Most pivotal Premiership festive period ever - Andy Goode
After the World Cup and Europe have dominated the early stages of the season, the Premiership takes centre stage over Christmas and it feels like the most pivotal festive period ever.
With Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday, each team has three consecutive league fixtures over this period and they will shape the table and tell us a lot more about who are contenders and who are fighting for their lives.
The majority of Premiership clubs, whether by design or because of the way things have unfolded, seem to be focusing on the league more than the Champions Cup this season so it feels like a massive few weeks.
Northampton will be looking to reassert themselves after leaking 14 tries in two games against Leinster. They are worthy leaders at this stage but Sale is a tough place to go and that is because of the quality of their squad now, not just because of their grit and because some teams perhaps have underestimated them in the past.
Bristol are sitting pretty in second place but they have the ultimate test of their credentials first up as they travel to the champions. If they’re still in the top two after the next few weeks, we’ll know they’re play-off contenders.
Exeter’s game against Saracens at Sandy Park next weekend is the most mouth-watering one of the whole festive period and. They have trips to Leicester and London Irish either side of that and will be hoping to have retaken their customary place in the top two by the end of all that.
The other end of the table is even more interesting, though. Leicester, Bath, Wasps and Saracens have won 27 of the last 32 titles between them and they now make up the bottom four.
Tigers have six of England’s World Cup contingent in their side to face the Chiefs at Welford Road this weekend, as well as a host of other international talent. They then travel to Quins and host Bristol in the coming weeks, tough fixtures but two home games in this run of three. They have to step up now or their situation will look seriously perilous come mid-January.
London Irish’s game at home to Bath on Sunday is huge because, while a win can’t possibly guarantee them safety this early in the campaign, with other sides struggling so badly it would make things look very good indeed for them.
Bath have all their big guns back with Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Sam Underhill all starting and they will be desperate to alleviate some of the pressure on them ahead of a home game against Sale and the West Country derby at Gloucester.
And, the stakes couldn’t be much higher for Wasps as well. They have to face the top two in Bristol and Northampton but first up it’s Quins at the Ricoh Arena, which feels massive.
There’s no love lost between those two teams and it’s a fixture that always has a bit of bite and spite to it. It seems absurd to say it this early on but, with the fixtures they’ve got coming up, it almost feels like a must win game for Wasps.
If you’re Leicester, Bath or Wasps and you come out the other end of this run of three games and haven’t picked up at least one win, you’re in serious trouble. Big clubs have gone down before and it looks like one of that huge trio is favourite this time around.
Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday is almost convenient for clubs in a way as that can often be a day off anyway but there won’t be too much more than that one day off for the players this Christmas as it’s business time on the field.
A lot of clubs’ eyes are firmly on the league this season, whether they have ambitions to win it or need to focus fully on it to stay in it, and now the distraction of Europe has been put to one side for a few weeks there are some seriously big games coming thick and fast.
This is the most crucial Christmas period ever in the Premiership. It’ll be no good blaming too much turkey this year and one or two teams could find themselves stuffed if they get it wrong over the next couple of weeks.
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
3 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to comments