Counting down to Round 4 of the Premiership

Harlequins vs Bristol Bears: 

Round 4 of the 2021-22 Premiership kicks off with a cracker as defending champs Harlequins host Bristol Bears at the Twickenham Stoop. 

After a poor showing in the first two rounds, Bristol finally jumped back onto the winning wagon with a 25-20 victory over Bath at Ashton Gate. 

After two fixtures thus far, Quins are looking strong with a brace of victories, the most recent of which coming against Worcester in Round 2. 

Fresh from their bye and on their home turf, Quins will be difficult to stop. However, their first win of the campaign may well ignite the rhythm which took Bristol to the top of the log last season. In light of everything, this encounter has the makings of the match of the round.  

Exeter vs Worcester: 

Exeter will look to carry their momentum from Round 3 into this weekend when they take on Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park. The Chiefs recorded their first victory of comp last weekend with a 10-point win over Sale Sharks. 

Meanwhile, Worcester were taken apart by Gloucester in a quality performance from the latter while the former’s mistakes throughout the game let them down. 

Both sides have a solitary victory to their names but Chiefs are languishing in the bottom-half of the table (with 5 points) while Worcester currently find themselves occupying fifth spot with 7 points.  

Exeter, as they have shown in recent years, are certainly a team with some significant skill and depth and, despite their slow start, it seems just a matter of time before their potential kicks into gear.  

After a terrible 2020-21 campaign, Worcester do appear to be in better shape but they can be guaranteed of a stern test this weekend. 

Gloucester vs Sale: 

The Cherry & Whites will host the wounded Sale Sharks at Kingsholm this week with the former enjoying a healthy injection of confidence after putting Worcester away last week. 

Sale kicked their campaign off with a 1-point victory over Bath in Round 1 and would have been furious with themselves for letting London Irish back into the game last week to wrap things up with a draw in Round 2. Things did not improve last weekend when they fell to Exeter. 

While Sale are missing some big names in this early stage of the competition, they are still a side possessing some real bite when their minds are put to it. 

Gloucester were dominant last week against Worcester, the former running in three tries and slotting four penalties. George Skivington’s men showed composure in the first half, keeping the scoreboard ticking over through the boot of flyhalf Adam Hastings before really turning up the heat in the second half in which all their tries were scored. 

London Irish vs Leicester Tigers: 

The Exiles are back at the Brentford Community Stadium this week as they await the challenge of the visiting Leicester Tigers. 

Leicester have established themselves as the team to beat so far this season and are sitting pretty atop the log with 3 wins from as many outings and 14 points. Their most recent victory came against Saracens in a hard-fought, tight encounter. 

Exiles came close to knocking over Northampton Saints, narrowly losing out 23-21. 

On current form, one would expect Leicester to take this one, although London Irish have proved in Round 2 – against Sale – that they are capable of putting on a strong second half showing when they put their minds to it, which could make for a close result. 

Saracens vs Newcastle: 

An encounter of potential excitement awaits fans as the Newcastle Falcons throw their best at Saracens. 

The Falcons, as they have been known to do since last season, pulled off an upset in Round 2 when they stunned Wasps 18-14 at Kingston Park. To add insult to Wasps’ injury, the Falcons posted the result while playing a large chunk of the match with 14 men after being shown a red card. 

Saracens will be looking to strike back after their last-gasp, one-point loss to Leicester last weekend, though they will be needing their wits about them as Newcastle have shown just how dangerous they can be. 

Wasps vs Northampton: 

The round will conclude with the Saints marching into the Ricoh Arena to attempt to snatch their fourth victory in a row. 

Wasps will be smarting after being taken by surprise by Falcons in Round 3, and proved against Bristol that they have the mettle to put together some good rugby. Their defensive system will have to be on point against the expansive Saints style which has borne fruit for them thus far. 

Looking to build on their narrow escape from last week and will have to bring that big extra in front of the Wasps fans. Lee Blackett’s men will no doubt be frustrated with last week’s result and will tear into their opponents from the first whistle. All in all, a potentially great contest.