It is time to put the off-season scandals to bed and concentrate on the new season.  Can Leicester successfully defend their Premiership title |
Thank God we are at long last starting the rugby because there are hundreds of thousands of supporters who can't wait for the show to begin. The last couple of seasons have proved that the Guinness Premiership is a great competition because there is such intense jostling for one of the four play-off places. Leicester are champions once again and while Wasps, so long their main rivals, seem to be in decline, the Tigers are a team that is never far from the top. They have a massive tradition and have made Welford Road a fortress. Those 24,000 fans are like a 16th man and they won't lose many home games, so you know they'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. The new team on the block is London Irish. I like the way the Exiles play rugby and Toby Booth and Mike Catt are good young coaches who really give their team freedom to play and express themselves - they looked different class winning the Middlesex Sevens. At the other end it's hard to look past Leeds Carnegie, because it's a big jump from Division One, as was, to the Premiership. They've got everything you would associate with a Premiership set-up, apart from the team. Like any team coming up you've got to fly from the start because if you lose the first few matches the pressure just builds and builds. The Premiership kicks off on Friday night with champions Leicester visiting Sale, who have lost a lot of class during the close-season. There's no doubt that new coach Jason Robinson is going to be inspirational and they've also signed Ben Cohen, who played alongside Robinson in the 2003 England World Cup-winning side, from Brive. But to lose the likes of Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Sebastien Chabal and Luke McAlister will be very difficult to cope with and they're lucky to be starting with a home game. Having said that, it doesn't get any tougher than Leicester and I'm tipping the Tigers to win in Manchester.  | JERRY'S PREDICTIONS Sale to lose to Leicester Saracens to lose to London Irish Wasps to lose to Harlequins Gloucester to lose to Bath Leeds to beat Newcastle Northampton to beat Worcester |
They might be without their Lions in Harry Ellis and Tom Croft but I think they'll sneak it.[Sale actually won 15-12 - Ed.] The following day they're expecting 65,000 at Twickenham for the London Double Header, which just shows the popularity of rugby and how it is growing. The opener sees Saracens face London Irish, and we have a lot to find out about Sarries with their new South African influence on and off the field - is it going to work, or have they lost some of their soul? Irish may have lost last season's final but they were back at Twickenham four weeks ago to win the Middlesex Sevens and they are now a class outfit. If it is a sunny day I expect them to win comfortably. There is no doubt that Wasps are on the back foot after a very poor season by their standards last time. They have a new boss in Tony Hanks and everyone will be looking to impress, although Danny Cipriani signing only a one-year contract doesn't say much about his confidence in the club. New wingers David Lemi and Tom Varndell are proven try scorers and will want to show they are worth the money but Harlequins, before 'bloodgate', were a club that was buzzing on and off the field. Dean Richards was in the process of building a successful team but provided John Kingston, who has assumed full control as head coach, has the respect of the team then I think they can continue where they left off.  Monye had a successful tour of South Africa with the Lions |
They will have their Lion - Ugo Monye - playing at full-back on Saturday while Wasps are without second row Simon Shaw, who was one of my players of the tour in South Africa, and Harlequins have overtaken Wasps in all areas. It is a big test but if the players are mentally tough enough to cope with the off-field distractions they will fly out of the gates this season like they did last year. I can see only one winner in the second of the weekend's derbies - Bath will beat Gloucester. New signing Nicky Robinson will play fly-half for Gloucester and I think he will give them more control and be more consistent than Ryan Lamb, who has now moved to London Irish. I'm not sure if their pack has enough punch these days and Bath retain enough grunt up front to take the spoils. They lost a lot of momentum when they lost Matt Stevens last season because he enabled them to play an all-court game and they have subsequently lost Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett, Justin Harrison and Andrew Higgins as well. But centre Shontayne Hape is a big man and fine footballer with some pace and it's time for him to start dominating opposition backlines. Form goes out of the window in local derbies and it becomes about passion. | 606: DEBATE |
Kingsholm will be no place for the faint-hearted and I think Bath will just edge it. Newcastle were awesome towards the end of last season and they will be hoping to carry on that form when they travel to promoted Leeds. The Yorkshire side are a team bereft of big names but Newcastle have lost the core of their backline, with Tom May and Jamie Noon joining Jonny Wilkinson in moving to France. Leeds had a couple of hiccoughs towards the end of last season and Newcastle ended on a high, but losing those big names will affect the Falcons and I'm tipping Leeds to win narrowly. Sunday's other game sees Worcester pop across the Midlands to face Northampton who absolutely whipped Cardiff Blues - one of my Heineken Cup tips for this year - in pre-season. Jim Mallinder is getting a good unit together at Saints and you have to take them seriously - could this be the year they deliver? It's a big call picking Dylan Hartley as captain and he's got to be the Moses and lead them to the Promised Land. Worcester are the eternal survivors and as soon as they get in a dogfight they pull it off. I'm dying to see more of Chris Latham but away from home, at Northampton, I'm tipping the Saints. Jeremy Guscott was talking to James Standley.
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