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
Bristol 31/100 | Draw 28/1 | Gloucester 3/1
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(-9.5) 17/20
Bristol to bag all five log points on offer.
Saturday 28 September
Harlequins 1/25 | Draw 66/1 | Newcastle 13/1
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 getting anything from their trip to The Stoop.
Verdict: Quins (-22.5) 9/10
The hosts to come away with a convincing victory.
Saracens 1/3 | Draw 28/1 | Sale Sharks 14/5
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 14/5
Get on the visitors to get a valuable away win on Saturday.
Northampton 27/100 | Draw 28/1 | Exeter 10/3
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 Tigers at Sandy Park which makes 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 play-offs. This weekend’s clash at Franklin’s Gardens will provide a clearer picture of just how far along they are in their evolution.
Verdict: Exeter (+10.5) 9/0
Get on the defending champions to get their campaign up and running with a win at home on Saturday, although I reckon that Chiefs will keep things within the double-digit handicap.
