Wasps
There’s always that horrible, sceptical feeling when considering sides high on flair. Wasps have earned the right for us to wish them well as they chase down a first title since the era of Lawrence Dallaglio. Their attack is truly something to behold, layers of runners at any given time, most of whom, certainly among the backs, are capable of taking a turn as playmaker whenever required. It’s incredibly hard to defend against. They’ve averaged more than four tries a game but they’ve also conceded nearly three and more than anyone else in the top seven. Memories of Leinster in Dublin last month still haunt.
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Leicester
Just being in the play-offs is an achievement. Leicester have become used to turbulence in recent years, but this season has been the bumpiest yet, enough to shatter the fabric of any other club. And yet here they are, for the 13th season in a row. They enter these play-offs as the ugly ducklings. Their brief is clear: aim for the guts of Wasps and don’t let up. The way Worcester ran three tries past them in the last round, despite a pummelling up front, does not bode well, but no one gives them a chance, and they should have Telusa Veainu back, which increases the options for running in tries themselves.
Exeter
Another favourite for the neutral. A remarkable scoring spree in the second half of the season, featuring nine consecutive bonus-point wins, has brought their try tally up to just three shy of Wasps’. And they’re not afraid of conceding either, only six shy of Wasps’ tally in the tries-against column. What’s not to like? If the play-offs go according to seed, the final ought to be an orgy of tries and derring-do. Exeter’s biggest problem is a recent spate of injuries. Oh, and the opposition. These days, you don’t expect as your reward for a home semi-final a date with Saracens.
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Saracens
Anyone else and you might expect a drop-off after the intensity of their triumph in Edinburgh. Or at least enough of a drop-off to offer their next opponents a chance. There will surely be something of a comedown, but whether it will be enough for Exeter to take advantage of remains to be seen. Saracens are relentless. The more they get, the more they seem to want. A trip to Sandy Park is probably the hardest assignment they could have been set at this stage. That said, the last time they went there, in September, they won 34-13. Expect no let-up.
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Pro12
A face-off between Ireland and Wales, with the former taking home advantage. That is a significant edge for Munster and Leinster, of course, denizens of two of the most atmospheric grounds in Europe. Neither has particularly hit the heights since their European quarter-final heroics, but we can expect full concentration from here on. The Ospreys, meanwhile, who travel to Munster, have more or less imploded since their capitulation in a European quarter-final. But Alun Wyn Jones should be back, not a moment too soon. It’s the Scarlets who look Wales’s best hope. They are in fine form again, which means deadly. If they can contain Leinster’s formidable pack – a sizeable if, admittedly – Welsh hopes may yet live on.
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Top 14
The usual suspects gather for the Top 14’s “barrage”, the play-offs for the play-offs, the French rarely passing up on an opportunity to make their players play that little bit more than is logical. But they’re all gathering under the gaze of La Rochelle, lording it seven points clear of les autres at the top of the table. Now there’s an unfamiliar name at least, albeit stocked with a few familiar ones, this being the richest league in the rugby world. Montpellier host Racing, the champions, for the right to face Clermont and will likely bully the troubled Parisians into submission. In the other play-off, Toulon and Castres reprise the finals of 2013 and 2014 (one win apiece). The winner will take on La Rochelle.
