After a three-week layoff, Premiership Rugby returns this weekend with a full slate of matches, starting with with a derby in the West Country on Friday night (around lunchtime for North American viewers), as Bath Rugby will visit Ashton Gate. Bristol currently leads the table with 24 points, while Bath is ensconced in eighth place, 12 points from the top. In this league, teams get four points for a victory and then can get a bonus point if they lose by seven points or fewer. They can also get a bonus point if they score at least four tries in one match. Tiebreakers are sorted out by match point differential.
Let’s look at the current table and then at the weekend’s matches as you plot out your online Rugby betting decisions.
Premiership Rugby: Round 7 Preview
Premiership Rugby Table
| Team | W | D | L | Point | Differential | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 5 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 4 | 24 | |
| Newcastle | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 20 | |
| Exeter | 4 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 4 | 20 | |
| Sale | 4 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 19 | |
| Wasps | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 19 | |
| Harlequins | 2 | 1 | 3 | -8 | 2 | 14 | |
| Leicester | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | 1 | 13 |
| Bath | 2 | 0 | 4 | – | 41 | 4 | 12 |
| Northampton | 2 | 0 | 4 | – | 11 | 3 | 11 |
| Worcester | 2 | 0 | 4 | – | 58 | 1 | 9 |
| London Irish | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | |
| Gloucester | 1 | 0 | 5 | – | 40 | 2 | 6 |
Bristol’s only loss in their last seven matches across all competitions came against Clermont in the first round of the European Champions Cup. Their last loss at home came back in August, against Exeter. Bath most recently won on December 5, taking down Worcester. Bath has not beaten Bristol since April 2019 and have not won at Bristol since March 2008.
In addition to Bath and Bristol squaring off, Leicester and Sale will face off on Friday as well. Sale is still undefeated after taking down Worcester and Gloucester, two of the table’s bottom-feeders. Leicester looks to see if they cannot start climbing out of the middle of the pack on the table, as they have not lost since Round 3. Sale has won two straight, with just one road loss since August, back on November 27. Sale has beaten Leicester four straight times across all competitions.
Exeter will visit Worcester, who has not won since November 21, when they beat London Irish by one point. Exeter has dropped two straight, having lost to Bristol and Wasps in their first two 2021 campaigns. Against Worcester, though, Exeter has been dominant, with just one loss in their last 16 fixtures.
Gloucester will take on Northampton looking to end a four-match losing streak. Northampton has not played since the end of December. Gloucester’s last win came over Ulster in Round 2 of the European Champions Cup. Northampton has only beaten Gloucester one time since January 2018.
Newcastle visits London Irish, who drew with Harlequins in their last match. The visitors will look to keep up their pressure on Bristol at the top of the table. London Irish’s last win came on November 29 over Leicester. Newcastle lost at Bristol in Round 5 but have not lost two straight away matches since the end of the 2018-19 season. Newcastle has won three straight over London Irish across all competitions.
Wasps and Harlequins will play the last match of the weekend. Wasps has won five matches in a row across all competitions since losing to Newcastle back in December. Harlequins last won in Round 3, taking down Glouceser by ten. Harlequins has won their last five away matches in Premiership Rugby, though. Last year, both fixtures between these two teams went to the away side.
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