Owen Farrell’s God mode, Harlequins’ sinking feeling, and the fixture guaranteed tries

Winning is something that Saracens are pretty good at. They smashed Exeter into next year (pun intended) with the perfect response to their first loss of the campaign. They were ill-disciplined and below-par in a deserved defeat to London Irish, but bounced back by becoming more alive in the rain than Geri Halliwell. It was raining tries at StoneX against Chiefs, with the actual precipitation powerless to alter Owen Farrell’s kicks and passes. He was in God mode.

Gloucester are top dogs on their own set piece this season. Nobody has a greater win percentage on their own scrum (98.6 per cent), while only London Irish (91.1 per cent) can better their results from their own lineouts (91 per cent). But Saracens, in horrible conditions, were monstrous in the tight last week. Something’s gotta’ give.

Saturday

Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers
2pm, BT Sport 2

Kingston Park has been a happy hunting ground for both clubs in recent times. Tigers have nine wins from their past ten visits to the Toon, but victory for the Falcons in Round 15 will mark their third successive home triumph.

It was here a fortnight ago that Newcastle came from behind to beat Sale, where the only complaint was that Quadzilla Mateo Carreras — who brushed off two locks to score his eighth of the season — was wearing tights. Brett Connon’s kicking was metronomic and Sebastian de Chaves ought to consider robbing banks given how good he is at stealing lineouts. But that joy was flipped last time out, when Newcastle were the party guilty of blowing a lead to lose. Dave Walder’s side desperately needed a second try before half-time in Bath, but they couldn’t find it and it proved costly.

Even just one try before the break in Round 14 would have been good for Leicester, who endured their first pointless Premiership first half in six years. They squandered several early chances to kick points, instead choosing unsuccessfully to bully their way over, and they paid for it. Badly. Sale humped them.

But the caveat is that Richard Wigglesworth — who opened his account with a win against Gloucester the round prior — had to watch player after player hobble off to the point that hooker Gabriel Oghre lined up at 12 with Jack van Poortvliet at 10. They missed the gainline carrying of Julián Montoya and Jasper Wiese, and will hope to have them back given that Leicester are winless in their past three away trips.

This encounter’s penalty count will be fascinating; Leicester have conceded the fewest in the Premiership this season (107), but Newcastle have been awarded the most (147). That factor could be key in determining the outcome of this collision.

Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints
4.30pm, BT Sport 2

They say there is no place like home but Northampton will not be too concerned at heading to Sandy Park and are looking for a third consecutive triumph there. And if Round 14 was anything to go by, they may well complete that hat-trick.

Simply, Exeter were battered. They crept past Bath on Christmas Eve but, without a number of big names due to a virus, Chiefs were second best in every department against Saracens. Jack Nowell, Josh Hodge and Solomone Kata were perhaps the only players that could emerge with any credit on a day when non-stop errors, poor decisions, and terrible discipline contributed to a chastening experience against imperious Saracens. So much is up in the air with Exeter at the moment, but it looks certain that their rebuild is going to need more work before they find themselves operating on the Saracens level again.

And yet . . . a bonus-point win this weekend could move Exeter into the top four — that’s how mad this league is. Chiefs have won six of their past seven at Sandy Park, while Northampton have lost their past three on the road, but it is the Saints who have their tails up.

Attack was the best form of defence at Franklin’s Gardens as Northampton put in a clinquant display on the ball to end their recent slump in rampant fashion. Wham, Bam James Ramm tore up the Premiership Cup earlier this season and has taken to the Premiership like Rishi Sunak has to chatting nonsense, while England hopefuls Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall and Lewis Ludlam all gave Borthwick something to ponder. And all the England head coach would have been thinking while watching Dave “Ribeye” Ribbans was “Wow”. That South African steak could prove tasty in the Six Nations.

Less easy on the eye is Northampton’s ugly away kit, but if they win at Exeter for the third straight year, they will be sitting pretty in the top four hunt.

Sunday

Harlequins v Sale Sharks
3pm, BT Sport 1

We may only be halfway through the season, but there is every chance that we may see these two behemoths slapping each other in the play-offs.

However, if Quins are to return to Twickenham (outside of a Big Game format) then they have to channel the Mighty Quinn and get back to the bouncy, brutal, blitz Harlequins that terrifies us all. After a painful defeat at home to Bristol, Quins — only four days later — drove to Northampton and were smashed by the Saints. Throw in the furore around Joe Marler’s ban and it’s been a pretty irritable period for Harlequins; André Esterhuizen has had a fortnight to forget, while Quins are just not the same without Danny Care and Marcus Smith as the starting half backs.

However, Quins are the only team to have visited the AJ Bell/Beatdown Boulevard and won this season, so Sale will not be counting their chickens . . . or sharks, or whatever. They especially won’t after their Newcastle hoodoo continued in Round 13, when they threw away a half-time lead to lose at Kingston Park. But that all changed last week when they smashed Leicester at Beatdown Boulevard.

Twinderloo — the Curry boys — are just different spice, but the James brothers deserve mass fawning. Silky Sam James is continuously excellent, and brother Luke put in a man of the match display as Sale looked back to normal with a ferocious defence, dangerous set piece and rapid breakdown. Rob du Preez was also wonderful, once again — anybody know if he has an English grandparent?

Sale ended a run of six successive Stoop defeats in February and have won 11 of their past 14 games, but that run does include a surprise loss at home to Harlequins. Who knows what will happen now . . . or in the play-offs.

London Irish v Bristol Bears
3pm

If you love rugger for the meat pies, then you want to watch this fixture this weekend. Why? Here are the scores from the past four encounters between London Irish and Bristol: 40-36, 32-49, 33-45, 34-34. Pretty nuts, right? London Irish may have the league’s top tryscorer in Ollie Hassell-Collins, but Paddy Jackson’s boot yielded their only points of their dramatic defeat at Gloucester last time out. It was a dour game, but at least London Irish got a losing bonus point which moved them above Newcastle in the table, it was quite the contrast from becoming the first team to beat Sarries. They deserved that win; down to 12 men at one point after Adam Coleman received his third successive red card, a gloved Tom Pearson thundered to set up a score for Chandler Cunningham-South, which is without question the most rugby name imaginable. Parody levels, almost, a bit like London Irish’s home record against Bristol.

The exiles are winless in their past three at home to Bristol, who were triumphant in their most recent away game when they beat Quins. It was their first Premiership victory since September — and boy was it needed. AJ MacGinty showed why Bristol called on Captain America, while, in holding up Esterhuizen at the death, Tom Whiteley proved that there is no such thing as a lost cause (apart from, maybe, Joe Marler’s mouth). Big Daddy Ellis Genge should return after the birth of his child, and even with the departure of Luke Morahan (what a credit to the Premiership he has been), if Bristol can get Stone Genge, Sir Charles Piutau and Semi Radradra on the pitch at the same time, they can do some damage.

Whatever the outcome, the scoreboard operator is going to be knackered come Sunday night.