Nick Easter’s Premiership predictions: Battle of ‘survival’ in East Midlands derby with hosts favoured in Round 15

James While 19 Apr 2024 8:45 PM

Nick Easter's Premiership Rugby predictions. — Nick Easter gives his predictions for the upcoming Premiership round.

As the Premiership race becomes ever-compressed, with eight teams mathematically capable of qualifying for the play-offs, we move into Round 15 with some thrilling games ahead of us.

We have teamed up with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to launch a new feature that will see us get predictions from a famous face before every Premiership round for the remainder of the season.

And just to make it a bit more fun, we’ll be making our own predictions for each game and tracking our performances week-by-week to see whether we can outsmart our illustrious guests.

Last time out, we squared up against London Irish and England wing Topsy Ojo with our predictions, and the Premiership legend matched our three predictions with three of his own. Planet Rugby was sharper with the winning margins, however, as we were 34 points adrift on our correct predictions, with Sale’s hammering of Exeter significantly contributing. Ojo was 41 points out.

This week, former Harlequins and England back-row Nick Easter joins Planet Rugby for the eToro Premiership Predictions.

Saracens v Gloucester

With Saracens out of the Champions Cup, their sights will be firmly focused on retaining their Premiership title. It’s an amazing stat, but each team from two to eight in the table has eight wins and six losses, and it’s only bonus points separating the sides.

I expect Sarries to go hard with an eye on the bonuses, but don’t underestimate a Gloucester side on the upslope who’ve turned around their form in recent weeks.

Head-to-head: Look no further than the battle of two wonderful opensides in Ben Earl and Lewis Ludlow. The Gloucester man has been unlucky not to be around the Test squad a little more, offering a real lineout option and presence around the tight stuff like mauls and breakdowns. Earl is the best player in England right now, and I’ll be watching with interest to see just how hard these two go at each other.

Players to watch: I am a big fan of young Jack Clement, a number eight/flank with plenty of abrasion and carrying ability. For Saracens, Marco Riccioni tends to go under the radar, but his work in defence and breakdown is peerless for a tighthead prop.

Easter’s Call: It’ll be a home win, but not as big as some might believe – I’m going 33-22 in an open and exciting match.

Exeter Chiefs v Bath

Exeter will be positively stinging after their hammering by Toulouse. Ironically, they stayed with the French side up until half time but were then ripped to shreds so I am expecting to see a big reply from them after that loss.

It’s an irony that the Chiefs put in their best display of the season in the EPCR Round of 16 against their opponents this weekend. Now this adds extra spice in my view as Bath learn quickly and they also have had a week off in terms of workload, but losing Finn Russell will be a massive blow for them.

Head-to-head: It has to be at outside centre where the two current England centres, Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence, go up against each other. Lawrence’s ability to step as he approaches contact might cause Slade’s flaky defence a few headaches and the Chief will need to defend the 13 corner a lot better than he did against Toulouse.

Players to watch: In the absence of Russell, all eyes have to be on Orlando Bailey, a very skilled 10. If he influences the match, then Bath might overcome the odds. I also love the sheer workrate of Chiefs’ Dafydd Jenkins, a man that leads by example.

Easter’s Call: A really tough one to predict given that Chiefs are on a six-day turnaround, but I expect the Sandy Park faithful to give them an advantage in a one score game – 28-22.

Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers

The East Midlands derby is a fixture where anything might happen and usually does! There’s so much rivalry between these two giants of the game, and the Saints are still not over their semi-final loss a couple of seasons ago when they blew five scoring chances in the first 20!

This will be a clash of style – the pragmatism of Tigers versus the ambition of Saints, but the key thing for me is that Saints have seriously upped their set-piece and defence this year, so that physicality gap is narrower. For both teams, it’s a must-win, and it’ll be a battle of Premiership survival, which neither side can afford to lose.

Head-to-head: Fin Smith v Handre Pollard is something very special to look forward to. I coached Fin at Worcester, and I can tell you Sam Vesty was open about his desire to get him over to Northampton. He’s a brilliant 10, but he’s up against a double world champion, a great yardstick for him to measure himself against.

Players to watch: Courtney Lawes is old enough to have played in the same England pack as I did! He’s an all-time great of English rugby and someone I respect greatly as a person and player. For Leicester, Solomone Kata has been a revelation for them in midfield with his direct carrying.

Easter’s Call: East Midlands derbies are always tough to call, but this is a Saints win for me by the narrowest of margins – let’s say 28-27.

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Sale Sharks v Harlequins

Another delicious match and one that will be physical, as I noted Irne Herbst commented in Planet Rugby this week. Sale have a similar record to Quins but their inability to grab bonus points has hampered them.

Harlequins’ romp in the Bordeaux sunshine will have boosted their confidence but sapped their energy. With Danny Care and Joe Marler back, that will assist, but they will need to step up physically if they’re to grab a result. They score a lot of points, something Sale struggle to do, so this is a very interesting match if Quins grab a couple of bonus points.

Head-to-head: In the back-row, Jean-Luc du Preez is back and firing and his battle with Alex Dombrandt will be fascinating to watch as power meets handling skill.

Players to watch: Tom Roebuck has lit up Sale’s backline this season, and he’s close to a full cap with England right now. For Quins, Oscar Beard was fantastic against Bordeaux and I’ll be interested to see how he copes with the intelligence of Rob du Preez in the Sale backline.

Easter’s Call: Sale’s desperation and favourable record against Quins at home will pay dividends here but it will be incredibly tight and Quins’ heavy legs from the win over Bordeaux will count against them; the hosts to win it 24-20.

Bristol Bears v Newcastle Falcons

Bristol Bears still have the ability to qualify for the play-offs and are hitting a rich vein of form. They’re tougher up front than earlier in the season and their back-row is a feature of their play.

Never write off the doughty Falcons! They’re a side on a shoestring who love to put the boot into more illustrious rivals. However, I don’t believe they’ve the control or gainline dominance to squeeze a result at Ashton Gate, despite their ability to upset the odds.

Head-to-head: Guy Pepper v Fitz Harding is a battle of two tyro opensides who are both very much work-rate orientated and both on the Steve Borthwick radar. Pepper is a brilliant defender, Harding probably better with ball in hand – and I expect these two to have a right go at each other.

Players to watch: You always look forward to seeing Adam Radwan in full flight and he’s someone that can turn a game in an instant. For Bears, I loved working with big Joe Batley when I was at Worcester, a fighter and a guy I respect greatly, and he again has shone for Bristol this season.

Easter’s Call: I simply don’t think the Falcons will get enough possession or gainline dominance to trouble Bristol, so I am thinking a score of 37-15 or thereabouts is on the cards.