20/1 | Northampton 31/20 (19:30)
Handicap
Gloucester (-4.5) 17/20 | Northampton (+4.5) 17/20
The penultimate game of the weekend pits seventh-placed Gloucester up against fourth-placed Northampton. Both sides have enjoyed decent if not spectacular campaigns thus far and are separated by just three points on the standings.
The hosts head into this one off the back of a rather disappointing defeat to an understrength Harlequins outfit who they went down to 21-15 last Saturday. They were sloppy with ball-in-hand during Round 11 and will need to be more clinical if they are to claim the points here.
Northampton were on a bye last week with their most recent result being their Round 9 45-39 loss to Saracens. They had been on a decent run of form up to this, beating Exeter 26-19 and Bristol 45-31 in the two rounds prior.
I actually fancy the Saints here. They’ve played some decent rugby of late and could well get the win over a hit-and-miss Gloucester outfit. Perhaps it’d be best to get on the Northampton plus.
Bristol 5/4 | Draw 20/1 | Leicester 68/100 (22:00)
Handicap
Bristol (+2.5) 17/20 | Leicester (-2.5) 17/20
The round comes to a close at Ashton Gate where tenth-placed Bristol will take on fifth-placed Leicester. The hosts have struggled this term winning just two of their eight fixtures.
The Bears gave a really good account of themselves against the high-flying Sale Sharks last weekend going down 25-20. They were camped in Sale’s 22 for most of the final 15 minutes of the fixture and were desperately unlucky not to have scored a match-winning try.
While Bristol went down last weekend, Leicester managed a narrow win beating a fired-up London Irish side 33-31. Leicester got off to a flying start in the fixture but then had to defend for their lives with London Irish producing a blitz that brought them right back into the game. They would manage to hang on to their lead and claim a two-point win.
Both sides know their way to the try-line so this one is likely to be extremely high-scoring. My money is the Tigers edging a high-scoring thriller
