AVIVA Premiership Weekend Fixtures 16-18 February - Round 15
2017-2018 Premiership will enter the 15th round this coming weekend. The current fixtures will present great rivalries such as defending champions Exeter facing their main rivals. The following are the most interesting encounters of the premiership to watch.
Wasps v Exeter Chiefs - Sunday 18th February, kick-off @ 1500hrs
London Wasps will host their current main title rivals, the Exeter Chiefs, on the weekend of 18th February. The two teams have met 17 times in the Premiership games. The teams drew once, and Exeter has managed to win a maximum of twelve times compared to a record of four by the London Wasps. So far the wasps recorded 15 tries and 348 points against Exeter’s 28 tries and 450 points in their encounters. Wasps lost to Exeter in the last encounter in September 2017.London Wasps are at the third position with 44 points, which keeps them 7 points behind the leaders: Exeter. Wasp leading scorer Jimmy Gopperth has recorded 79 points to his name while Christian Wade leads in tries with a record of seven. Exeter's top scorer, Gareth Steenson, has a record of 122 points so far while the Simmonds and Woodburn have the highest number of tries amounting to seven each. Both teams have no suspended players currently.
Newcastle Falcons v Bath Rugby - Friday 16th February, kick-off @ 1945hrs
Newcastle Falcons will host Bath Rugby this weekend at Kingston Park. In the last ten meetings, the visitors have been able to beat the Falcons seven times with the rest three ending in favour of the hosts. The Falcons have recorded just five tries in the last ten meetings, which are less compared to the twenty-two tries that Bath rugby has recorded in the encounters between the two.
In summary, the Falcons have a record of 195 points from the ten games while the Bath have gained almost twice of those points: 352 points. The encounter between the two teams has a good record; no penalties have been recorded so far. The last match between the two ended with the Falcons recording a win of 33-32 against Bath Rugby.
Currently, the Falcons are placed at position seven in the AVIVA Premiership standings. In the last five matches, the team has recorded four consecutive wins and a loss that came in their most recent game played. Sonatane Takulau is the team’s leading scorer with 47 points and Vereki Goneva who comes second but leads with eight tries so far. No player is currently under suspension.
Bath currently sit in the fifth position of the Premiership table. The teams have recorded an improved performance by winning their last two recent matches. However, in total last five games, they have been defeated thrice. The team’s leading scorer, Rhys Priestland, is currently on 90 points, followed by Freddie Burns, who is currently on 59 points. The team’s success is attributable to its high conversion rate. Freddie Burns is affected by a suspension in the coming match.
Leicester Tigers v Harlequins - Saturday 17th February, kick-off @1500hrs
The rivalry between the two teams grows as each tries to improve. The Tiger and Harlequin have met seventeen times, whereby nine wins ended in favour of the Tigers while eight other wins went to the Harlequins. From these encounters, Tigers have managed a total of 36 points with ten tries while Harlequins have collected 370 points with 18 tries. The last meeting ended with Harlequins victory.
Both teams have recorded poor results in their respective matches. Eighth-placed Tigers have only won once while the night placed Harlequin has just won twice in the last five recent games. George Ford is Leicester’s leading scorer with 102 points.
Harlequins leading scorer, Marcus Smith, has recorded 118 points with his close teammate, Charlie Walker managing to make eight tries. The team will be without the suspended player, Joe Marler. John May leads with eight tries. Jonny may be sidelined for this match due to suspension.
Remaining Fixtures:ROUND 15
Friday 16th February, kick-off @ 1945hrs
Saturday 17th February, kick-off @1500hrs
Below you will find betting options and markets from some of the top online bookmakers covering the Aviva Premiership.
For the best choice of Rugby Union odds then look no further than Paddy Power. Paddy Power offers a superb choice of Rugby Union betting markets from around the world and access to a multitude of markets on every fixture. Bet in-play on most major rugby matches is also available as well as match betting, handicap betting, first try scorer odds or ‘winning margin betting.
