With most clubs still without thier Six Nations stars, we may well see a few more upsets in the Gallagher Premiership as we head into week 18.
After a Round 16 where we were treated to numerous high-scoring affairs in Gallagher Premiership, we then got a weekend of attritional trench-warfare like clashes with Storm Eunice bringing heavy downpours that affected a load of Round 17 fixtures and left attacking rugby hard to come by.
Despite conditions not being ideal, there was still some captivating rugby on offer with the largest winning margin in Round 17 being by five points while three of the games were only decided by a solitary point.
After two fantastic rounds, Round 18 has a lot to live up to.
Friday 25 February
Worcester Warriors 9/4 | Draw 18/1 | Harlequins 38/100 (21:45)
The Warriors will be looking to build on their victory over Bristol when they play host to the Harlequins this weekend.
The visitors managed a nervy 29-24 win over Wasps in Round 17 with Wasps staging a late comeback that saw them score two tries in the final eight or so minutes.
Worcester also managed to bag a win last weekend as they saw off the Bristol Bears 19-14 in a very scrappy affair at Sixways. An early second-half try from replacement Steven Luatua proved to be the difference between the two sides as Worcester would hold onto their lead for the remaining 32 minutes of the fixture.
Worcester are really stiff opposition at home and I can see them causing an upset here, especially with ‘Quins shorn of their Six Nations contingent.
Sale Sharks 27/100 | Draw 18/1 | London Irish 29/10 (21:45)
The Sale Sharks and London Irish will go head to head on Friday, and this could well be a cracker with both sides in decent form.
The visitors head into this one off the back of a highly impressive 32-30 win over Saracens. The men from North London had looked to have secured the result when they scored from a rolling maul to go a point ahead with only four minutes on the board. A late dramatic late penalty from Paddy Jackson would see the Exiles steal a win, however.
Sale were also involved in an absolute nail-biter as they beat the Northampton Saints 21-22 at Franklin’s Gardens courtesy of a 60th minute try from former Golden Lions man, Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
While Irish are a very difficult proposition at home, they aren’t the same force on the road. As such, I expect Sale to take this one.
Bristol Bears 13/10 | Draw 22/1 | Wasps 66/100 (21:45)
Bristol will be looking to put a miserable two weeks behind them when they take on Wasps.
The hosts have really struggled over the past fortnight suffering defeats at the hands of London Irish and the Worcester Warriors. They have been extremely porous on defence, which is a major worry headed into a fixture against the free-scoring Wasps.
Wasps’ long-running unbeaten streak came to an end last weekend when they went down 29-24 to Harlequins. They showed a lot of spirit in defeat and managed to claim a losing bonus point when they looked like they’d take nothing from the game.
The Bears have been dire in recent weeks and I simply cannot see them coming good against a Wasps side hunting a semi-final berth.
Saturday 26 February
Leicester 37/100 | Draw 18/1 | Gloucester 23/10 (17:00)
The log-leading Tigers take on fourth-placed Gloucester in Saturday’s opener. The hosts are now 11 points clear at the summit of the Premiership after they registered a 24-20 win over Bath and second-placed Saracens dropped points against London Irish.
Gloucester were on a bye week during Round 17. They head into this one off the back of a defeat at the hands of the Exeter Chiefs who they went down 24-15 to in Round 16.
The Tigers are at home and this should be enough to see them to their 15th victory of the season.
Newcastle Falcons 44/100 | Draw 20/1 | Bath 39/20 (17:00)
It’s over to the Kingston Stadium for our next fixture which sees last-placed Bath take on 11th-placed Newcastle. Ten points currently separate the sides so a win for Bath will really throw the cat amongst the pigeons for the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
Both sides head into this one off the back of agonizing defeats with Bath having lead against the log-leaders Leicester until the 60th minute, while Newcastle, who played most of the game a man down due to a red card, lost courtesy of a late penalty against Exeter.
While Bath are improving, they still struggle on the road. I think this one goes the way of the home team.
Sunday 27 February
Northampton 72/100 | Draw 20/1 | Exeter 12/10 15:00
We bring things to a close at Franklin’s Gardens where Northampton and Harlequins will be looking to keep their slim hopes of stealing into the semi-finals alive.
The hosts head into this one having gone down by just a solitary point to a bang-in form Sale outfit. The defeat has seen them slide to ninth on the table.
Exeter, on the other hand, managed to sneak a win last weekend as they beat Newcastle by a point. They huffed and puffed throughout the game, however, and really should have done better considering they were a man up for most of the game.
I reckon the Saints will come good here. Exeter are still struggling and were extremely lucky to win last weekend.
