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It is crunch time in England. The 20th of 22 rounds will be played this weekend. Up for grabs are places in the play-offs and qualification for the 2017-2018 European Champions Cup. For Worcester and Bristol the focus is on avoiding relegation. Involved in the Aviva Premiership this weekend will be a host of players from the Americas.
Kicking-off round 20 will be one Friday fixture. The Twickenham Stoop is to host the Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs. The Quins are in 6th position but within striking range of a place in the Semi Finals. A win over the 2nd placed Chiefs is mandatory to march on. St. Lucia flier Marland Yarde will start for the Quins.
First ip on Saturday will be 8th placed Gloucester at home to the 10th placed Sale Sharks. A win is required for the Cheery-and-whites to push on towards potential Champions Cup qualification. The side named is as strong as possible. This includes Puma Mariano Galarza in the second-row. Sale are not holding back. Starting at fly half is Eagle AJ MacGinty.
The post Marcos Ayerza Leicester Tigers era starts this weekend. The Puma retired earlier this week, leaving behind a tremendous career. The club plays host to the Newcastle Falcons on Saturday. The Falcons are 9th in the competition, five paces below the Tigers. They have knocked-over a number of sides this season and Leicester will need to be on their game. Starting for the Falcons will be Americas’ players Juan Pablo Socino and Evan Olmstead.
The 11th placed Worcester Warriors have a prime opportunity at officially avoiding relegation. The side welcome the 5th placed Bath. A win for the Warriors will require a strong performance. They will look to more barnstorming runs from USA hooker Joe Taufete’e who starts again this weekend.
Northampton trail Leicester by five points. They therefore need a good result at home this weekend. They host the 2016 champions, Saracens. Back in the mix from the ‘A’ League is Juan Pablo Estelles. The 2016 Puma will play from the bench. Starting for Saracens are to be Marcelo Bosch and Titi Lamositele.
Bringing the round to a close will be a must-win match for Bristol. They welcome the table topping Wasps. Finding a way to beat the Coventry-based side is required to avoid relegation. A loss will not mathematically mean Bristol are relegated but make it extremely likely. Puma Gastón Córtes will start for Bristol at Tight head prop.
