Guinness Premiership gears up for penultimate weekend
How times flies. It barely feels like two weeks have passed since all 12 teams in the Guinness Premiership were due to kick-off the 2009/10 campaign.
Yet, here we are, in the penultimate weekend of the season already. The business end where heroes will be made and villains will be unearthed as the campaign edges towards its dramatic conclusion.
At the top, Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints and Saracens have all sealed their places in next month’s play-offs. The battle for top spot continues, though, and Leicester will be presented with an ideal opportunity to cement pole position going into the final weekend.
Richard Cockerill’s reigning champions have enjoyed another fine domestic campaign, and along with the Saints, have been the standout performers in the Premiership this season. The Tigers will host Harlequins this weekend, knowing that victory will all but seal their No. 1 spot. Quins will have their work cut out, as most teams do when they face Leicester. Earlier in the season, the Tigers travelled to the Stoop and emerged victorious. It’s almost impossible to envisage the reverse happening on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the chasing two behind Leicester will go head-to-head in one of the most intriguing encounters of the weekend. Saracens travel to Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, and will be desperate to end the season on a high with an away victory. They will be buoyed by the surprise result of Tuesday evening, when Jim Mallinder’s side went down 21-20 to Bath – a sign that nerves are beginning to get to the Saints, perhaps? Regardless of the reasons for their defeat, there’s no excuse for the Sarries to feel they can’t get something out of this match. And after winning 19-16 earlier in the season, Saracens will be keen to make it a double victory over their play-off rivals.
Although these games are set to be tight, tense, cagey affairs; they will pale in comparison to the game billed as the “one million pound” match this weekend.
Leeds Carnegie v Worcester Warriors: this biggest and most important match of the hosts’ history, according to the Leeds’ chief executive, Gary Hetherington. It’s easy to understand why. Victory would secure the Headingly outfit their Premiership survival for another season, and most crucially of all, £1million.
Should they win on Sunday afternoon, this campaign will go down in history as one of the most remarkable great escapes. Seemingly down and out at the turn of the new year, Leeds’ revival has been breathtaking, and it’s Worcester who now appear dead and buried. The Warriors have been dire in recent matches and will need to produce a spirited, dogged performance – the type of display that has largely eluded them this season – if they’re to give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding the drop to Championship rugby. Defeat and they’re all but down.
It’s funny how the fixture generator throws together these matches at such a make-or-break stage of the campaign, year-upon-year. Also this weekend, the remaining two clubs whose Premiership status remains uncertain, Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons, will pit their wits against each other on Friday night. Both sides know that they’re far from safe. Losing simply isn’t an option.
Before this week, the race for fourth place was largely presumed to be won by either London Wasps or London Irish. However, Bath have emerged from nowhere in recent weeks and could find themselves in that final play-off position on Sunday evening if they manage to beat London Wasps at Twickenham. A huge crowd is expected, and Bath, following their 21-20 victory against Northampton on Tuesday, may well fancy their chances.
Former Wasps hero, Lawrence Dallaglio, has urged the Wasps faithful to be more patriotic, a day after St George’s Day. He knows the effect that a roused, passionate crowd can have on a team’s performance; and perhaps this rallying cry will provide the extra boost that the club needs to see them over the finishing line.
London Irish, meanwhile, make the trip west to Gloucestershire to take on Gloucester at Kingsholm. A 23-13 defeat against Leeds last weekend was hardly ideal preparation for the visitors, who know that defeat on Saturday afternoon could put them out of sight for a top four place.
The stakes are high for all 12 teams involved. Rarely has a season ended with so much still to play for. From million-pound matches to play-off battles, this penultimate weekend of Premiership action is certainly one for those who enjoy watching rugby from the edge of their seats.
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